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happyasalways32

happyasalways32

Hatching
8 Years
Jan 29, 2011
7
0
7
Hello I'm new here and to raising chickens and quail.....but that's what we are thinking about doing. For home use nothing big. My question's are 1. Would it be better to start with grown chickens or raise them for chicks? Since I'm new at this(well my dad had amazing Rhode Island Reds when i was a kid but he did all the work lol
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) ? and 2. can you raise chickens and quail in the same coop? will it cause problems? Thanks for any help...
 
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from Illinois!

Whether you start with chicks or full grown is up to you, IMO there are advantages and disadvantages to both. With chicks, you will need a brooder and heat lamp, but you do get to enjoy them as babies. Older ones will give you eggs faster, but then you also don't know what kind of earlier life they had so some could be friendly while others may not want much to do with you. Older ones will also cost you more to buy. With chicks you may end up getting a rooster, which depending on where you live, may not be a good thing, while you can be sure you don't get a rooster with older ones. It really just depends on your circumstances. They are fun either way.
 
Welcome to BYC. We started our flock in August of 2010 with 3, 20 week old red stars that had just started laying, payed $10 each and they have been worth every penny.

They lay at least 28 out of every 31 days each. Then we were given three 10 week old buff orpingtons that started to lay at 23 weeks old and they lay 4 eggs a week each.

Then we ordered 6 chicks from MPC in september of 2010 and they should start laying soon.

If your in a hurry to have eggs you could buy laying hens but you never know if the person selling them to you is being honest about age or conditions the chickens were kept in.

Chicks are fun but time consuming for the first two weeks. They are also very messy. They take at least twenty weeks of care and food before they start to lay eggs.

Quail I have no experience with. Good luck to you and hope all works out well.
 
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I don't know about the quail part, but I know that if you want friendlier hens you should get them as chicks so they can imprint on you and not run away from you as much when they grow up. Plus, bigger chickens that you buy from feed stores tend to be more expensive.


Hope you enjoy the forum!
 
Thank you guys for the quick responses and the good answers....I'm still wondering about raising the quail with the chickens...humm? I think i am going to try and get a couple of older chickens and then start a few little ones cause I do want the experience of starting them and raising them(and my kids too
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) Ok this is probably a very silly question....but...for a house hold of 4 how many chickens do we really need...i understand that some lay more then others but on avarge and don't forget my neighbors are placing orders so it's ok if we have a little extra...hahaha. Oh one more thing...I live in Colorado and am wondering what kind to get....have seen the rode islands here( they are very pretty but can they handle cold?) and other one just dont know the name( told you im new at this lol ) but they were kinda gray with black i think...anyways any help would be great! Sorry so many questions but i have look at the books and checked online and it just doesn't tell me what i want to know...and I know the people here actually raise chickens...so just trying to pick your brains! Again thank you so much!
 

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