INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Does anybody have a link to this heat tape? I have never used it or heard of it. I am assuming I is pretty easy to use

 

[twoboystwogirls]

Not sure yet . I'm wanting egg layers, at the moment I'm liking the buff ophington?. Is it best to have a mixed breed of chickens?

Most people I know have multiple breeds but I think it's because chickens are like flowers-the variety looks so pretty when in a bunch.

 

[twoboystwogirls]

Does anybody have a link to this heat tape? I have never used it or heard of it. I am assuming I is pretty easy to use

I'm thinking it is the type of heat tape you can buy at Menards for plumbing. My cousin has a bath in the attic and has to use heat tape to stop water pipes from freezing. She has gotten it from Menards and then it just needs an outlet to plug it in.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I'm thinking it is the type of heat tape you can buy at Menards for plumbing.  My cousin has a bath in the attic and has to use heat tape to stop water pipes from freezing.  She has gotten it from Menards and then it just needs an outlet to plug it in.

Oh ok. Thanks

 

[ChickCrazed]

Not sure yet . I'm wanting egg layers, at the moment I'm liking the buff ophington?. Is it best to have a mixed breed of chickens?

I think the mix is fun, you get to experience the different personalities and can get a mixed egg basket with blue, green, several shades of brown, pink and chocolate eggs! It is really fun to have mixed colors when giving eggs to friends or family!

Some breeds are super timid and flighty, some will be chasing you around for treats, some will jabber and talk to you nonstop, some are super mean to their flock mates. If you get all one breed you will either get really lucky or really unlucky and be stuck with what you get!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Not sure yet . I'm wanting egg layers, at the moment I'm liking the buff ophington?. Is it best to have a mixed breed of chickens?

I haven't had any orpingtons but I've heard that they are not feed thrifty..... meaning they eat a LOT more than some other breeds that have as good of egg production.

But...that's just what I've heard. I don't know that by first hand experience. Others may have something to say about that

 

[hoosiercheetah]

Not sure yet . I'm wanting egg layers, at the moment I'm liking the buff ophington?. Is it best to have a mixed breed of chickens?

Most people I know have multiple breeds but I think it's because chickens are like flowers-the variety looks so pretty when in a bunch.

When I started, I was pretty adamant about a couple of breeds I was interested in, but I ended up with Orps, golden comets, an easter egger, RIRs, and an onery Wellsummer/Brown Leghorn mutt.

Personally, I'd rather have all one kind of chicken that are superior egg layers, but I also think the differences between breeds can sometimes be slight - my Reds lay as well as the Comets, but the comets eggs are slightly larger. Some of it comes down to the individual hens.

As far as temperament goes, from everything I've read, it's really a matter of every hen having their own personality, breed seems to be secondary to individuality. Some people will say Breed X is evil and anti-social because they had one chicken like that, others will swear the same breed makes great house pets. And I've heard both of those extremes spoken about almost every breed I've read up on.

Having said all that, if your primary goal is making eggs, there are some breeds that are specifically bred for the job. There's a reason the big commercial places use Leghorns. You can have both chicken variety and good egg production with a little luck - as I said, I've had good results with RIRs and GCs, they definitely eat less than my Orp.

Are you building a run on the coop, or will your flock totally free range?

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: It depends on why you wnt the chickens. Variety is fun to look at and children like to be able to name their chicken. if you are trying to save money and are in it just for the eggs, then the black stars and red stars are about the best feed conversion to eggs for brown eggs. Leghorns will lay good sized white eggs and eat much less than a buff orpington.
If you are wanting to be able to have chicken stew, then a heritage breed is worth considering.
And of course your chickens will be in your yard for you to watch so you should like the looks of them. I have some of my chickens just for how they look. I'm sure there are others on here that would admit to having a specific chicken just because they like it for looks or personality.
For meat chickens white rocks and cornix crosses are the best for you money.

Quote: The buff orpingtons that I have raised have not been any friendlier than the other breeds. Granted they were from an hatchery. The few that turned out to be roosters were not nice and even rivaled my original production RIR roosters in meaness. The only thing that truly kept the hatchery buff roosters from attacking me was their weight. They were culled long before they reached their full weight as I was a bit nervous that their legs would catch up with their weight and then they would be tiny ninjas chasing me or the children.
Buffs eat a ton and for me the weight they gained did not match up with their growth either. So it cost more to get them to grow to a larger size. It would cost more in feed to keep them that large and the eggs they lay are not any larger than my other layers.
Due to this high feed cost, I have sold every buff I had.

It is fun to raise the different breeds, but it is more fun to keep the ones I really enjoy.

For this reason I typically recommend people get a mixed lot of chickens to start with.

 

[IndiesChix]

Thanks for all the info. I will probably change my.mind a hundred times about which breed to get before spring arrives. Sounds like the orpington is expensive, which I'd rather stay away from, already feeding a horse,goats,cats,dogs, and teenage children.....I want to stay on the cheaper side of things!

 

[Leahs Mom]

teenage children.....I want to stay on the cheaper side of things!

Well.... you can start by trading in the teenagers.....