ISO Barred Rock/Orpingtons HOUSTON TX

[Rdonnelly1013]

Hello,

My husband and I are finally ready to add some chickens to our home. We're looking for adult birds Barred Rock and/or Orpingtons, either that are already laying or will soon be. We'd like to hatch/raise some, but feel like older birds would be best to give us an idea of what raising chickens is like without having to navigate too many of the things that come with chicks/young birds until we're better versed. We live in the Houston area (Manvel/Pearland) and would be very grateful if anyone has some to purchase or could point us in the right direction.

Thank you,

Racheal

 

[staceyj]

Hello,

My husband and I are finally ready to add some chickens to our home. We're looking for adult birds Barred Rock and/or Orpingtons, either that are already laying or will soon be. We'd like to hatch/raise some, but feel like older birds would be best to give us an idea of what raising chickens is like without having to navigate too many of the things that come with chicks/young birds until we're better versed. We live in the Houston area (Manvel/Pearland) and would be very grateful if anyone has some to purchase or could point us in the right direction.

Thank you,

Racheal

@Texas Kiki

Getting layers is fine and instantly gratifying, yes, but imho it can also be fraught with peril.

Meaning unless you’re very cautious you might be instantly infecting your property for years to come with a virus ( there are many). Its good to read up about biosecurity.
Or...
Wind up with birds that come to you under the guise of inaccurate age disclosure - past egg laying age, or with reproductive disorders
And
full of internal and external parasites.

PLUS, you’ll miss all the fun of raising them from tinys and the great anticipation of
“THAT FIRST EGG!”

 

[Rdonnelly1013]

You're right. I was thinking about that and will be reading up on it. Aside from raising hatching/raising baby chicks, what would be the next best thing? We don't have start up money for starting from zero with hatching, and were only looking to start with a relatively small flock. Thank you for the advice, and we will be reading more into that.

 

[staceyj]

If your goal isn’t raising or breeding chickens for show, there’s nothing wrong with starting out with chicks from a hatchery which you can buy starting this time of year from a local farmers supply store, plant and garden nursery, or feed store.
They only cost 2-3 dollars apiece.

There’s ton of ideas and articles on BYC about getting started and building brooder boxes but it can also be done on a “shoestring budget”

I started my little flock in a giant sized plastic tote.

The day before I got my chicks I had it set up in a spare room in my house and was ready to go.

Things I had to start out:

Tons of paper towels.
-*later learned that cheap puppy pads are easier
A heat lamp and thermometer (*you need a thermometer) plus an extra clamp for the lamp for safety.
A small bag of medicated chick starter
A bottle of nutridrench poultry vitamins
A small bag of chick grit which I didn’t introduce right away since they didn’t get treats to eat at first and it isn’t necessary until the intro. of foods other than starter.
A quart sized plastic waterer
A quart sized food container.
An old window screen in its frame and 4 bricks to hold it down in case they wanted to hop out or someone left the door open and the cat got in the room!

I was all set for the first few weeks.

The whole experience was a lot of fun.

I am editing here to add that I also bought the starter packet of sav-a-chick stuff that they have this time of year. It has a powder mix of probiotics and also electrolytes. *think chicken Gatorade. It’s great to have this on hand in case of emergencies.

 

[Rdonnelly1013]

Thank you for all that info! Will def be discussing it with my husband later. We were looking into started pullets (or older) because I was under the impression that the older ones would require less time/attention. Not that we don't intend to give them tons of attention and care, like all of our animals, but our work schedules don't allow for us to be too flexible or home too much at the moment, so we thought maybe older chickens could be a little more self-sufficent/safe without being attended to quite as much as babies.

 

[Redhead Rae]

Thank you for all that info! Will def be discussing it with my husband later. We were looking into started pullets (or older) because I was under the impression that the older ones would require less time/attention. Not that we don't intend to give them tons of attention and care, like all of our animals, but our work schedules don't allow for us to be too flexible or home too much at the moment, so we thought maybe older chickens could be a little more self-sufficent/safe without being attended to quite as much as babies.

You could buy started pullets from someplace like My Pet Chicken, but they will cost you an arm and a leg. Usually $30 each or more (depending on the breed) and that is BEFORE shipping.

 

[SFFJoshua]

Try Bird and Bee Farm in Rockdale. We went a couple of weeks ago and picked up some pullets. Nice people, clean setup. These are hatchery birds that they raise up to 2-6 mos old. Several of the birds we got from them have already started laying. They only order pullets from the hatchery, so the roos they have are oopses.

 

[Rdonnelly1013]

Thank you for the suggestion. That's exactly where we're headed next weekend, seems like a well-rated place.

 

[Kiki]

Hello,

My husband and I are finally ready to add some chickens to our home. We're looking for adult birds Barred Rock and/or Orpingtons, either that are already laying or will soon be. We'd like to hatch/raise some, but feel like older birds would be best to give us an idea of what raising chickens is like without having to navigate too many of the things that come with chicks/young birds until we're better versed. We live in the Houston area (Manvel/Pearland) and would be very grateful if anyone has some to purchase or could point us in the right direction.

Thank you,

Racheal

Ray's Feed Store on Cullen sells started pullets.
Production reds only but they lay eggs if that is what you are wanting.
He gets fresh stock in weekly.

(Going back to finish reading now)