It is about time!

[knobhillfarm]

Hello and welcome to BYC. I’m sure you will learn more than you can imagine if you hang around here a while, and you will be well prepared to start a flock when you’re ready.

 

[janiedoe]

Hello Ms. Janie Doe,

Is there NO way to save in SOME area of chicken raising? Saying "please, please, please" in my head. I ask because I am thinking egg laying chickens have been around for hundreds of years successfully and without all the modern contraptions around today.

I think it depends on your philosophy. My dad and my grandfather just let their hens roost in their barns. They had plenty, and if one disappeared occasionally, they didn’t notice.
I know all my birds. I have a different philosophy on life. I don't know if I'm more enlightened or just more sympathetic to their plight.
I take all animal lives seriously, whether they be pets or livestock. I respect others' views, but I feel a keen responsibility to my animals. I feed them well and I house them comfortably and securely. The initial investment for secure coops and runs was large. Feeding quality food isn't especially expensive, but I don't recover it in eggs. Of course, I give my excess eggs away.
Good luck, whatever you decide.

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

Our grandparents and our grandparents' grandparents raised chickens without relying exclusively on chickenfeed. We have over 30 hens and two roosters and we give them a half gallon of all-flock feed in the morning, scattered in a small area of the back pasture. They free range for the day in tall pasture grass (lots of bugs, plenty of seeds and grain since I occasionally sow oats, vetch and field peas) then we scatter another quart or so in the run in the evening to encourage them to come back to roost. We supplement that with kitchen scraps and leftovers. We get anywhere from 22-28 eggs a day during the spring, summer and early fall, dropping off to 12-15 during late fall through early spring.

We chose Ameracaunas and Rhode Island Reds; Ameracaunas because they're lighter bodies birds which free range well, productive egg layers and are pretty self-sufficient. RIR's because they're heavy layers of large brown eggs, they free range well and they are heavy-bodied and very tasty.

Choose birds that fill the role you've got- Ameracaunas look like a good fit because they check all the boxes- productive, don't require a ton of feed, free range well and brood chicks readily. I've got to add that they're delicious if you like dark meat. The roosters have small white breasts, everything else is as dark as wild duck. Yum.

Uwww, this SOUNDS EXCITING. Yeah, I like dark meat (and fatty meat as a carnivore eater). I tease the hubby "Once you go black you never go back"!

I read about a breed this weekend Dixie Rainbow (I think). Wonder how they fit in with free range vs feed? Perhaps I can find something here.

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

Hello and welcome to BYC. I’m sure you will learn more than you can imagine if you hang around here a while, and you will be well prepared to start a flock when you’re ready.

I believe it. Hope to be ready to run this fall. We are in SE GA so weather should not be a problem.

 

[Coops Dad]

Uwww, this SOUNDS EXCITING. Yeah, I like dark meat (and fatty meat as a carnivore eater). I tease the hubby "Once you go black you never go back"!

I read about a breed this weekend Dixie Rainbow (I think). Wonder how they fit in with free range vs feed? Perhaps I can find something here.

You can save money by building coops out of pallet wood, substituting cut-down buckets for waterers, using dried grass clippings for bedding and nesting materials, cut-down half milk crates as best boxes, etc. I have maybe $200 in my two coops, two chicken tractors and all the feeders and waterers.

Our chickens are healthy, thank God, and we've only had a small handful of losses to predators. We look at chicken keeping as a food source, not as pets. We cull excess roosters at 6-8 months and old, unproductive hens when they slow down laying between their second and third year.

We also raise turkeys for meat. That's where the feed bill gets expensive. Broad breasted turkeys are gluttons but they also free range very well; to put weight on quickly, heavy feeding in the morning and in the evening combined with free ranging all day is necessary. Turkeys eat a lot of grass and are top-tier predators on bugs, lizards and mice and mine are right at 25 lbs in 5 months.

Best luck!

 

[Coops Dad]

A few photos, maybe you'll find a little inspiration in some.

 

[Dr Evy]

Welcome to BYC Lyric. We’re so glad you joined and it’s so nice to meet you!

 

[Boppo]

Glad to meet you, Lyric! Isn't retirement the best?
Congratulations on your upcoming new homestead! I hope you enjoy reading around in the Learning Center (under Articles) about Coops Design, Security against Predators/Pests, and so much more. I believe there are folks here trying to do what your husband wants to do, raising chickens without feeding them (much or any??) feed. I think you can find articles showing the difference in chicken productivity, health and longevity (if he cares about that) when they get better nutrition, and use the foraging to supplement a good basic feed.

Best wishes with all your marital discussions and chicken endeavors!

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

Welcome to BackYard Chickens! We're glad that you've decided to pop in and join us, and we hope that you enjoy your stay.
Good luck with your chickening endeavors, and may God bless you and your husband.

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

Glad to meet you, Lyric! Isn't retirement the best?
Congratulations on your upcoming new homestead! I hope you enjoy reading around in the Learning Center (under Articles) about Coops Design, Security against Predators/Pests, and so much more. I believe there are folks here trying to do what your husband wants to do, raising chickens without feeding them (much or any??) feed. I think you can find articles showing the difference in chicken productivity, health and longevity (if he cares about that) when they get better nutrition, and use the foraging to supplement a good basic feed.

Best wishes with all your marital discussions and chicken endeavors!

Wellllll, I "retired" because my experience moving here to the south is that the pay is horrid. I would be practically paying the employer with the wages I have been offered here in S. Georgia. It was a fraction better in central Florida; not by much. So on a fixed income due to current circumstances we are ALL facing I now have to quickly figure out how to grow meat to feed myself. Thank goodness for this place and good folk like those here.