Golden Comet Chickens, HELP!

[goodolsurvival1]

I had read (wish I could remember where!!) that Golden Comets are more prone to respiratory illness and death than others. If I find that post again, I will share.

I have been very careful to keep my coop as clean and dry as possible. I let the temps stay cool as long as the chickens look comfortable. Birds actually have built in mechanisms to shed heat because they overheat too quickly. Warm, moist temperatures are a bacteria's breeding paradise. I also haven't sealed the coop completely to allow for fresh air. If the ground is not snow-covered, I open their little door to come and go as well.

You may already know all of this, but figured it couldn't hurt to share what I do in "The Best Little Henhouse in Cambridge" with my whopping flock of 6. ha ha!!

lol ya we prob will have the min amount that rko requires when you buy i think last year was 6. weve been looking at cold hardy breads as we figured they would be a tougher bird and since comets come from RIRs we figured would be good choices. I too have read about their health probs (mixed stories where some say no prob and others say yes). we also don't plan on sealing the coop we build completely up, unless we would need too figured help with circulation (not that any big gaps etc. will be there lol).

how often do you clean out your coop? is yours an on the group coop or elevated? we plan on doing a secure on the ground (with fencing on the bottom pushed into the ground so nothing can get past the base 4x4s) cuz of space but also the theme we are going with for the build (it will be an upright coop rather than you normal boxed dog house like style).

are you in cambridge, ohio?

 

[ConPollos]

I adore my six week old Golden Comet girlz! They love to perch on my shoulders and head, and they trill a beautiful song to me. So sweet and pretty! I'm sad to hear they won't live many years. I will definitely always have some Golden Comets.

 

[Jill2468]

I would say that you should go for the younger, 17 week old girls. You will know exactly how old they are and will only have to wait a few weeks until they start laying.

 

[brownhousefarm]

I think it is important to feed the GC's differently than other breeds. Example feeding schedule would be an 18 or 19% starter ration until they get a to about 5 weeks then switch to a 15% grower ration. When they are 12 or 13 weeks old start them on a layer ration so they can build up their calcium levels early. Keep vitamins in their water to fill in the gaps.

 

[RCairplane]

VERY nice set up. We have a tractor, with an extended fold up dog run. We currently have on Red SL, one Black & one Golden Comet hen. The two SL hens are older & laying an egg each a day. N&D Smith Virginia.

 

[bamadan]

NM

 

[bamadan]

I just want to warn everyone out there of the hybrid chickens many farm stores are selling. These Chickens are wonderful to own but if you are like me and get attached to your animals these birds are not for you.
Hybrid comets (Golden comets or sex linked –Great egg layers. Not hardy, not strong. Extremely friendly personalities. Not a good bird to own. Produced by commercial companies to lay eggs; a great deal of eggs in a short time and then they get sick and die. Their little bodies can’t handle this fast egg laying production. They start to shut down after 2 or 3 years. They end up egg bound and die. Now I had 13 of them and have about 7 left, and 3 are sick. I have saved some only to have the eggs get stuck again later. I did my research because I also own New Hampshire reds and Light Sussex both very hardy dual purpose birds that never get sick, never get egg bound. My husband and I feel robbed because although they are just chickens they were so friendly we named them and loved them and now we feel lied to and cheated. Save yourself the grief- Don't buy Golden Comets!!!!!!!

This is an accurate statement , I had 18 comets and after 2 years of heavy egg production they started dying. I determined that the mass egg production was too much on them for a long period. None of my birds were egg bound, they would just get down and never recover no matter what I tried with them. I isolated some the day they went down in a solitary pen and it made no difference. Some died the next day and others as long as 4 days later. I did notice that once the egg production dropped off that the end is near. Sad for the birds as they were excellent keepers for the first 2 years.

 

[chicknmania]

This is an accurate statement , I had 18 comets and after 2 years of heavy egg production they started dying. I determined that the mass egg production was too much on them for a long period. None of my birds were egg bound, they would just get down and never recover no matter what I tried with them. I isolated some the day they went down in a solitary pen and it made no difference. Some died the next day and others as long as 4 days later. I did notice that once the egg production dropped off that the end is near. Sad for the birds as they were excellent keepers for the first 2 years.

Not necessarily true. WE have one who's five years old. We've had others that didn't live that long, they died from various things, but none were egg bound.

 

[mylittlehippie]

I was told that Golden Comets are produced by crossing White Rocks with NH Reds. Above I see it listed as Delaware and RIR crosses. Are there different kinds or was I previously misinformed. Also is there a difference in longevity if you do the breeding yourself as opposed to buying hatchery stock comets? thanks!

 

[Melinda48]

We love our Golden Comets, they are friendly and excellent layers-all year round!