Hello fellow chicken enthusiasts!

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It is great having you here!

I have heard that Sand Hill can get behind on orders. If so, there is always a feed store selling chicks
 
Thanks for the welcome guys, and also I totally did not realize I did not have my location posted on the avatar yet, thanks for pointing that out!

My Poultry order confirmation from Sand Hill Preservation Center has the projected shipping date marked as April 3rd but as I requested has back up dates of may, june, july and august if the shipping date in April cannot be fulfilled.

Since Sand Hill ships its chicks straight run only I figure on about half and half males vs females. My coop is projected to comfortably hold 25-30 full grown hens each using the 3 square foot per bird measurements which I planned on when planning the building of the coop.

My plan is to utilize the breeds for both eggs and meat, butchering most of the roosters minus 2 or 3 favorites that I will keep with the flock. this will give me some good practice on deciding for myself the best ages to butcher as ill start on the low end of 15-16 weeks or so and allow some to mature past to the 18-20 week before hand to see how the meat turns out.

The reasoning for so many breeds is its so darn hard to decide on paper which breed will suit me best, I am seeking a broody, cold weather hardy, cold weather laying, good foraging hardy dual purpose chicken. I figure instead of spending years trying different breeds I would choose from the top prospects and get them at once so that they cant compete amongst themselves for who suites my needs the best and at the same time I can gain experience and share with others in the future on how the other breeds compare with one another.

in the near future I will be adding photos of the large brooder I have built and waiting for them, the hen house and run that I'm in the middle of building as fast as I can as its crunch time!

I fully intend on being an active member on here so I look forward to future advice as I run across questions and sharing photos and experiances and the outcomes I conclude from the grand competition of chicken breeds lol

thanks again for the warm welcome!

-Brian
 
MountainFireflyAcres said:
Thanks for the welcome guys, and also I totally did not realize I did not have my location posted on the avatar yet, thanks for pointing that out!

My Poultry order confirmation from Sand Hill Preservation Center has the projected shipping date marked as April 3rd but as I requested has back up dates of may, june, july and august if the shipping date in April cannot be fulfilled.

Since Sand Hill ships its chicks straight run only I figure on about half and half males vs females. My coop is projected to comfortably hold 25-30 full grown hens each using the 3 square foot per bird measurements which I planned on when planning the building of the coop.

My plan is to utilize the breeds for both eggs and meat, butchering most of the roosters minus 2 or 3 favorites that I will keep with the flock. this will give me some good practice on deciding for myself the best ages to butcher as ill start on the low end of 15-16 weeks or so and allow some to mature past to the 18-20 week before hand to see how the meat turns out.

The reasoning for so many breeds is its so darn hard to decide on paper which breed will suit me best, I am seeking a broody, cold weather hardy, cold weather laying, good foraging hardy dual purpose chicken. I figure instead of spending years trying different breeds I would choose from the top prospects and get them at once so that they cant compete amongst themselves for who suites my needs the best and at the same time I can gain experience and share with others in the future on how the other breeds compare with one another.

in the near future I will be adding photos of the large brooder I have built and waiting for them, the hen house and run that I'm in the middle of building as fast as I can as its crunch time!

I fully intend on being an active member on here so I look forward to future advice as I run across questions and sharing photos and experiances and the outcomes I conclude from the grand competition of chicken breeds lol

thanks again for the warm welcome!

-Brian
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Sandhill hatches only the best of the best! I am sure you will be quite satisfied with your birds. :)
 
Well, Brian... Some things to keep in mind...
  • Broilers (can be cooked any temp and tender) 6-8 weeks
  • Fryers 10-14 weeks
  • Roasters 14 weeks-6 months
  • Stew birds 6 month plus...
I've got 18 roasters waiting for me to fix the scalder... the longer you wait,the more flavorful they are, but the longer they wait the tougher they get.
 
K813ZRA said:
Welcome to byc! 50 birds, oh boy, that is a lot to start with. You are going to have loads of eggs!
Click to expand...
TwoCrows said:
Sandhill hatches only the best of the best! I am sure you will be quite satisfied with your birds. :)
Click to expand...

From the hours I spent reading on this site and other sites that's what I gathered as well about them. I wanted to go with quality so as to give the breeds a fair shake amongst themselves and not have to blame a shoddy breeder or hatchery. I am kicking myself for not ordering golden laced Wyandotte's though!!! I may place a small order with another hatcheries that fills orders quickly and ships small quantities of chicks (checked out cackle for them already but they are not on the April availability date, murry mcmurry is though so may go with them after I verify with cackle they wont have any golden laced Wyandotte's in April.
 

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