Hello. My family has decided to jump into chickens. We decided the kids are old enough and needed a few more chores around our place. We were raised in rural America, but this is the first venture either of us has had into animal husbandry. I decided to join BYC because when I search for answers to my questions, this web site was consistently coming up with useful and abundant answers.
Our entry into chickens was supposed to start as a 7-9 week experiment with cornish cross has turned into more than we bargained. We currently have 26 Cornish Cross (<1 wk old), 2 Dominique bantams (1-yr old adoptees), 2 white polish (1-year old adoptees, 5 Brown ISA's (adoptees 4 wks), and 1 Easter Egger (adoptees 4 wks). This doesn't count Orpingtons, Australorps and Guinneas we ordered before we knew we were getting the adoptees. And it doesn't count the the ones that have passed from our care for various reasons the past few weeks since we got our first birds.
I have to say, it was more than we bargained for, but a heck of a lot of fun so far. We get about a half dozen eggs from the white polish each week. The Dominique hen was laying at the previous owner's house, but has only laid one egg for us
. I will start a separate thread for advice on that one. I am looking forward to fresh chicken dinner and getting overrun with eggs.
Most of all I hope this is an educational experience for the kids to learn how to properly care for animals, enjoy the harvest of their labor and better understand where their food comes from.
Our entry into chickens was supposed to start as a 7-9 week experiment with cornish cross has turned into more than we bargained. We currently have 26 Cornish Cross (<1 wk old), 2 Dominique bantams (1-yr old adoptees), 2 white polish (1-year old adoptees, 5 Brown ISA's (adoptees 4 wks), and 1 Easter Egger (adoptees 4 wks). This doesn't count Orpingtons, Australorps and Guinneas we ordered before we knew we were getting the adoptees. And it doesn't count the the ones that have passed from our care for various reasons the past few weeks since we got our first birds.
I have to say, it was more than we bargained for, but a heck of a lot of fun so far. We get about a half dozen eggs from the white polish each week. The Dominique hen was laying at the previous owner's house, but has only laid one egg for us
Most of all I hope this is an educational experience for the kids to learn how to properly care for animals, enjoy the harvest of their labor and better understand where their food comes from.
