New Mexico

[TwoCrows]

Nice territory. Love the geese!

 

[CibolaChooks]

thanks.they are fun. they will fallow me around the mountain if i let them.

 

[Whoops]

Hello there! I am in Albuquerque, and have my first chickens (chicks, still) and I am deciding if I am nuts I am especially hopeful that none of them start crowing, for my neighbor's sake. The rain lately has been wonderful, and the coop has help up.

 

[peterjarmo]

I'm in ABQ too, I've got 8 hens, they can get a little loud sometimes but I don't think it's too bad. Roosters on the other hand are very loud at all hours of the day and night... If you did end up with a couple roosters you may notice them crowing around 3mos old or so. At that point it may be a good idea to make some rooster stew.

 

[Whoops]

Yes. Or use them for dog food :-( Hopefully no roos, though. If so, I will have to find someone to give me lessons on how to turn them into freezer packages. It's not something I want to dabble at and mess up. The place I bought them said they would trade them out if they turned out to be roos, but I don't know how that would be a sustainable policy for a business.

 

[CibolaChooks]

Yes. Or use them for dog food :-( Hopefully no roos, though. If so, I will have to find someone to give me lessons on how to turn them into freezer packages. It's not something I want to dabble at and mess up. The place I bought them said they would trade them out if they turned out to be roos, but I don't know how that would be a sustainable policy for a business.

well if the sell them for a cpl dollars and you feed them for a few months they saved money in food cost and get a good meal out of it probably. they only loose a few dollars on a chick and most feed stores make there money on the food. the chicks they sell only count for getting a new feed customer.

 

[CibolaChooks]

Hello there! I am in Albuquerque, and have my first chickens (chicks, still) and I am deciding if I am nuts I am especially hopeful that none of them start crowing, for my neighbor's sake. The rain lately has been wonderful, and the coop has help up

what kind of chicks did you get.

 

[Peep_Show]

. The place I bought them said they would trade them out if they turned out to be roos, but I don't know how that would be a sustainable policy for a business.

Our local feed store has chicken biz math like this: Chicks cost $2.25 each bought in bulk, sell to customer for $3.50+ per chick, sell feed and chick starter stuff (variable amount), return of half-to-full-grown roo = chick swap ($2.25 cost), sell roo for minimum of $5 (AND didn't have to feed said roo during growth period). So, in essence, the feed store has more than doubled the profit on the chick without the expense. PLUS if the swap chick turns out to be another roo.......

 

[Whoops]

lol - so, maybe trading any roos back won't be an issue after all! I still hope they are all hens. I got an easter egger, a barred rock, and a welsummer. They just turned five weeks old and I am amazed how much they changed in a week! They went from being fuzzy, partially feathered chicks to little feather covered chickens.

So, I live in Albuquerque and I want to start composting. Any tips to cut down the smell, roaches, etc? I don't want to be a neighborhood nuisance.

 

[peterjarmo]

Whoops, unless you had some huge compost pile I don't think you'll offend any neighbors. If done right compost actually smells good, like fruity dirt...