Thank you for the welcome! I really am going to need lots of advice. I want chickens for eggs and meat. We had started out with borrowed meat goats and my husband grew so attached that he's made it very clear that, if that was the route we took, he wouldn't be able to eat one of our own goats. (I grew up with beef cattle...some that I bottle fed and some that I helped fatten for butchering, so I feel a little different about the situation. But he's a sweetie and that's why I love him...and I really wanted dairy goats anyway.) He is coming around to the idea that he might not be so attached to chickens. We'll see how that one plays out.
I know he's going to just want to buy some chicks at Orscheln. I'd prefer to purchase them local but I also can't afford to break the bank right now. If someone can give me an idea of the price difference as well as the reasons why, I could at least start easing him into the idea.
This all depends on what you really want. You may be able to purchase good quality chicks for about the same price as Orshlen's hatchery chickens and most likely they are going to be much healthier without shipping stress and other things which can cause you to loose them much quicker. Or you may pay a few dollars more but keep in mind you get what you pay for. I would highly recommend you don't purchase cornish cross chicks unless you intend to only butcher. They aren't a great chick experience and they are bred to be butchered quickly. They die young of heart problems and broken legs if you keep them too long.
Should we start with baby chicks? Or a little older?
This all depends on the experience you want. Baby chicks demand time and effort but to me it is much more rewarding. You can tame them to your liking in most cases which makes them a lot more fun in the long run. The first 6 weeks are what takes the most time. You are going to pay more for an older bird but of course you see eggs and meat a lot sooner that way. Personally I wouldn't start with older chickens. You miss so much of the fun that way. You can start with some that are started though if you buy from an individual. That first week or so of life is the most tender when it comes to birds. But again it will require a little more equipment and time.
Also, I think I've created a problem. I found a damaged pre-built (like the ones at Orscheln) chicken coop that's probably about 4x8 maybe. It has three nesting areas and it has been put on wheels so it can be moved around. We can get it cheap and it's a real temptation since our goat shed building experience was expensive, not fun and took pretty much all of last summer. Now that I've shown it to David and he likes the idea of getting it I have a feeling it won't hold as many chickens as we are going to need. On the other hand, we plan to let them out in the yard in the afternoons and we can build a run. It's the housing part that scares us. Should we get it, start small and build something bigger later?
If this is a store purchased coop, don't waste your money. They are built cheap and weak and will blow over in the wind. They will allow predators easy access and they aren't often finished to keep them from deteriorating in the weather. I know several people who purchased these both new and used and regret it 100%. They're made to be cute...not functional. If the one you are looking at is something that someone made however and uses better quality wood and wire it might be okay. Assuming that part of that coop is a shelter and part of it a pen It would probably only house 3-4 chickens at most. If the thing is 4 x 8 and doesn't include the run it might have possibilities. If you can provide a larger run you could use it for temporary housing until you make up your mind how many birds you plan to have all together.
As for number of eggs needed, there should be just the two of us but we have three adult children that live in town with a total of 6 grandchildren plus friends and, last but certainly not least, a Great Pyr that expects an egg every day with his dog food. (He was fostered with chickens so I'm looking forward to seeing how he does with them.) How does the number of egg consumers compute into number of chickens to purchase?
Oh, and I made the mistake of also buying my husband a Nebraska Football book along with the Raising Chickens book so he's not reading about chickens right now. So if there are little tidbits of info that I should be dropping on him to get him prepared for our next great adventure, please let me know.
Really looking forward to chickens! (And it's keeping my mind off wanting baby goats. Yes, I understand animal addiction.)
TIA!
My brother and his wife are planning to get chickens for the first time this spring. They asked me last week how many they would need. I told them what I have told many others. For two people you would need at least 6 pullets. If you buy chicks I would recommend getting 12 to start because you can count on about 50% being cockerels and at least a 10% loss. Just because the bins in a store call them pullets don't believe it. They have a high degree of error. So assuming you have 6 pullets you can count on about 3 eggs a day on average...depending on breed and season etc. I recommend adding 6 more each spring and or fall. Simply because you will loose a bird for some reason most likely, and when one group goes into molt you will have back up birds to lay. I personally like adding my layers in early fall because fall chicks will start laying late the following spring. And when your spring birds go into molt and quit laying, your younger birds will most likely still lay.
Also consider what kind you have. If you buy a sex link bird you will get more eggs for your money but also they wear out within 2 years so it is short lived. A good choice for eggs alone but not a good choice for pets. Keep in mind any time you have extra eggs you can give them away or sell them ....or in my case I feed them to the dogs or make things like angel food cake.
I'd sure be getting on line and reading about all the different breeds and their attributes. Then once you see a few you think you might like ask this group their opinions on the breed.
