Hey! I am a new member who rescently saw this website and hope to be a good member and get a lot of useful information. I have had a desire to own chickens both for the eggs and the meat benefits for some time now and I have finally came to the point of pushing it through to completion. I have a small horse farm out here in Eastern NC, and we have rescently got rid of a horse so one of the stalls is sitting empty. That got me wondering what I wanted to put in that empty stall. Horses are extremely pricey and a lot of work for no benefit( unless you think they are cute, lol ) being that I don't ride. So with horses off the table I got to looking into simpler, smaller, and cheaper alternatives: chickens. What I figured would be to put the feeder and waterer in the stall along with the nests, and open up the outside entrance and make a fence around the feild outside of it.
I have been doing a ton of reading over the last couple of days despite tons of HW and lack of sleep, and I have really became quite excited about the operation. I want to start small being that I have no chicken experience at all. Maybe 6 layers and 4 roosters, along those lines. As you all know( and even if you didn't ) it is cold right now in NC, so a winter layer is a must for the hens. As far as the roosters, any of the heavy breeds that will grow up big to fill up the deep fat frier we got last Christmas
Basicly, what reccomendations do you have on breeds of each with the knowledge that most of the roosters will be cooked upon growing to mature weight and all of the hens will be kept for their laying life. I have been looking at the Barred Rocks, and Buff Rocks as well as the New Hampshire and R.I. Reds( all for the hens ) They lay all winter and its those nice brown eggs that just taste better. Any experiences with these breeds and please feel free to make any suggestions. I'm new to this and will aprreciate any advice. As far as roosters go, I saw the picture of the Jumbo Cornish X Rock and fell in love with the size of it! I can just see the grilled chicken breasts on the plate every time I look at it. What is the experience with it and the like? Please remember that I am new to this so all of my observations are based on reading and pictures. My dad likes the barred rock roosters and says they get big too, so I would love some reccomendations if possible.
All of that being said, I am really excited about this project and hope to order my brooder, nests, and string the chicken wire this weekend and be that much closer to the chickens. I am using Murray McMurray Hatery's website for most of my research. Also, any suggestions and experiences about getting started will be greatly appreciated too.
Again, thanks in advance and I hope to get a lot from everybody on this site and learn a lot and enjoy this hobby at the same time.
vortec
I have been doing a ton of reading over the last couple of days despite tons of HW and lack of sleep, and I have really became quite excited about the operation. I want to start small being that I have no chicken experience at all. Maybe 6 layers and 4 roosters, along those lines. As you all know( and even if you didn't ) it is cold right now in NC, so a winter layer is a must for the hens. As far as the roosters, any of the heavy breeds that will grow up big to fill up the deep fat frier we got last Christmas
Basicly, what reccomendations do you have on breeds of each with the knowledge that most of the roosters will be cooked upon growing to mature weight and all of the hens will be kept for their laying life. I have been looking at the Barred Rocks, and Buff Rocks as well as the New Hampshire and R.I. Reds( all for the hens ) They lay all winter and its those nice brown eggs that just taste better. Any experiences with these breeds and please feel free to make any suggestions. I'm new to this and will aprreciate any advice. As far as roosters go, I saw the picture of the Jumbo Cornish X Rock and fell in love with the size of it! I can just see the grilled chicken breasts on the plate every time I look at it. What is the experience with it and the like? Please remember that I am new to this so all of my observations are based on reading and pictures. My dad likes the barred rock roosters and says they get big too, so I would love some reccomendations if possible.
All of that being said, I am really excited about this project and hope to order my brooder, nests, and string the chicken wire this weekend and be that much closer to the chickens. I am using Murray McMurray Hatery's website for most of my research. Also, any suggestions and experiences about getting started will be greatly appreciated too.
Again, thanks in advance and I hope to get a lot from everybody on this site and learn a lot and enjoy this hobby at the same time.
vortec
