Hello out there,
I've been lurking since I decided to get chicks in the late spring and finally decided to join so I could get some feedback. We started with a variety of day old chicks that arrived the first week of June. I wanted to try a bunch of different heritage breeds so that I could figure out which ones I like the best and have a nice colorful box of eggs sometime in the not too distant future. (They are approaching 17 weeks so I'm getting really excited awaiting that first egg.) Ended up with 2 each of these breeds: Ancona, Andalusian, Australorps, Faverolles, Barred Plymouth Rocks, Columbian Wyandottes, Dominiques, Silver Cuckoo Marans, Welsummer, Rhode Island Reds, Speckled Sussex, and for the colorful eggs I got 3 Easter Eggers.
That makes 25 chicks. What was I thinking?
I really wanted them to be pastured so my hubby and I set about making a chicken tractor. In case you are wondering it was a big project. Remember we're talking it needed enough space for 25 laying hens. It took us the better part of 3 months to get it on the road. But thats a story for another day. For over a week now they have been in the tractor with a fresh run of grass every day. They are sooo pleased!!!
We are on a 1.2 acre lot inside town limits. A little house with a big garden and yard. Thought some laying hens would be a nice addition. A few eggs. A lot of fertilizer. Didn't count on all these roosters. Chicken sexer was having an off day.
Looks like we have 6 roos and counting. 5 o'clock wake-up calls weren't what we were bargaining for. I'll be posting another thread asking for some advice to confirm my suspicions before I get in touch with the hatchery for my "big" refund.
So far we're really enjoying watching what we refer to as "chicken tv". Can't believe what distinct personalities they have!!!
I've been lurking since I decided to get chicks in the late spring and finally decided to join so I could get some feedback. We started with a variety of day old chicks that arrived the first week of June. I wanted to try a bunch of different heritage breeds so that I could figure out which ones I like the best and have a nice colorful box of eggs sometime in the not too distant future. (They are approaching 17 weeks so I'm getting really excited awaiting that first egg.) Ended up with 2 each of these breeds: Ancona, Andalusian, Australorps, Faverolles, Barred Plymouth Rocks, Columbian Wyandottes, Dominiques, Silver Cuckoo Marans, Welsummer, Rhode Island Reds, Speckled Sussex, and for the colorful eggs I got 3 Easter Eggers.
That makes 25 chicks. What was I thinking?
I really wanted them to be pastured so my hubby and I set about making a chicken tractor. In case you are wondering it was a big project. Remember we're talking it needed enough space for 25 laying hens. It took us the better part of 3 months to get it on the road. But thats a story for another day. For over a week now they have been in the tractor with a fresh run of grass every day. They are sooo pleased!!!
We are on a 1.2 acre lot inside town limits. A little house with a big garden and yard. Thought some laying hens would be a nice addition. A few eggs. A lot of fertilizer. Didn't count on all these roosters. Chicken sexer was having an off day.
So far we're really enjoying watching what we refer to as "chicken tv". Can't believe what distinct personalities they have!!!
