Need Help Choosing Chicks

[willheveland]

How many chickens do you want?
Do you want just eggs or meat too?
Do you want to hatch chicks?
How much room do you have?
Welcome to the forum. Will

 

[blueskylen]

Hi,

this post also partially answers a question that I have too.
Our first stab at chicken raising and we just got a small flock of peeps - 4 Buff's, 5 Austrolorps, and 3 Americanus- all less than 4 weeks old. (We also got 28 red broilers for meat and keep them seperated, but my question is not about them)

My Hubby says that he thinks that we should get a rooster to keep them all in line and no pecking each other,etc. - what would be the best and nicest to us rooster for a group like this?

thanks
mary

 

[willheveland]

Quote:
If you want a rooster with your flock I might try a Buff Orpinton.But I don't think he will stop the pecking each other.They still will have a pecking order.He may just protect them better.He may even cost you some eggs due to the stress he'll bring from hopping on them. jmo Will

 

[new2chicks]

Are you saying then, that you do not NEED to have a rooster??

 

[Katy]

No, you don't need to have a rooster...they'll lay eggs whether there's a roo or not. I personally like having them...I like to hear them crow and they're very pretty too.

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
I have a Phoenix rooster that is a fantastic referee with the hens. He allows no fighting. He doesn't even let the hens touch the babies that recently left the brooder and moved into the coop. He does let the kids squabble a little between themselves, but he guards the babies from the hens. He has never attacked a human either. I hear Jersey Giants are good too. I hatched some out this year, so I can't attest personally yet to the nature of the adult roos. We'll see!

 

[new2chicks]

Quote:
Not sure how many we want. We definately want eggs and we'd like to try raising some for meat and see how that goes.

We would like to hatch chicks.

The outside pen of the chicken coop is 21 ft x 15 ft. There are 4 different openings into 4 different enclosed sections in the "hen house" . Additional non-pen (not enclosed/connected to outside coop) room in the house is about 21 ft x 5 or 6 ft (I didn't measure inside). There is electricity and lights in the house as well. A door w/ windows on 1 end and a window that opens to vent on the opposite.

 

[new2chicks]

On the subject of hatching chicks...do you need to use an incubator? Can you not just leave the hens to hatch them themselves?

 

[willheveland]

Quote:
If you want to hatch chicks,you'll need a rooster to make the hens eggs fertile.
Sounds like you got plenty of room for them.
You can hatch without a incubator,as long as you have a broody hen(one that will sit on them for you)
Where are you in the Southern tier? Will

 

[new2chicks]

Quote:
If you want to hatch chicks,you'll need a rooster to make the hens eggs fertile.
Sounds like you got plenty of room for them.
You can hatch without a incubator,as long as you have a broody hen(one that will sit on them for you)
Where are you in the Southern tier? Will

Steuben County, you?