Keeping Broilers As Layers

[Wilson Chickens]

Sounds like the lady is a good natured chicken lover that is poorly informed or doesn't want to learn. Has she been doing poultry long do you know?

As far as I know the lady has been doing poultry for 2 or 3 years. She actually lives within city limits and has a mixed variety of 10 hens right now and is in the process of looking for a rooster so she can hatch and sell the chicks.

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

As far as I know the lady has been doing poultry for 2 or 3 years. She actually lives within city limits and has a mixed variety of 10 hens right now and is in the process of looking for a rooster so she can hatch and sell the chicks.

2 or 3 years is not a real long time. For anything for that matter. Most of how I learn is thru doing. Yes I read a lot and research for days and days straight but until I actually DO it I don't feel I "know" something. 1 year's success can be 3 years straight of failure, a learning curve. I am not saying all people are the same,
All in all I don't think anyone ever stops learning something. They may know a lot or have decades of experience but a true know it all is not likely.
Kudos to people trying to get an enterprise going in poultry, I am trying myself. But its a learning experience that will never end. And I try things before I etch them in stone, even then I use caution year after year doing the same thing as I ever did.

 

[LindaB220]

2 or 3 years is not a real long time. For anything for that matter. Most of how I learn is thru doing. Yes I read a lot and research for days and days straight but until I actually DO it I don't feel I "know" something. 1 year's success can be 3 years straight of failure, a learning curve. I am not saying all people are the same,
All in all I don't think anyone ever stops learning something. They may know a lot or have decades of experience but a true know it all is not likely.
Kudos to people trying to get an enterprise going in poultry, I am trying myself. But its a learning experience that will never end. And I try things before I etch them in stone, even then I use caution year after year doing the same thing as I ever did.

You are so correct 5 Acre. I researched on the forum for 7 months before I even got my chickens. 7 wks old now and I just bought hatchery as a learning curve. Now I'm ready to expand into quality breeds and I think I'm going with good White Rocks. Can't go wrong with them.

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

You are so correct 5 Acre. I researched on the forum for 7 months before I even got my chickens. 7 wks old now and I just bought hatchery as a learning curve. Now I'm ready to expand into quality breeds and I think I'm going with good White Rocks. Can't go wrong with them.

You can if you want colored birds

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

And as an after thought some people see the "Perfect chicken book (Insert copyrighted title of book here)" you know the "all you ever need to know about chickens" type and figure that that book contains EVERYTHING there is to know. Some where here at the house I have a book from the 40's or 50's on poultry, pretty much from A-Z, its a college text book actually and is like 600 pages if I remember right and even that doesn't have everything. I have check out a couple books from the library or saw them online and I was like....... "Where is the info?" Some of them are, in my eyes, rather biased. The author's weigh their favorite breeds a lot more than all breeds in general. It does bother me that some people read these books and think "Yep that's everything." And other than adding a few pictures most of the information can be found online in simple and FREE form under general searching of raising poultry. http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/ppp/pppToC.html like this. Actually has a lot more info than some of the "perfect poultry" books. But since its outdated and not fancy with a $$$ price on it a lot of people don't think its worthwhile. I read a lot, not just on poultry, and take a lot of grains of salt with what I take in. Even if I read it in 10 out of 10 books, because I know that maybe for some reason the author learned or read the info somewhere and decided that was correct, not that some of the info is wrong, just taken as common fact. Like BO being broody type stuff. Anyway gonna take a nap. 2 hours sleep getting me.

 

[Wilson Chickens]

My dad always said you can read all you want but you need hands on and another favorite he always told me was Trial and error you need trial and error. I tried with golden comet chicks last year and had ups and downs with them. Like starting out with 6 chicks and 3 out of the 6 only making it to laying age. The first two my german shepherd got ahold of and the 3rd one was snatched by a hawk. I've got one golden comet now and a black Wyandotte bantam rooster that my step son picked up but the rooster from what I've heard isn't a purebred so there's more trial and error as far as going on the word of someone saying their birds are purebred but anyhow I am constantly researching and learning so I can try to get a decent start in the chicken business so to speak.

 

[LindaB220]

And as an after thought some people see the "Perfect chicken book (Insert copyrighted title of book here)" you know the "all you ever need to know about chickens" type and figure that that book contains EVERYTHING there is to know. Some where here at the house I have a book from the 40's or 50's on poultry, pretty much from A-Z, its a college text book actually and is like 600 pages if I remember right and even that doesn't have everything. I have check out a couple books from the library or saw them online and I was like....... "Where is the info?" Some of them are, in my eyes, rather biased. The author's weigh their favorite breeds a lot more than all breeds in general. It does bother me that some people read these books and think "Yep that's everything." And other than adding a few pictures most of the information can be found online in simple and FREE form under general searching of raising poultry. http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/ppp/pppToC.html like this. Actually has a lot more info than some of the "perfect poultry" books. But since its outdated and not fancy with a $$$ price on it a lot of people don't think its worthwhile. I read a lot, not just on poultry, and take a lot of grains of salt with what I take in. Even if I read it in 10 out of 10 books, because I know that maybe for some reason the author learned or read the info somewhere and decided that was correct, not that some of the info is wrong, just taken as common fact. Like BO being broody type stuff. Anyway gonna take a nap. 2 hours sleep getting me.

Another option Google/Books and search for poultry or chickens or poultry breeding I have about 50 old free books 1875 and on. Sooooo good.
Another that 3riverchicks turned me on to was biodiversitylibrary.org.

 

[LindaB220]

My dad always said you can read all you want but you need hands on and another favorite he always told me was Trial and error you need trial and error. I tried with golden comet chicks last year and had ups and downs with them. Like starting out with 6 chicks and 3 out of the 6 only making it to laying age. The first two my german shepherd got ahold of and the 3rd one was snatched by a hawk. I've got one golden comet now and a black Wyandotte bantam rooster that my step son picked up but the rooster from what I've heard isn't a purebred so there's more trial and error as far as going on the word of someone saying their birds are purebred but anyhow I am constantly researching and learning so I can try to get a decent start in the chicken business so to speak.

Sometimes it's tough. I live in rural area so I can't really free range. Too many big dogs down the road. So I'm predator proofing my area as good as I can. The coop is fine but I still need to do a sturdy run for them. And since I live on rock dirt I'm gonna have to rent an auger to just dig holes for my poles. Baby steps. I can only pay so much each month to have each step payed for.

 

[Wilson Chickens]

Sometimes it's tough. I live in rural area so I can't really free range. Too many big dogs down the road. So I'm predator proofing my area as good as I can. The coop is fine but I still need to do a sturdy run for them. And since I live on rock dirt I'm gonna have to rent an auger to just dig holes for my poles. Baby steps. I can only pay so much each month to have each step payed for.

I hear ya LindaB. I live out in the country so I'm constantly keeping an eye out for predators. My coop like yours is pretty solid so predators can't get in but the run is a work in progress. I have to extend it out since we're getting more laying hens and we also have to get a separate run set up for the bantam rooster. My step son said to just put the bantam rooster in with my golden comet hen right now but as I tried to explain to him I don't want the bantam breeding the golden comet and ending up with "mutt" chicks. My hubby is also working on putting chicken netting or wire on the top of the run so no flying predators can swoop down and snatch up the hens or if we have small chicks later on down the road they can't be carried off either. Unfortunately we have to do baby steps as well if it involves money but there's been quite a few things we've gotten done with scraps around the farm. My hens run is made from scrap wood that we had left over from building the horse pasture, she is nesting in a milk crate we had lying around and her feed is kept in a 5 gallon bucket that held pickles for a restaurant in town lol.