Hello from NW PA!

Pics
Date sort Score sort
BY Bob said:
Welcome to BY Chickens. You are going to love it here.

Something very important to consider when choosing your breeds is why you want them and what your long term plan is.

If you are looking for pets and for having the chickens for a long time, 6 years or longer, I would stay away from heavy egg laying breeds like Leghorns and Rhode Island Reds. If the description says prodigious layers then they are prone internal issues and tend to have short lifespans.

If you are getting them primarily for eggs you will want to cycle your hens anyway as they tend to slow down after 3 to 4 years.

There are compromise breeds that lay well but don't burn out as fast.

Do some research and understand what you are getting into.

Regardless of the breed, and I have 6 different breeds in my flock, they all are fabulous at tick control. I have not seen ticks since I got my first couple of hens and my daughter's dog was always finding a tick in our yard.

More than anything else, you are about to embark on a great journey with some fabulous fascinating animals. Congratulations!
Click to expand...
Thank you! We do have 'pets', but so far, chickens have only been egg-layers around here! So, we would be looking primarily for egg layers and tick control!!
 
Tre3hugger said:
Welcome. Your animal variety and uses are so versatile and awesome. Glad to have you and your knowledge here. How mobile/what materials is your chicken tractor?
Click to expand...
Thank you! We have a chicken wire fence for times we wish to keep the chickens out of harm's way. They have a house built on skids that can be pulled by our tractor, and is movable around the farm and the yard. It does have an attached nesting boxes.
 
06kids said:
Thank you! We do have 'pets', but so far, chickens have only been egg-layers around here! So, we would be looking primarily for egg layers and tick control!!
Click to expand...
You can't beat leghorns for eggs. My Daisy laid 360 eggs in 365 days at one point. She passed at 3.5 years if age from an internal issue. None of my leghorns made it past that. I no others whose leghorns have but my 4 did not.

They are however very curious and will fly. Great personalities if you take the time to work with them. I had her trained very well.
 
Welcome to Backyard Chickens! 🐔

Feel free to drop in and share your flock

Updates for 2020 with us here in my 2020 flock life thread



https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/2020-flock-life.1351080/

FE0C48EA-65A4-4902-8F24-D102C001AEFA.jpeg


It’s nice to meet you!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom