bestoboth
In the Brooder
- Apr 4, 2022
- 5
- 19
- 31
Hi Everyone, I am a new member from the southcentral Missouri Ozarks. I am relatively new to raising chickens, about a year or so in. Presently, I am looking to start breeding (I am new to chickens but have experience breeding/keeping other animals). At the moment, our "home flock" (i.e. the ones that range around our property and supply our personal eggs) is 17 birds, although we are in transition. We just butchered one of the two resident roosters we had and will be adding and subtracting hens over the next few months.
We currently have Bresse (3 hens and a roo), 8 Dominique hens, and 5 ISA brown hens (they were 2 year old culls from a local organic egg farm, and our first chickens). We also just did our first stab at incubation, using our own eggs, mostly Bresse and a couple barnyard crosses from our neighbor. We ended up with 7 hatchlings which are brooding now.
Our long term plan, as mentioned, is to start breeding and I am looking to find the best way I can manage the 4 breeds I am planning to breed (both true and crosses for egg color mainly). Presently I am leaning towards a bachelor flock, for keeping the roos, and keeping the hens separate except when I want to breed them. That said, I am having a bit of trouble figuring out the most reasonable and harmonious way to manage this.
Aside from being obsessed with all things chicken, we are also going to be growing out a couple of pigs soon. Aside from being able to finally begin living our my lifelong dream of being a farmer, I am also a musician, although recently all of the songs I have written seem to be about chickens in some way or another...
I look forward to becoming an active member of this forum and learning from all the amassed wisdom here... and maybe even make a few friends along the way.
We currently have Bresse (3 hens and a roo), 8 Dominique hens, and 5 ISA brown hens (they were 2 year old culls from a local organic egg farm, and our first chickens). We also just did our first stab at incubation, using our own eggs, mostly Bresse and a couple barnyard crosses from our neighbor. We ended up with 7 hatchlings which are brooding now.
Our long term plan, as mentioned, is to start breeding and I am looking to find the best way I can manage the 4 breeds I am planning to breed (both true and crosses for egg color mainly). Presently I am leaning towards a bachelor flock, for keeping the roos, and keeping the hens separate except when I want to breed them. That said, I am having a bit of trouble figuring out the most reasonable and harmonious way to manage this.
Aside from being obsessed with all things chicken, we are also going to be growing out a couple of pigs soon. Aside from being able to finally begin living our my lifelong dream of being a farmer, I am also a musician, although recently all of the songs I have written seem to be about chickens in some way or another...
I look forward to becoming an active member of this forum and learning from all the amassed wisdom here... and maybe even make a few friends along the way.
Glad you joined.
