Hi everyone.
I'm Anna and I want chickens. And eggs. BUT, I have a few challenges:
1. I haven't been face to face with a live chicken since my grandpa's farm days...
2. We don't have any space here. Seriously. We live in a townhouse with a backyard the size of a postage stamp.
However, we are putting in a bid for a house in Mountain View, CA, that has a great big lot and my husband loves the idea of fresh eggs! IF we get the house we're bidding on, I am *definitely* getting chickens! I'm reading here now with hope that we'll get the house!
So my next question is, how does one start? I'd rather get a couple of young hens rather than try to incubate and raise chicks on my own. Is that possible? I have looked at the coop information and I could build something like that. So that's not a problem.
What's a good breed for new owners? It's okay here (in mountain view) to keep hens, but not roosters. I don't want meat producers, just eggs. Bantams sound great cuz we prefer the yolk to the whites and from what I've read, bantam yolks are the same size as standard but have less white. (True?)
So, when the breed info says "medium producer" how many eggs a day/week/month does that mean? I wouldn't want more than a couple hens. How many eggs would it be reasonable to expect with a small flock like that?
BTW, is a "broody" hen a good thing or a bad thing?
Thanks for such a great site. It's wonderful reading things here from people who are going through it! I look forward to joining ya'll in the coop.
I'm Anna and I want chickens. And eggs. BUT, I have a few challenges:
1. I haven't been face to face with a live chicken since my grandpa's farm days...
2. We don't have any space here. Seriously. We live in a townhouse with a backyard the size of a postage stamp.
However, we are putting in a bid for a house in Mountain View, CA, that has a great big lot and my husband loves the idea of fresh eggs! IF we get the house we're bidding on, I am *definitely* getting chickens! I'm reading here now with hope that we'll get the house!
So my next question is, how does one start? I'd rather get a couple of young hens rather than try to incubate and raise chicks on my own. Is that possible? I have looked at the coop information and I could build something like that. So that's not a problem.
What's a good breed for new owners? It's okay here (in mountain view) to keep hens, but not roosters. I don't want meat producers, just eggs. Bantams sound great cuz we prefer the yolk to the whites and from what I've read, bantam yolks are the same size as standard but have less white. (True?)
So, when the breed info says "medium producer" how many eggs a day/week/month does that mean? I wouldn't want more than a couple hens. How many eggs would it be reasonable to expect with a small flock like that?
BTW, is a "broody" hen a good thing or a bad thing?
Thanks for such a great site. It's wonderful reading things here from people who are going through it! I look forward to joining ya'll in the coop.
