Newbie to Chickens

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BatesPiggery

BatesPiggery

In the Brooder
5 Years
Dec 21, 2014
28
3
26
Hawthorne, FL
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?

I had chickens when I was six or seven, but I wasn't the primary caregiver, so I suppose I am new to chickens, really.

(2) How many chickens do you have right now?

Right now I have three, two hens and a rooster.

(3) What breeds do you have?

The rooster is a blue Maran, one hen is pure Silver Laced Wyandotte, the other is SLW crossed with an Americana.

(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?

When I bought my chickens, the woman I purchased them from recomended I learn as much as I can on here.

(5) What are some of your other hobbies?

I am really into, though it may seem geeky, genetics. I want to one day create a new breed of pig and chicken.

(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.

First off my name is Samantha, you should know that I am a senior in high school. I started a successful photography business, then I joined 4H and fell in love with my project pig, Rufus. Ever since I have been saving up money and drawing up blue prints to build my own farm. In a week I will be going to pick up my bred sows and it will all begin. Right now. The other pets I have are two dogs. A Border Collie mix rescue, Cooper, and a Shih Tzu, Pandora, (They have an instagram @thehipsterdogtwo). I know its weird but photography is one of my passions. An old rescued yard cat, Mason, and a white gold fish, Bruno. Then of course my flock. The roosters name is Henry, and I am still looking for names for the girls. Thats about all there is to tell, I think.
 
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Hi Samatha, nice to meet you. Glad you joined the flock. There is nothing weird about a passion for photography. When people have a true passion for something, they usually succeed . We have some photography threads on BYC.

One I especially like is "Farm photography is the best advertisement."
 
Welcome to BYC, Samantha. I'm glad you decided to join our flock. You have a very good and thorough introduction. If your going to keep your rooster, you should get 7 or 8 more hens to go with the two you have. The recommended ratio of roosters to hens is 1 rooster for every 10 hens as too many roosters (or too few hens in your case) as they mature can become very hard physically on your hens; overbreeding them, biting and plucking the feathers from their necks and backs, battering them, and potentially seriously injuring them. The only reason you really need a rooster is to fertilize eggs for hatching and 1 rooster can easily handle 25 hens in this regard. I currently have 25 hens and no roosters in my flock, and I get loads of eggs without the aggression, biting and feather plucking, feeding of non-productive mouths, crowing in the middle of the night, drop off in egg production, over-breeding and battering of hens that goes along with having roosters (especially too many). My hens are stress free and enjoying life without a rooster around. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.
 

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