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Debbie67

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Hi all,
My family of 3 boys and myself live in upstate NY and are completely new to raising chickens. I plan on getting 6 layers and 6 for meat to start. Can they all be kept together? Any chickens that are better than others? Do I have to worry about the fedd attracting rats? I was going to use hay or straw for the coop floor. Is there something better? Thnk You for all your help! I love this site!!
 
Hi Debbie and welcome to BYC

Meat birds and laying hens require different feeds (at least after the first few weeks) and age differences would make keeping them together problematic, so I'd suggest keeping them separate. There are many options for bedding and I'd suggest using the search function.

Here’s a link to the Articles section - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ There you’ll find lots of information on almost every aspect of keeping chickens - from coop building ideas, to incubating eggs.

There’s a link on the page above to the Learning Centre - it’s a great resource. If you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.

Each week, various topics are discussed, which can also be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive


You may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - Find Your State Thread


Best wishes

Pork Pie
 
Last edited:
Debbie67 said:
Hi all,
My family of 3 boys and myself live in upstate NY and are completely new to raising chickens. I plan on getting 6 layers and 6 for meat to start. Can they all be kept together? Any chickens that are better than others? Do I have to worry about the fedd attracting rats? I was going to use hay or straw for the coop floor. Is there something better? Thnk You for all your help! I love this site!!
Click to expand...
Welcome! :frow Ok - Q1 - no. The meat birds require different things like constant light, higher protein intake etc. Your laying hens should not require any extra light once they are out of the brooder and the protein intake is lower.
Q2. You might consider getting sexed chicks for your layers otherwise you might end up with roosters! Best egg layers: Australorp, Sex links, Rhode Island Reds, Barred rocks - they are many other good breeds out there. Google 'Sage hen farm chicken chart'. This will give lots of info on eggs, colors, hardiness etc.
Q3. Keep your feed in trash cans or totes and try to keep them up off the floor. Spilled feed will attract rodents, fact of life, but remove feeders from open areas after the chickens have gone to bed, clean up the run of food debris - it will deter them.
Straw is great, I use it always, it's cheap and usually easy to find.
If you want to get a 'chicken book', I recommend Gail Damerows Storeys Guide to Chickens. It is my 'go to' book for problems and info.
 
sunflour said:
:welcome so glad you have joined us.

I've only had layers, but would think if you are getting all as baby chicks, you could raise them together?

My flock are pets - but many breeds serve dual purpose:)
Click to expand...
The massive difference in growth rates could be an issue, particularly if the brooder is not huge. I've added broiler chicks to 4 week old "regular " chicks with no issues, but they were roughly the same size (broiler chicks were one week old). It may not be an issue :confused:. Maybe peeps on this thread have further experience - https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/meat-birds-etc.21/
 

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