Finally started backyard chickens again after 20 years

[wvski]

Hi all!

This past summer I finally got around to raising chickens again. When I was younger, we had 20-30 free range chickens on our property. I loved the supply of fresh eggs constantly. Now that I'm at a point I have a little extra time, I decided to get back in the game.

I built a 4x8 coop and now have a mix of 6 chickens. I'm not sure the breed or type. I just happened to stop by a random farm and ask the farmer if he wanted to get rid of any of his chickens and we caught 6 random ones and he sold them to me for $5 a piece. Heck of a deal!!! No clue how old they are though.

During the summer months I was getting 5-6 eggs a day. That has slowly diminished to 1 a day now and i'm assuming that's due to the molt. There seems to be more feathers in my coop than pine shavings right now. Hoping egg production will pick back up in a few weeks.

We have a small 7-acre piece of property with 2 kids, 2 dogs, and 6 chickens.

Ive been reading over the forum for a couple of weeks now trying to jar my memory of feeding habits, the molt, brooding, etc. Excited to learn more as time goes on.

Thanks in advance for any answers you guys provide in the future!

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

I was down to 1 or 2 a day, then found a few stashed under a tree limb that fell. These are my girls who have always laid in the boxes. I missed the new places and found them yesterday.

 

[Tookie]

Hello and welcome to BYC!
Nice coop and eggs!
The breeds of chickens you have are 2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Easter Egger, 1 Golden Laced Wyandotte, 1 Silver Laced Wyandotte, and what I think is a Black Australorp. What is the color of the bottom of the black chickens feet?

 

[Blue Raptor]

Hi all!

This past summer I finally got around to raising chickens again. When I was younger, we had 20-30 free range chickens on our property. I loved the supply of fresh eggs constantly. Now that I'm at a point I have a little extra time, I decided to get back in the game.

I built a 4x8 coop and now have a mix of 6 chickens. I'm not sure the breed or type. I just happened to stop by a random farm and ask the farmer if he wanted to get rid of any of his chickens and we caught 6 random ones and he sold them to me for $5 a piece. Heck of a deal!!! No clue how old they are though.

During the summer months I was getting 5-6 eggs a day. That has slowly diminished to 1 a day now and i'm assuming that's due to the molt. There seems to be more feathers in my coop than pine shavings right now. Hoping egg production will pick back up in a few weeks.

We have a small 7-acre piece of property with 2 kids, 2 dogs, and 6 chickens.

Ive been reading over the forum for a couple of weeks now trying to jar my memory of feeding habits, the molt, brooding, etc. Excited to learn more as time goes on.

Thanks in advance for any answers you guys provide in the future!

Welcome to BYC!!

 

[Fuchsia]

Hello
Welcome to BYC. I’m glad you joined us!

 

[Percheron chick]

Very nice mix of breeds. If you were getting 5-6 eggs a day, they are under 2. Good deal and the easiest way to get started.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
I agree with @Tookie's breed identification.

 

[N F C]

Hello, congrats on re-establishing a flock...thanks for joining!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens.
This is a great place to explore and hang out.

 

[wvski]

Ok, so which ones are which? And the bottom of the black chickens feet are pinkish...

I'm guessing #1 is the Golden Lace Wyandotte, #2 is the Buff Orpington, #3 is the Black Astralorp, #4 is the Silver Laced Wyandotte, and #5 has to be the Easter Egger?