INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Needless to say, it's been hot over the past few days for us here. Well, I have always had this shallow metal pan available for the hens to drink from at the water spout, and occasionally I've dunked their feet in it on the hottest days. I've never seen one of them actually willingly get her feet wet like this, though!

Miss Kate the barred Plymouth Rock, chilling in the water:

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I found one of my younger not laying hens sitting in their water dish. She had actually broken the thing as it was just an empty ice cream gallon from blue bunny. I need to buy more ice cream now, but it is too hot to bring it home today.

 

[bradselig]

Good question! I have no clue. I was REALLY hoping to find all of my birds local next year and I'm planning on getting a couple CCL and I don't think any hatchery has those anyway. I only want to add 4-5 max to my flock.

I will have ccl, possibly blrw depending on this hatch, and maybe bantam barred lavender cochins Available next year. If you change your mind on the cochin being lf.

 

[bradselig]

Good question! I have no clue. I was REALLY hoping to find all of my birds local next year and I'm planning on getting a couple CCL and I don't think any hatchery has those anyway. I only want to add 4-5 max to my flock.

I ordered my spring chicks from meyer to be delivered in march the previous November.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: You keep tempting me with your hatching of BLRW. Once I get a bigger coop built I know I will be wanting some of your chicks.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: I think I at least waited till December but I was getting the pan fry deal, still I wanted them right before Easter.
But their birds do get ordered fast for Spring.

 

[hogster160]

I guess that depends on how well they graze while free ranging and the price they paid per chick. Here is a estimated price breakdown.
Price per chick including shipping ~ $1.50 - $2.50 depending on how many they get at once
Add in a factor for chickens that have heart failure and the price per chick goes up by $0.50-$1.0
Food, the Meyer website says a broiler will consume 14 pounds, that is the low end imo but I'll use it. Now a bag of meat chicken feed is higher in protein and costs more about 38 cents per pound plus time and gas to buy it. so That is about $5.50 per chicken on the low side with the price of gas now a days.
Then there are supplies I'm only going to count the consumable type supplies so no waterers, coops, feeders, or run costs. Not even going to add in the butchering supplies since it sounds like you are buying a live chicken, but you would need a cone, a knife, table, trash bags, freezer bags, lots of ice too. But supplies they have to buy each time, electrolytes (2 packages for 100 chicks $10) bedding for the brooder box and the coop. The meat birds poo a lot so at least $20-$30 for 100 chicks, water if not on a well is about $10 - $20 here for what 100 chicks would drink.
I'm sure I'm missing something but here is the total so far: $7.9 - $9.6. That does not factor in a pay for the time or effort put into raising the chicken.

I try to rehome any extra roosters I'm not in the mood to process. I ask a $10 rehoming fee to recoup some feed costs and help make sure they don't end up as fighter chickens. The non meat broilers typically eat more than $10 worth of food by the time they are processing size. And I'm not ordering in batches of 100 or more so my cost for a chick from the hatchery is typically $3-$4 including shipping.

Overall I would say just over $10 for a meat chicken ready to process is a very fair price.

If you get them on the grass by about 10 days they will learn to graze better and they will grow slower. Also once they get old enough start limiting their food intake. if they have grass and bugs then there comes a point when you can feed them once in the morning and once at night, and eventually just at night. If I have read the info correctly free ranging the meat chickens can delay their butchering date but it does not have too. In the end for a delayed butchering date with free ranging, the amount of chicken feed consumed is very close to the amount of an 8 week caged broiler.

They have an 8x8 shed that will be their coop, plus a 50x50 area with grass and bugs, apple trees. If they go through that, I will rotate their pen out the other direction for another 50x50 of fresh grass. I can do that on 3 sides of the shed. I didn't take into account all the materials needed for raising meat chickens, I have lots to learn, and am willing. Thanks for the rough total breakdown. We paid $2.81 per chick including shipping 1.67 w/o shipping.

I plan on having them outside and in the coop and free ranging by 2 weeks. I really don't want them in the house long at all. In fact, they will probably go to the brooder box in the garage in the next 3 days. I really just want to make sure they are all up and doing well after there trip in the mail. Its 8x3, so they should be ok in there for a week or so.

Thanks for all the info, it is much appreciated!

Deb

 

[SallyinIndiana]

It is hot out there today, I even brought the barn cat into the kitchen to cool off, he was panting. But then I kind of well forgot he was in the house. No big deal he went to sleep on a vent. Then of all things I decided to open up the Murry hatchery page. Well one of the links I clicked had a video that auto played tiny chicks chirping. The cat dashed from the vent to my computer speakers looking for those chicks. I have known for a while not not to trust him around any chicks smaller than a softball but still I was surprised.

 

[Quinstar]

I will have ccl, possibly blrw depending on this hatch, and maybe bantam barred lavender cochins Available next year. If you change your mind on the cochin being lf.

Well definitely put my name on a couple of CCL's and a BLRW if you end up with them. I can't wait until next spring!!!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Picked up some of these for the chickens that I have in common with my neighbors so that I can tell my girls from theirs and they look so stinking cute on their little legs. I was worried that it would bother them, but they don't seem to care. Super easy to put on and way better looking than those commercial bands. I'll post some pictures later so the ladies can show off their newest fashion accessories.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/25-Chicken-...194?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35cb30bb3a

How do you put those things on anyway?