Hi Im new!! Tips please

[Ravenxxx]

Hi just thought i would say hi

to everyone as im new to this site and new to the chicken world.

Ill tell you a little about myself first, my name is Raven and im from England. I own two horses a two dogs. I have moved to my own yard last summer and now im thinking of having some chickens around. I would like to have girls so i can collect their eggs. Ive read a little about chickens but just wanted everyone best tip please also.

Just a few questions..

Can you eat most eggs form different breeds?

Can you mix breeds to live together?

How do you stop chickens wondering away if they are free range?

How do you get them into pens at night?

Also do you feed them while they are out in the day or when they come back to coupe at night?

Sorry if these sound a little basic but i cant find the questions anywhere lol

So tell me a little about yourself and your BEST tip to a newbie chicken owner.

 

[thechickenfarmer]

Hi Ravenxxx,
Welcome! Chickens are great and you should get some for sure! Getting a variety of breeds is a good way to go. That way over time you may decide that you like some better than others and build a flock that's really special. You can certainly eat all your chicken eggs and the fun part of having a diverse flock is getting eggs in different colors. Look at this link, it will help you see what breeds lay what color eggs as well as other info.

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

You can mix breeds together but if you have Bantams then you don't want standard size chickens. It's best to decide what size chicken you want before pick a breed. If you want nice sized eggs then I would choose standard sized hens. In England you have access to many wonderful breeds. Another fun website is:

http://www.omlet.co.uk/homepage/homepage.php

If you click on "breeds" at the top they have great photos of many different breeds.

I subsrcibe to two magazines from England that are great. Practial Poultry and Country Smallholding, both have good chicken articles.

Regarding your free ranging question. Chickens tend to stay fairly close to their coop and food and water source. If you have neighbors that will mind them "visiting" or if you have dogs or other preditors to worry about then you will want a fenced in area. My chickens free range and sometimes go to my neighbors but it's not a problem for them. Chickens can't see in the dark so they will put themselves to bed all by them selves. As the sun goes down they will get closer and closer to the coop and then just before dark they will all be inside. It's as easy as that as long as you keep them in their new coop for at least a couple of weeks so they know where home is.

I keep food and water available to them all day. Right now I have lots of snow and ice on the ground here in Connecticut so it's more important to keep their food and water full. When they start free rangeing again in the spring they will eat a lot less of their food in the coop.

I hope all this helps and you decide to get chickens. It's a very fun hobby! Good luck,

Jen

Oh I almost forgot....I think my best tip for raising chickens would be to handle them a lot in the beginning so they are nice and friendly. If you wait until you have to for a medical reason or some other reason then you will have a struggle on your hands not to mention stress for you and the chicken.

 

[thechickenfarmer]

Hi again,
I almost forgot to mention my favorite web site for beginning with chickens. The "hen cam" is fun to watch too!

Jen

http://www.chickenkeeping.com/

 

[jimnjay]

Welcome Raven, I am sure you will enjoy haveing chickens as well as participating in the forum. I have nothing to add to what the chicken farmer has advised. I agree as well that you have some very nice birds in England that are not available over in the US. Enjoy!

 

[mudhen]

Welcome to the site, Ravenxxxx! Check out the home page for a few links on the basics, but thechickenfarmer seems to have covered it perfectly.
By the way, thechickenfarmer, thanks for that link. I hadn't run across it before!
Ravenxxx, add yourself to the BYC map http://www.frappr.com/byc and keep us posted as your flock grows!

 

[Ravenxxx]

Aww thanks peeps for your welcome, info and links.

I cant wait to get my first bunch of chickens. Im not rushing as im wanting to get everything ill need before hand im a bit of a perfectionist and must have everything just so lol.

Ill keep everyone informed on who i go and ill get pics of my first chickens )when i decided which breed!!)

PS THIS IS WHAT OUR LOCAL BREEDER HAS AVAILABLE ANY OF THESE PERTICULAR SIMPLE TO CARE FOR OR GOOD FOR A FIRST TIME CHICKEN OWNER, AND ARE THERE ANY THAT MIGHT BE MORE AGRESSIVE TOWARDS EACH OTHER?
Araucana
Black Rock
Brahma
Cochin
Cream Legbar
Dutch Bantam
Frizzle
Lincolnshire Buff
Maran
Minorca
Naked Neck
Orpington
Pekin Bantam
Plymouth Rock
Rhode Island Red
Sebright
Sussex
Welsummer
Wyandotte

 

[keljonma]

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[TheBigWRanch]

I've kept Bantams with Standards off and on for about 10 years without a single problem. I have to say that Bantams are more for looking at, they don't lay as many eggs a year, and they lay eggs that are about half the size of standard breeds, so if you are only interested in eggs, than get standards, but if you want something cute and colorful, than add a few bantams to your flock! I could never live without my bantams, their my favorite. All the bantams on your list are great breeds, so you can't go wrong.

 

[Kay]

I am new to this site and am eager to learn more about establishing a flock of chickens. I've turned in my letter of intent to resign, have promised my grandkids that we would get chickens like we had when their parents were little and can hardly wait to get started again. (My 90-day notice is now down to 81.) Our first chickens were rescued from Tyson (or some similar hatchery) and were just wonderful in spite of their relative advanced age. We sold our home in Ohio, left the chickens with the new homeowners, and moved to a restricted community. Now, 25 years later, we are back in the "country" or at least have enough room (2.8 acres) that we can pretty much enjoy the country life. I need organic material for our garden and no one seems to understand that need! So, I am eager for information on building a coop, buying a few chicks to start, and any other helpful information you might be willing to share. This time I would like to have some variety in breeds, but want the primary characteristics to be willingness to be handled and to produce a few eggs for us to enjoy. Thanks! Kay

 

[mom'sfolly]

I'm new to chickens too, but I love my four girls. I have two different flavors of red sex-linked and two americaunas/easter eggers. My americauna girls are beautiful but very stand-offish, and the red girls are sweet. One would move into the house if allowed. I read here recently that some americaunas/easter eggers are crossed with leghorns and makes for flighty birds. Read lots of the postings here, especially on the different breeds before you buy. People here are great and have so much knowledge to share. I would like more chckens and still haven't decided if I'll go for beauty, freindliness, egg color or some other characteristic if I get more. Mine are pets so personality will probably a deciding factor.

Karen