Newbie in Central MO

[PaulinMO]

Hi Everyone,
I've enjoyed reading this group for some time and am finally able to get some of my own chickens.
I'm thinking about ordering the following, and I welcome any and all input!

Buff Orpingtons 1 male, 4 female
Barred Rock: 1 male, 3 female
Light Brahmas: 3 female
Cornish X Rock: 3 males for fryers

That come to the minimum order of 15. I am interested in trying the three dual breeds to see which one works out best for here, and just to see which I like best.

One issue I'm wondering about is about the two males. The Buff O's and Barred Rocks are most likely the strains I will want to keep going with new chicks, hence the male for each of those. But once I eat the fryers, then the ratio of male:female is getting dicey, from what I hear. Do you think I should pick one male and leave it at that. I have read about two much male attention towards the females. Thoughts?

Paul

 

[drumstick diva]

Generally one rooster can handle 10 hens. IF you don't want or need fertile (hatching) eggs , you don't need a rooster at all. I'm guessing you want to breed some of your own, you may want to consider getting more females of those breeds. Or keeping the roosters separate from the girls until you want to breed for chicks.

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

Sounds like a very nice group of breeds for meat and eggs. Drumstick Diva X2...1 rooster per every 10 or so hens to prevent the hens from being over mated, hurt, stressed or lots of damaged feathers.

Good luck with this new adventure you are on and welcome to our flock!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! If you are only planning on a flock of 8-10 birds, you will only need/want one roo unless you keep them separate. I would be inclined to go ahead and get the males of each breed and just process whichever one you don't like eventually. One nice thing about Barred Rocks is you could use the girls in a black sex link breeding program with the Buff Orp roo. You might want to look at if it is really worth your while to keep a roo though, unless you plan to hatch and sell a fair number of chicks, you may be better off to just buy a couple of replacement chicks each year rather than hatching your own... and get keep another hen for eggs in place of the roo.

 

[gander007]

X 3

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you joined us!

 

[PaulinMO]

Thanks for all your comments and warm welcome. This is a great group of folks here.

I'm leaning towards getting the two different roos because I am sure that if I don't get one type, THAT will be the breed that I decide I want to continue with next year. I'd rather not deal with a hatchery order next year because of the minimum quantity. I suppose I could toss in a few more females to lessen the mating pressure.

Still working on the coop but the end is in sight. I have a converted dog kennel that was part of a metal pole barn. The floor is six inches of concrete (try to chew through that rodents and foxes!) and the walls are pole barn metal. Windows from the surplus aisle at Lowes, which I'll cover with hardware cloth. I have a bit more metal to hang on the part that was originally open. The worst part is the former owners built the pole barn and slab on a slight slope, and didn't bother to level the pad. They just built it downhill, i.e., the west side of the barn is three feet taller than the east side)! As someone who likes to build things squared up and professional-looking, this is a constant thorn in my side.

I'm working on a big hinged door at the bottom for a clean out. Progress has ground to a halt though, as I have a million trees to cut and split from when the power line crew came through, plus some help from a storm. I swear I must handle every single piece of firewood ten times before it ever gets to the fireplace. Grrrrr.

I'll post some pics of the coop soon.