new to chickens - just bought 2 Wyandottes

[diannasunshine]

My husband and I enjoy farm fresh eggs. We purchased some ducks last year and unfortunately they are not as friendly as we had hoped. We recently bought two 2nd prize winning Wyandotte chickens at the Raleigh State Fair. The are young and so docile and love to be held. THIS IS WHAT WE WANTED.

Question I have is I bought a cockrel and a pullet - the man said I should have to worry about her "loving her to death" but I believe I do need to purchase more hens, correct? I have time, they are still young, but I want to make sure she is not bullied by him.

I'm very excited and already obsessed with chickens! I have a plan on a very large enclosure as I add to the flock. I am even interested inshowing.

 

[ramirezframing]

yes more hens would help. but even than a rooster will have favorties, so you might need a hen saddle if you dont want them to lose back feathers. You can come over to the North Carolina thread in the "where am i where are you section"

 

[hdowden]

if they are 6+ months then he can already breed her but yes more hens would help but even then he will have still have his favorite

 

[donrae]

You need at least a couple more hens to spread the love.

Chicken mating, especially with young birds, can be pretty violent looking and quite distressing to humans. Remember he's young and hormonal, watch your hens for bald spots on the back or back of the head, watch for hens actively hiding from the roo. Lots of squawking and some struggle is normal when they're starting out.

 

[diannasunshine]

Thanks for the info - do you all have any opinions on hachery chicks? I am not sure yet if I want to eventually get into showing as I get more involved, are hatchery chickens not of standard usually??

 

[Ziegenhof]

Thanks for the info - do you all have any opinions on hachery chicks? I am not sure yet if I want to eventually get into showing as I get more involved, are hatchery chickens not of standard usually??

If your even thinking you might want to show, find a good breeder instead of a hatchery.

Not saying you can't get nice chickens from a hatchery, I just believe that they are into quantity versus quality. And of course there are different standards for each one.

I purchased 12 Wyandotte hens earlier this year from my local feed store who shipped them in from a hatchery. They were healthy, and all have lived, but those gals have some screws loose in the brains department! They are very aggressive with other creatures (for some reason they like me a little too much), they are aggressive with each other and won't stop pecking their buddies. They actually murdered my first rooster I got for them and he had lived with them from a young age and it happened after they started laying.

So personally if I wanted something to show, I would find a showing breeder. But that is just my opinion.

Good luck!