Arkansas folks speak up.........

[jarclyn]

Hey! I'm really new to chickens and mine are at 17 weeks right now, so that means it's getting close to egg laying time! Now the question comes of how do I set up their laying area (do I need one nesting box a bird or what? I have four if that helps) and how much can I get away with selling the eggs for? I'm I'm El Dorado if that helps. And finally, where do you get egg cartons? Or do you just reuse old ones from the store? Thank you so much to anyone who has answers for me.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Glad you’re with us. That’s a bunch of good questions. I don’t have many good answers.

A general rule of thumb is one nest box for every four hens, so theoretically you should be able to get by with one. But I’d go with two. Most of the people on here will probably tell you they will probably all lay in one anyway and I agree with them. But having that second one handy gives you some flexibility in handling things that come up. I’ve had a hen that was a net hog. She’d take three hours to lay an egg and would not allow any other hen in with her. A second nest might come in handy if you have one go broody. At some point, you might get more hens. You could get by with one for four hens, but it doesn’t have to be difficult to add a second.

I have no idea on the price of eggs in El Dorado. Sorry!

I reuse cartons, but then I don’t sell them at a Farmer’s Market or anything like that. I donate them for sale at Church and people pay whatever they feel like paying. That money goes into a church fund. People give me extra egg cartons. I also donate eggs to a local food bank run by five area churches. They give me cartons too. Not much help I know, but I just reuse them. It’s possible at a Farmer’s Market they would have rules about labeling or reusing egg cartons.

 

[jarclyn]

Thanks Ridgerunner! That does really help. I would have probably bought four nesting boxes haha. We will probably just end up selling them to family friends and people at church, the hens I have aren't heavy layers, we got rid of the production reds and such. We mainly have them for the fun of it, not the profit. Also,whatdo you put in the nesting boxes? Like what should I supply them with to nest with? Does that make senses? We're used to dogs and hamsters, so we are in a whole different world.

 

[JFreeman]

Hey! I'm in Texarkana (not so far from you), and there are a couple of places around here who sell theirs for $2/doz.

I have some 3 week old chicks, four 16 week old silkies, and 1 18 week old blue copper maran. When I started planning to have chicks, I've been hanging on to all the clean egg cartons, though when I get enough to start selling, I'll be buying them. There's an online store that sells them cheaper than buying them at Tractor Supply and what not, though I'm not exactly sure what their web address is.

Until then, I also have plenty of friends who drop off their empty cartons, which will be repaid with eggs, to be sure.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I use straw in the nests, basically just cut long grass and let it dry, so maybe it's closer to hay. Anythng long grass like that. A lot of people use wood shavings. Some people use shredded paper but don't use newspaper. That ink rubs off and stains everything. I know of a lady that uses Spanish moss. Some people put a piece of carpet down. That doesn't seem right to e but they are happy with it. There is no right or wrong thng to use, just whatever you decide.

 

[ChickenGeorgeAR]

Has this Arkansas weather not been great the past few days?

Need a little input, I have 4 Black Australorp hens and trying to plan for when they start laying. They have a coop (and enclosed run) and return there to roost at night but during the day they are free rangers and enjoy keeping cool under my shop or under our low deck. I have a milk crate in the coop since I kept reading they seem to like those as nesting boxes. Here's the question: Will they return to the nesting box in the coop to lay or will they start laying under the deck and/or shop?
Thanks!

 

[juliechick]

Has this Arkansas weather not been great the past few days?

Need a little input, I have 4 Black Australorp hens and trying to plan for when they start laying. They have a coop (and enclosed run) and return there to roost at night but during the day they are free rangers and enjoy keeping cool under my shop or under our low deck. I have a milk crate in the coop since I kept reading they seem to like those as nesting boxes. Here's the question: Will they return to the nesting box in the coop to lay or will they start laying under the deck and/or shop?
Thanks!

Good question! My free rangers usually lay in the coop, but they have taken to laying outside at random times over the years. They like to change nesting areas every now and then. I'm sure that's due to instinct. Put some golf balls or fake eggs in the nests. Hopefully that will encourage them to lay there.

 

[juliechick]

I have two blues available in Texarkana, AR. One is a rooster, not sure what the other is yet. It hasn't started crowing... $5 each. They are 3 months old, approx.

Thanks. When you find out what the other one is, let me know. I will be down that way the last of this month.

 

[fishbirdss]

Any Shamo people in Arkansas? I'm looking.....

Heather McClain
Warren, Arkansas

 

[FreedomLover]

Well, it's been a while since I posted so here's a quick run-down on what's happened the last couple of months.

Roosters are still alive (but not for long even if I have to do the deed myself)

Incubator was finished and has been utilized. Put in 18 eggs. 2 weren't fertile and were removed at 10 days in and 9 hatched on the 2nd/3rd. I'm going to need to make some mods to the incubator because the other 7 died near the end of the incubation period. Not sure if it was heat or humidity related but I need to figure it out. Would have been nice to get 80% instead of 50%.

Three of our does kindled 3 weeks ago. Going to need to begin the weaning process in about a week or so. We lost several kits to unknown causes. I think one of the moms jumped into the nest and accidentally killed a couple of them and a couple were just too weak from the get-go. Too many baby's and not enough teats. And we lost 2 when the temps hit 114 a couple weeks back. But, we still have 19 jumpy frumpy adorable little baby's left. It'll be nice once they get out of that "cute" stage cuz then I won't want to snuggle them all the time. LOL After all, you shouldn't play with your food!

DH has recovered from his open heart surgery and has been released by the cardiologist to go back to work so he's raring to go! He said he needs a "vacation"! Can't blame him though, things have been a bit hectic and stressful around here the past couple months.

But, now that I know the incubator works .... I'll have something to keep me busy. Just need to get up the nerve to do the butchering of the chickens myself. I'm thinking, from the chickens I hatch, that I might raise them up to 16 weeks old and keep the roosters for freezer camp and sell any hens as "pullets" to try and cover some of the cost of feed.

That's enough for now! LOL TTYL~!