Greetings from Mojave Ca.

BoondocksHQ

Hatching
8 Years
Jun 24, 2011
7
0
7
Hello,

I live in a rural area and have 5 acres in the desert and recently decided to raise dual purpose chickens to help provide for my family. As a freshman in high school, my family had chicken, ducks, and geese for a short period of time and we also had quail when I was in elementary. So, Honestly this would be my first time. I was looking on the web to see what info I could fine as to how to raise chickens, what to do, what to get and to my glee I came across BYC. I currently do not have any chickens as I am trying to learn what I need to do and choose a breed that does well in a desert environment. The kids are gone and it is me, the wife and my sister-in-law along with the 4 cats, the Basset Hound and the Chug. So, any help and suggestions would be helpful and welcomed.
 
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You've come to the right place to learn. On the home page there are several tutorials to help you get started. If you have any specific questions, there are several board sections here to help you get answers from fellow members and chicken veterans. So take a look around, learn more, and feel free to ask ANY questions you have on the boards.
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from Missouri and
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Rhode Island Reds would be my first recommendation.
They are a very versatile bird suited for both meat and eggs. With the right conditions, they can produce 250 to 300 eggs per year. Their eggs are large and brown in color. Rhode Island Reds are moderately early maturing, by 6 months. Hens weigh in around 6 and a half pounds with roosters about 2 pounds more.Rhode Island Reds are adaptable to both confinement and free range. If you are raising chickens for meat, the time to butcher is before they start to lay or immediately thereafter. If you wait, the meat will start to get tough.

Another heat tolerant, high producing egg layer is the Leghorn (often pronounced leg-ern.) This is the most common commercially used layer because they give a nice white, medium to large egg, mature at 5 months and can lay up to 275 eggs per year. They will continue to lay until 10 to 12 years of age with production slowing down by 15-20% at around 8 years.A rooster will weigh about 6 pounds and a hen 4 and a half. Because of their smaller size, leghorns are not good to raise for meat. They have good feed to production ratios and because they are good foragers, they can glean a portion of their diet by ranging if given the opportunity.

Naked Neck (or Turken). Although they are awkward looking, they are very hardy birds.
Naked Necks, known as “Kaalnek” in South Africa, have less than half the feathers of other birds their size. This makes it easier to pluck if you are raising them for meat.Hens average 6 pounds while roosters are closer to 8 pounds. Despite their limited feathers, Naked Necks do well in cold climates, providing they have some shelter. They are also very heat tolerant, seemingly unaffected by extremely high temperatures. They adapt well to either free range or confinement and are calm, friendly birds. They lay a medium size, creamy brown egg.

Best Wishes,
Laura
 

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