Hello from Kountze Texas!

Date sort Score sort
laurie5360

laurie5360

Hatching
5 Years
Sep 21, 2014
3
0
9
Kountze, Texas
Newly married...new home...new brood! Raised in the city, this is my first go round with my first animal that's not your typical car/dog. I located a local fowl farm and picked up one rooster and 4 hens...I am hoping to raise them for eggs only. Any hints suggestions or comments appreciated...
 
Welcome to BYC!
frow.gif
We're glad to have you.

First, I would get some more hens. You don't usually want fewer than eight to ten hens per rooster. Otherwise, your hens may get overmated and lose feathers. Or, you could get rid of the rooster. If all you want is eggs, a rooster isn't neccesary. Your only need a rooster if you want fertile eggs and want to hatch chicks. Hens are quite happy without roosters. You will still get all the eggs you can use, without troubles caused by roosters.

I would also check out the Learning Center: https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center It contains plenty of information on chickens and keeping them.

Good luck with your flock!
 
Last edited:
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
frow.gif


Congrats on your entirely new lifestyle!!! Wyandottes X2. You might want to add a few more hens to this group as one rooster can over mate a few hens and damage or even really hurt them. See how it goes and if this becomes an issues, be prepared to add to your flock.

If you do add to your flock, introduce them slowly. Don't just throw the new birds in. Keep the newbies in a cage or fenced off area but within the flock at all times. Keep them in this way for 3 or 4 weeks. Everybody sees, nobody touches. After about a month, you can then mix them in. Put out more feeding and watering stations as the older flock is going to guard these areas and can starve them out. It takes about a month or more after mixing for them all to really except one another. And always intervene if it turns bloody.

Enjoy this new journey you are on and welcome to our flock!
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

You need to introduce the new birds slowly. Use the see but don't touch method. Separate them from each other for at least two weeks. Then when you let them be together make sure they have extra feeders and waterers and hideaways. Bossy hens will hog the feeders and starve the other birds.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! You've gotten some good suggestions above, good luck with your new flock!
 
Thank you everyone for the great information!! I had my flock Inside a small coop/mini yard as we were building a larger fenced in area for them. As I opened the door to the coop, the rooster flew out and into a nearby tree where he's been ever since :/ not sure how to get him back down and it's dark outside now.... So my two questions are: what can I do? 2: should I be clipping their wings, and how?
 
Welcome to BYC!

You will find a lot of good information here. Keep on asking questions and you will get many good answers.

You may also want to read the FAQ below.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom