I currently only have 32 chicks. I am not sure how old they are... maybe two months old? I have a hodge podge mix... buff and black cochins, RIR mixes, sex links...
I have a small yard in a suburban area, but I still do not have nearly enough chicks. I have everything turned into garden now and the chicks love scratching around. I have them pretty well trained now and they free range daily.
A friend is giving me 16 white silkies that she is incubating now, plus she has her two silky hens sitting on eight more eggs that she says that she will probably have to give to me as well.
I would love to breed some rarer varieties!
Also, I am seriously thinking about breeding broiler chickens that will be a little slower in growth than the commercial jumbo cornish X-rocks, but much better for the home producer that wants to free range them. I want to get a good dark cornish rooster to breed with Plymouth barred rocks and white rocks to get colored broilers (safer from predators on the homestead) that will produce the good meat of the commercial hybrids, but would be free from the health issues that the commercial hybrids experience. Plus, they would be a little more vigorous and free range a bit making up for the lower feed conversion ratio.
What do you all think about that? Anyone interested in colored Cornish hybrid broilers for the homestead?