Maine

[buckabucka]

I got the Meyer Hatchery catalog in the mail yesterday. Even though I have little room for more birds and have already planned my own hatch for next year, I went through page by page, folding down the corners to mark all the birds I want.

 

[mlowen]

I finished putting up the tarps and vinyl covers for the run part of my coop/run. I had a bunch of leftover 2x4 plexiglass panels that I used to cover the windows in the coop and I put some along the bottom of the south side of the run. The tarps I got were called "clear" but they have white fibers running through them, so they are great for light, but not great for seeing-so I put those on the far sides of the run. Home Depot has roles of 4 foot x 25 foot clear vinyl. It's pretty heavy and not too expensive--Frost King, $15.97. I built frames of 1x3's and screwed them onto the run on the south side (the side I "view" from) and then stapled the vinyl onto the wood with felt weather stripping on top. My theory is I can pull the staples out in the spring & roll up the vinyl for re-use, with the felt to make it easier to get needle-nosed pliers under the staples. We'll see....

 

[mntnmom]

I'm mostly looking for good egg layers who are willing to free-range-but hopefully not super skittish. If they're big enough to use for meat that's a plus. My next question was going to be about roosters. I know I'll want one eventually. Is it best to get them with the rest of the flock or from another breeder? Also- I know you don't want a roo too much larger than the girls. Does it cause problems if your rooster is a smaller breed? Oh- one more question: do most folks here mail order their chicks or find them locally? Any favorite local breeders?

 

[buckabucka]

I'm mostly looking for good egg layers who are willing to free-range-but hopefully not super skittish. If they're big enough to use for meat that's a plus. My next question was going to be about roosters. I know I'll want one eventually. Is it best to get them with the rest of the flock or from another breeder? Also- I know you don't want a roo too much larger than the girls. Does it cause problems if your rooster is a smaller breed?   Oh- one more question: do most folks here mail order their chicks or find them locally? Any favorite local breeders?

If you are looking for high egg production, I hear that gold comets are great (and not as skittish as leghorns), but I've never had them. I really liked the two Buff Chanteclers I had (still have one), but I would not use the word "production" in the same sentence. Mine were very broody.

I haven't met a chicken that wasn't willing to free-range.
I've never had a small rooster, but I imagine if he was too small your eggs would not be fertile, if that is something you are after.

My first chickens came from a hatchery. Most were nice quality. The advantage is having them sexed for you, but not all will be great quality birds. I also bought pullets locally, but if you add birds from more than one source, you'll need to quarantine, so you need some space. I have ordered hatching eggs from many locations. Only about 50% will hatch if they are shipped, and you'll have a bunch of roosters to grow out. It is a lot more work (and usually more money), but that is my favorite method for adding birds. And if you do order pullets from a hatchery, you will likely get at least one rooster, even if you don't want one.

I would recommend building a big coop, but starting small. If you are anything like me, your goals in chicken-keeping will be always changing.

 

[islandgirl82]

I'm mostly looking for good egg layers who are willing to free-range-but hopefully not super skittish. If they're big enough to use for meat that's a plus. My next question was going to be about roosters. I know I'll want one eventually. Is it best to get them with the rest of the flock or from another breeder? Also- I know you don't want a roo too much larger than the girls. Does it cause problems if your rooster is a smaller breed? Oh- one more question: do most folks here mail order their chicks or find them locally? Any favorite local breeders?

I have always gotten my chicks in-state but from various sources. I currently have a young cockerel and he's one of two 5 month old chicks and having a very difficult time establishing himself with the older ladies - very bottom of their order. He's also lacking in rooster etiquette; muscling his way through to get first dibs on food but hopefully the girls are able to teach him.

I've had two other roosters both of whom I got when they were mature and I have to say, I prefer it that way as it doesn't take nearly as long to see whether or not they're a good fit for your flock or for you. I adored one but he died fighting for his girls, the other I culled because he stressed them out far too much.

As you're looking for a productive flock that are also great foragers, here's a thread you may want to read through:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/466642/foraging-and-feed-effeciency-comparing-breeds

 

[IZZYBELLA]

I'm mostly looking for good egg layers who are willing to free-range-but hopefully not super skittish. If they're big enough to use for meat that's a plus. My next question was going to be about roosters. I know I'll want one eventually. Is it best to get them with the rest of the flock or from another breeder? Also- I know you don't want a roo too much larger than the girls. Does it cause problems if your rooster is a smaller breed? Oh- one more question: do most folks here mail order their chicks or find them locally? Any favorite local breeders?

My golden comets were fantastic layers. (By fantastic I mean laid an egg a day for as long as they lived.) They had hilarious personalities, too. The problem was that I did not find them to be good foragers, because they were not predator-savvy. While my other birds are always "on guard" when foraging, the comets were not and would go right up to anything without fear. Sadly, I lost my favorite hens to a fox for this reason. The coop hasn't been the same since. :-(

As boring as this seems, I have found barred rocks to be an overall solid bird... reliable layers, good in the cold, good foragers, tend to be higher up in the flock, and don't cause trouble. I have had mixed luck with buff orpingtons... some good, some not so good. I haven't had my other breeds (jersey giants and golden wyandotes) long enough to judge.

My birds are all hatchery stock. When I need to replenish my flock (planned, rather than last minute as it was this year), I plan to look for local breeders. If you choose the hatchery route, a lot of the hardware stores in the area allow you to order through them in the spring.

I don't have any roosters, so can't comment other than to say they are so funny to watch. My neighbors ended up with some this year.

 

[islandgirl82]

@mntnmom ,

I adore my Hamburg, she's a prolific layer, excellent forager and on high alert with potential threats. The breed is considered "flighty" but I have a different view on them. You can read my review (link in my signature) for more details of my experience with her. Hamburgs are small and prefer to forage over eating grain which makes them ideal when you want to keep costs way down. There are different varieties and people I've spoken with who have the Silver varieties find that their birds are targeted by predators due to the white feathering which makes them stand out against their environment. My girl is a Golden Spangled and I can't even find her when I KNOW I'm looking in the right area. They're decent fliers and don't handle confinement well which is another reason they're ideal for free-ranging. I'll be getting more Hamburg chicks in March from a farm in Gorham and refining my flock to these and Wyandottes which are a dual purpose and my 4 year old Wyandotte, though not as active in foraging as the Hamburg but still decent, is still giving me 4-5 eggs each week. The dual purpose hens may not lay as many eggs each year as laying breeds but their laying life is much longer (they don't burn out after a year or two).

 

[lazy gardener]

Islandgirl, you make me think that I need to add some Silver Spangled Hamburgs to my flock. I'm wondering if they are a bit less flighty than the leghorns I have. The SSH would result in an other sex linked option for me.

 

[islandgirl82]

Lazy Gardener, I'm very pleased with my girl's disposition. Granted, I've spent A LOT of time with her in particular. She has a major interest in anything I'm doing, regardless of what the rest of her flock mates are doing and I find that fun. I don't really handle her (unless it's straight off the roost at night) but my lack of trying to catch her only seems to make her more trusting of me. She takes foraging VERY seriously and it's fun to pick things up and drop them for her like a rooster would because she can't wait to get after it. She'll even sneak into the house if the door is open to nestle down beside me. For a breed dubbed "flighty" she seems anything but. I also notice that she sticks even closer to me when I've made a point to hold her when closing up the coop the night before.

I'm getting my spring chicks (both male and female) from the same guy I got her from and I guess I'll find out then if her demeanor has more to do with her strain or whether it's due to the amount of time I've spent with her. He also had the Silver Spangled variety if you really are interested. I got her started (10 weeks) and he normally doesn't sell them until they're at least 5 weeks but he's agreed to let me take them no later than 1 week (so long as I have a proper brooder). I did tell him I'm looking to get them as young as possible to imprint in hopes of not having a skittish flock.

 

[islandgirl82]

The only "drawback" is the eggs are small so when baking with them, I use twice as many but that's only minor to me.