Does this sound like a fairly solid workable plan?

JohnsonHomestead

In the Brooder
8 Years
May 15, 2011
60
3
39
Out in the sticks
As I'm sure more than one of you have noticed the cost of eating today. Thinking thats why some of you raise chickend for some same reasons as my wife and I. So hoping to catch some of you who have been where we are now. We have a flock of 15 chickens that you would buy at Atwoods, TSC, or local feed store, 4 big fat white tanks, 10 pro red hens and one pro red roo. The girls produce enough eggs between spring and fall for our needs and pay for the rabbits I have and their keep. We(I) have decided to take that next step, we want to start producing some chicks to take off food bill as well. Heres what changes,and additions I have in mind to do go about doing this and get close to doing it right with as few bumps and bruises as I can. I know:lol: aiming Really high.

The best thing about all this, I have plenty of space to go crazier than I could ever get, trust me on this, I could go reallly nuts given the funds, so that takes danger out of a men with white coats looking for me for now anyway.
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What we want from this;
Produce more eggs evenly over the year
Take chicken off our grocery list.
Be able to maintain or increase good layers without buying chicks.

What I have so far to get there.

We are planning to get a LG Incubator with the forced air and turner, have enough background on hatching to know that air and turning will make enough difference to make it worth it. I have not had good luck with rabbits producing babies, so figure I can take that out of the control of the chickens anyway.
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My flock is producing fertile eggs I have the production red hens for the feed to egg ratio, plus already have a mature Roo. So I can keep egg layers going, but little reds just bone.
The RedRoo also is in with my white tanks which lay, well really big eggs, would also make a big meal. Not sure what kind of chicken I would have hatch from the small body PR Roo X with big wide white. Thinking at least a fair egg layer, but all wait and see on meat qualities.
Thats where flock changes come in. Thinking forget white, just let the old girls live out there lives waddling around.

Have some baby "Heavies" from Atwoods, thinking now that I have an aussie roo, maybe aussie pullet or 2, and sexlink and/or barred rock hens and roosters. They were bought with the freezer in mind, but after researching some, If aussie roo, I will put with any barred rock or aussie hens from that group, as well as my big whites. Any sexlink hens will go with the laying reds.

If it goes that all heavies are roosters of some kind with 1 aussie roo, will still put him with whites, and food bill the rest.
Then I will have to buy birds again, but not the chcicken grab bag from "farm store". Will get them from a hatchery.

At this point my shopping list would be
8 barred rock hens
8 aussie hens
maybe 3 aussie roos if turns out I don't have one in this group. 1 to keep 2 to bbq

This would give me a flock(#1) of reds/sexlink +/- 16 laying hens and 1 Red Roo and a flock(#2) of 16 dual purpose with a aussie roo.

Eggs from Flock #1 would produce Production Red or grabbag PRroo x Sexlink hen. Hatch should result in good Egg producers.
Eggs from flock #2 would produce Aussie chicks, a black sexlink, and an aussie x big white cross. Hatch should produce a nice meat bird as well as new aussie chicks.

Should have a barred roo to maintain that flock for aussie sexlinks, but that would be 3 seperate flocks with roos.

Ok, so poke holes, polish, laugh, just throw some feedback, my wife kinda gets a blank look
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when I start talking chicken
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