Marie wanna be a newbie....

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magdalene74

magdalene74

In the Brooder
5 Years
Jun 1, 2014
29
8
31
so my husband and i have always wanted a piece of land and a few animals, but we could never afford it I grew up that way and we could never afford it either but we did it anyway, and i never really wanted to do it that way, never wanted to be in debt, and my mom knew that. Well she just recently passed away (feb 19th) and she left us with a small life insurance policy that i believe she meant to help us get that little farm to raise her grandkids on. At least i hope thats what she wants, cause that is what we are trying to do. We dont have the land or anything yet but the check, but i am already planning things out in my mind. I know we want chickens and at least a milk cow to start with, and hubby wants horses :) So i figured we would start here. What are the best bullet proof egg layers to get? There are six of us and it would be nice to at least get breakfast out of em so what, 20? How much do you have to feed them, especially in the winter? Ive been lurking every once in a while and i really like the idea of a movable coop type deal, happy medium between out pooping on everything and dying to predators, including our own cats, and being cooped (haha) up and unable to get fresh grass, weeds, and buggies. Am i nuts? Ideas? You guys seem like a great group and i spent forever on the egg recipe line when i first found this place a while back, then i left cause it looked like a pipe dream and was making me sad heh, but now the check is in the bank, and like hubby said, somewhere out there someone has a perfect little piece of ground and wants our money, so it WILL happen this time, hopefully soon :). Oh, and im Marie, Thanks for your help!!
 
We have ducks and live in town. Some ducks lay more then chickens and from what I read tend to be healthier. We just got are ducks a few weeks ago and I LOVE them! I don't know much about chickens, my aunt has them but I prefer ducks. Anyone on a chicken thread should be able to help you decide on a good breed, or breeds that work best for you. My aunt has gotten a few each year and is growing her flock.... That's what I would do if I were you. Start with six or eight then see what you think :) I do however have lots of experience with horses. My grandma use to always tell people who said "oh I love your horses, I want to get a horse"...... Well "before you get a horse throw $100 away in the trash every month" when tey asked why, she said "that's what you do with a horse". Only I bet with all hers she spent more then that sometimes. When people asked why she had horses she was just like "well I like them!" Lol!
I'm sorry for the lose of your mother, but am happy your dream of a farm is coming true. I hope you find the perfect place soon. We someday hope to have the same.... although no horses :) but a pig and cow for sure. I hope you find a good fit for chicken! I here Easter eggers are good ad they lay all kinds of colored eggs! Would be a hit with your grand kids!
 

Welcome to BYC!
frow.gif
Please make yourself at home and we are here to help! Some great cold hardy egg layers include; australorps, buff orpingtons, speckled sussex, leghorns, RIR, EEs and Sex-links. Buff orps, australorps, speckled susex are all friendly. Sex links, RIR and leghorns are on the skittish and mean side. Ducks are great also! Feed the chickens scratch in the winter and always keep layer feed avilable. Be sure to stop buy out leaning center also; lots of great stuff there! Mobile coops are handy. However, they are generally small, (so you can't keep as many birds inside) and lightweight.

Again, welcome!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/chicken-breeds
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...s-in-your-city-the-basics-of-raising-chickens
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/advice-for-first-time-chicken-owners
http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2012/10/cold-weather-prep-winterizing-your-flock.html
http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2013/08/how-to-build-chicken-tractor.html
http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2013/03/what-kind-of-chickens-should-i-raise.html
 
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Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! Good luck with your search for a farm. You might want to check out/ post in your state thread for chicken keeping neighbors, maybe someone will have an idea of areas for you to look at https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread
You might like to check out the BYC Learning Center, lots of good articles on all aspects of chickens and poultry keeping in general you'll find helpful. https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
and the Coops section for ideas on coops, the Tractor section has a lot of movable coops you might find interesting www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coop_Designs
Here are a couple of links to some nice chicken breed comparison charts you might like http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html and http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/chickenbreedcomparison.pdf when you have narrowed down your choices, don't forget to check the BYC Reviews section for member reviews on the different breeds. https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/chicken-breeds
So far as layer breeds go, for egg numbers alone, especially if you are going to replace your birds when they slow down laying, the White Leghorns for white and the Red Sex Links (Golden Comet, Red Stars, ISA Browns etc) for brown eggs are probably the most popular layers around. If you want breeds that don't lay quite as well but will lay for a longer time, Orpingtons (lots of people really like these, great pets though broody), Australorps, Plymouth Rocks, Sussex, Delaware and Wyandottes are some other popular breeds that are usually pretty easy to get along with, they all lay different shades of brown eggs. For a colorful egg basket the Easter Egger, often sold as Ameraucana by hatcheries, are a fun breed because they usually lay green/blue eggs, and they tend to be very nice birds, and then there are the Welsummer and Marans for dark brown eggs.
 
Alice28 said:
We have ducks and live in town. Some ducks lay more then chickens and from what I read tend to be healthier. We just got are ducks a few weeks ago and I LOVE them! I don't know much about chickens, my aunt has them but I prefer ducks. Anyone on a chicken thread should be able to help you decide on a good breed, or breeds that work best for you. My aunt has gotten a few each year and is growing her flock.... That's what I would do if I were you. Start with six or eight then see what you think
smile.png
I do however have lots of experience with horses. My grandma use to always tell people who said "oh I love your horses, I want to get a horse"...... Well "before you get a horse throw $100 away in the trash every month" when tey asked why, she said "that's what you do with a horse". Only I bet with all hers she spent more then that sometimes. When people asked why she had horses she was just like "well I like them!" Lol!
I'm sorry for the lose of your mother, but am happy your dream of a farm is coming true. I hope you find the perfect place soon. We someday hope to have the same.... although no horses
smile.png
but a pig and cow for sure. I hope you find a good fit for chicken! I here Easter eggers are good ad they lay all kinds of colored eggs! Would be a hit with your grand kids!
Click to expand...
lol my grandma always said "buy a horse lose your A**"
 
keith92 said:
lol  my grandma always said "buy a horse lose your A**"
Click to expand...


I think are grandmas would get along! Mine can be pretty funny! We had are wedding reception at my grandmas house and when my husbands dad told her how beautiful her place was (it was beautiful!) she told him "well maybe if you play your cards right half of this could be yours!" Lol! She has dementia now and can't remember much and had to sell the house and land, but she use to be pretty good with her come backs! Never lost for words!
 
Thanks for the welcomes guys!! Lots of reading there for me, i appreciate it. Yeah we know horses are an expensive pain, i had them growing up and often we did without because the horses needed things, BUT, there is also a big return on investment with the pleasure they give :) Hubby basically wants to get a couple fillys and raise em with the kids like dogs LOL. So they will be loyal or something. I just looked at him LOL. Horses will be what they are, and their temperaments vary widely hehe. You do have some influence when you raise them from the teat, but they are NOT dogs hehe. The chickens will be easier :) We had a few ducks once and i remember them as being a bit messier and harder to deal with than the chickens, but my mom may not have been doing it right, or she just may have had a difficult breed. I remember she had a kiddy pool for them... an i think they were white.
 

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