Hello from California!

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dancechick915

dancechick915

Songster
Sep 24, 2015
92
134
126
Southern California
Hi chicken friends! I am super new to the whole chicken thing and am starting off slow. I've been reading up on many threads here at BYC and finally decided to join and introduce myself!
My name is Melanie and I live in Southern California. I got two girls on Sunday. The landlord said yes to chickens, so I went and picked them up the next day! I got them from a place where they use chickens for eggs and meat, you pick a chicken and they slaughter it there... But I got two live ones for a few bucks each. They have drawbacks because of this- their beaks are clipped, they don't have any human interaction (but are more and more trusting, curious, and sweet each day), I have no idea how old they are... But the guy did say they would start laying in about a month or so. I got them layer pellets but I'm worried they might be too young for them? I'm going to find the right forums here in a second to see if anyone can guess their age and breed (my best guess is around 18-20 weeks and either New Hampshire chickens or production reds).
Anyways, here's a picture of Henrietta (darker tail feathers and on the right) and Penny (more copper colored)!
400


-Melanie
 
They've got the look of New Hampshires, though I haven't got a clue what those would be doing at a meat facility, unless they were going for dog food. Production Reds of any kind would hardly produce a profitable carcass, and certainly not anything resembling the Cornish Cross most people would expect to see on their dinner table.

I agree that they look point of lay; they are certainly at the correct age for a laying feed.

If you don't mind my asking, what was the exact price for each? "A few bucks" is rather vague, but it draws up the image of $5 or $10 a hen, which would be nothing short of a steal - lately the market is hovering at $20-$30 for a point of lay or young laying hen.
 
New Hampshires are historically a dual-purpose breed with an emphasis on egg laying, but the skinny Production types hardly make a decent meal, so I would say yes, it's likely they were from their layer flock. Between that and the crazy low price, it makes me wonder if perhaps they are older culls sold as point of lay pullets. Keep an eye out for eggs - if they begin to lay small eggs, laid intermittently for the first month or so, it would mark the start of their production life, whereas if they immediately begin to produce large eggs on a regular basis, they have already been producing for at least a couple months (and if that is the case, likely a couple years).

If they are genuine point of lay hens, then $12 a bird really is a good deal. If you don't mind, I'd love it if you could PM me the name of the place you purchased them - I'm a good drive from SoCal, but I have extended family down there and so visit on occasion. At that price, it'd be plenty worth it to pick up a few pullets on the way home.
 
@QueenMisha they are still a few weeks out from laying. They have small pink combs, small vents, and have some more room to grow so hopefully when they do start laying everything will be good! That was the risk I took getting these ladies. I will send you the info.
 
Welcome to Backyard chickens. I would check them over well for mites,lice, and to determine if they need worming. Hope they work out well for you.
 

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