my first time having chickens; any advice?

[PoultryGirly]

Barred rocks and plymouth rocks are pretty much the same thing!

 

[Kagu]

Lol, thats why i said plymouth/barred rock

 

[sdsmowen]

We are new to chickens this year but have had a wonderful time with our girls. there is a wonderful section on here about coops that i highly reccomend you look at. for just a few chickens I bet the A frame style coop and run would work very well.

I get our feed from a mill but its $11 for 50 lbs. I think you have to watch the medicated feed if you want chickens that produce eggs but i will let someone with more experience tackle that one.

I have found our leghorns to be very flighty/skitish and the production reds to be the friendliest.

Best of luck to you!

 

[mfpif16]

I did look at orpingtons also, but I think my favorite is still the plymouth rock. I'm going to look into the golden sexlink.

 

[Kagu]

Oh, well, I hate sexlinks and productions, so I didn't remember them

 

[mfpif16]

oh. what are productions?

sorry, I am feeling stupid among you people. lol.

here is the coop I will probably get: http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Chicken-Coops/Eglu-Go-Up-to-4-chickens-p790.aspx

 

[mfpif16]

oh, wait, I lied, THIS is the one I am getting.http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Chicken-Coops/The-Briar-up-to-3-chickens-p690.aspx

 

[smedly9921]

I think you should go with barred rock hens they are great chickens. Also try Ebay for an affordable chicken coop for your application. With 5 hens a 50lb bag of feed should last a month. You will also need oyster shell, sunflower seeds, and treats to keep the happy and healthy. Make sure you prepair for the winter in your area as far as keeping them warm. Start small then expand if it all works out. Don't even worry about incubators yet buy some chicks and start there.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I have had chickens for a little over a year now. I started out with three pullets and got three different breeds to see what I liked. I later got 3 more girls and started them as chicks, again different breeds to try. I was glad that I started with pullets because they are a little easier to take care of for the first time.

If you want a chicken that is very friendly and is a good pet, I personally think Silkies are the best. (my avatar is a Silkie if you are not familiar with them) They are very sweet and silly and friendly. But, they are not good egg layers. You can always have a few chickens that are more pets and a few that are for eggs. For egg laying chickens I have liked Rhode Island Reds and White Leghorns the best so far.

My leg laying chickens were not very friendly at first but I would sit every afternoon in the yard very still and quiet and throw mealworms to them. I would throw them a little closer to me each time just little each day. Within a week they would eat out of my hand and now they trust me and are friendly.

For your research I would also recommend reading about apple cider vinegar and diatomaceous earth (food grade) to help keep your hens healthy.

Good luck!

 

[Kagu]

oh. what are productions?

sorry, I am feeling stupid among you people. lol.

here is the coop I will probably get: http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Chicken-Coops/Eglu-Go-Up-to-4-chickens-p790.aspx

Its fine, lol. Iike production red, or production black, really its just a 'breed' of hen that lay brown eggs and are most comonnly used as the 'free range' brown egg laying hens.

Nice coop!


ChickensRdinosaurs- you don't need BOSS to keep them healthy, a mixture of treats will keep them healthy with a little yogurt but again they dont NEED it. Sorry just you made it sound like you Need it,