Newbie With A headache, Please pass the Tylenol..../introduction

[DENALI]

Howdy!
Name's Fred! Been reading on and off here for a few days. Has led to mass confusion and the almost irresistible urge to "just say no" and keep going to the store. But NO! Wife and kids want to raise some chickens for eggs and fryers! So here I am trying to wade my way through cyber chicken land looking for the "ultimate make my husband build me a coop/ark/tractor/run/feeder/(its so confusing to this mechanic, give me more Tylenol now please) honey do list!"
Ok ok so i am on board to. Wouldn't mind my own eggs and fresh chicken. However at this point i am still going to blame it on the wife and kids so i can at least put up some resemblance of resistance to effectively pull the "if you want me to do it we're gonna do it my way" card out of the hat

Cant blame me really since i am pretty sure the "if you build it for us honey we will feed them and love them and clean them we promise/we swear daddy/clause" is pretty much right out the window as soon as i drive the first nail. So if i am gonna be the one feeding, cleaning, etc anyhow i might as well have it the way i want it from the first egg right? ( or was it the chicken that came first?)
Anyhow lets get right down to it!
(1) tell me its going to be ok, no really! It will be right? I can do this! hahahah
(2) How many hens would be adequate for a family of 4 to have a consistent supply of eggs? Wouldn't mind having some extras as i have a couple of neighbors who are having a hard time of it and i am sure they would appreciate some fresh eggs as well and possibly some to sell.
(3)Can you raise fryers alongside/in with your egg stock effectively? (yes, i really did ask that question....)
(4)How big of a coop will i need? I have seen suggestions of 4 feet per bird to 10 feet per bird.
(5) More Tylenol please!
(6) What breed would be best for egg production? White eggs or brown? If i decide to sell surplus eggs, again white or brown?
(7) What Breed of fryer best induces that "finger lickin good" excitement? (pardon me while i fantasise about my grandmas home grown fried chicken from when i was a kid for a moment)
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(8) Ok enough of that, now i am hungry
(9).........heck i cant think of another question at the moment, its midnight, i have a poultry induced headache, i'm out of tylenol, and KFC isnt open this late to get my seudo fix of fried chicken after sittin here day dreaming about my late grandma's golden fried perfection!
(10) Feel free to throw suggestions out as I am turning in for the night but will be back tomorrow and ad some more questions provided you folks arent ready to scald me and throw me in one of those wizzbang contraptions after my first post!
Have a good one!!

 

[beekybuzzard]

Morinin' Fred just getting ready to leave for work and checked in. First, Welcome

I'll just hit a few before I head out to work

4-6 feet per bird is plenty for each bird in the coop

Sounds like you are wanting a few extras so I would say about 8-10 hens and a rooster if you can have one where you are.

Brown or white? Leghorns are the best white layers but are a little edgy sometimes. I have some and would not trade them for anything. Then how about some orpingtons. Great layers, gentle, and a good egg/meat bird. And maybe a couple of Rhode Island reds, the hens are great but the roo's can be aggressive. And then if you want some colorful eggs you could get some araucanas or americaunas or easter eggers for some blue/green eggs. I have all colors of eggs for me and family and folks buying so no matter their preference I have them. Did I say 8-10, well you can't count on my addition I started with 10 years ago and have around 100 right now.

Meat only you could try cornish but I like the orpingtons for the meat/egg combo.

Well I've gotta go but I'm sure there will be a few pages of suggestions and welcomes later today. I'll check back after I get home this afternoon. Good luck with your chicks

and Have a Blessed Day. T C

 

[kstaven]

Welcome to the insanity Fred!

1. It will be ok fred

Actually life will never be the same again. You will be addicted like the rest.

2. How many eggs a week do you go through on average. Figure on 4-5 eggs a week per hen and down to 2 in the winter unless you supplement heat in the coop.

3. Fryers. May need a better definition of what you mean. If you mean Cornish cross meat birds then NO. They will hog all the food and eat themselves to death without monitoring their diet. If you mean to bring in extra standard breeds to use a fryers then yes.

4. 4 square feet per bird of indoor space is an accepted minimum by many. Some use less and many use more.

5. I don't use tylenol so can't help there. I found White willow bark powder works much better.

6. and 7. If it was your grandma's fryer you dream of it was likely extra roosters that hatched out. Dorkings work well for this and where a standard in europe and for european immigrants in north america for years before commercial hybrids came into the picture. The hens are GREAT winter layers also. Brown farm eggs tend to sell better. People view white ones as store bought eggs.


8. Well go eat and hurry back so you can be officially indoctrinated into chickendom.

Once again ... welcome to BYC!!

 

[airmom1c05]

Hi, Fred! Welcome to BYC! Let me start off with, "YOU are FUNNY!"

Now, down to business:

(1) tell me its going to be ok, no really! It will be right? I can do this! hahahah
(A) One day it might.

(2) How many hens would be adequate for a family of 4 to have a consistent supply of eggs? Wouldn't mind having some extras...
(A) 10 to 15

(3)Can you raise fryers alongside/in with your egg stock effectively?
(A) Dual purpose birds would be preferable.

(4)How big of a coop will i need?
(A) I would say 8'x8' Note: I've been browsing the net looking at coops. Here's a link to my favorite, but in your case you would have to make it a bit larger:

http://www.middlesexdesign.com/chickens/coop.htm

(5) More Tylenol please!
(A) Praise the Lord, and Pass the Ammunition!

(6) What breed would be best for egg production? White eggs or brown? If i decide to sell surplus eggs, again white or brown?
(A) Either; there are good producers of both colors. In America, more folks are comfortable with white eggs which is one reason the industry sells more to grocery stores. In the UK, brown eggs are more popular. Backyard Chicken folks love all shades and colors!

(7) What Breed of fryer best induces that "finger lickin good" excitement?
(A) Any chicken described as a meat bird or a dual purpose bird

(8) Ok enough of that, now i am hungry
(A) Sorry, I just finished my last praline.

(9).........heck i cant think of another question at the moment, its midnight, i have a poultry induced headache, i'm out of tylenol, and KFC isnt open this late to get my seudo fix of fried chicken after sittin here day dreaming about my late grandma's golden fried perfection!
(A)

(10) Feel free to throw suggestions out as I am turning in for the night but will be back tomorrow and ad some more questions provided you folks arent ready to scald me and throw me in one of those wizzbang contraptions after my first post!
(A)

 

[Cheryl]

Funny? NO you are hilarious!!! I just had to read your post to my DH!!!! But really the only thing I have asked him to do is build the coop...AND FINISH IT! My kids, well the oldest at 15 thinks I'm just a crazy mom"chickens?" The youngest helps me a wee bit!
It really isn't all that confusing, anything you need to find out can be answered here. These are GREAT people.
For more humor, it abounds, I find Purple Chicken very entertaining, and for dinner or other meals and snacks, I look forward to what Miss Prissy has to say. Just be careful of roaming alligators!
Finally, welcome and enjoy!
PS I think that brown eggs are more predominent in the Northeast than white eggs...

 

[Churkenduse]

Ok Fred, welcome, now I did not reed the other comments so I can give my opinion for what it is worth, if I repeat excuse me.


(1) tell me its going to be ok, no really! It will be right? I can do this! hahahah
Are you serious, you come in here and ask people that would love to have a zillion chickens if you should get and how many you should get. Fred are you paying attention, we love chickens and we want you to have them to to share that love,

(2) How many hens would be adequate for a family of 4 to have a consistent supply of eggs? Wouldn't mind having some extras as i have a couple of neighbors who are having a hard time of it and i am sure they would appreciate some fresh eggs as well and possibly some to sell.

Ok this is easy to try to figure out. Each chicken potentially gives you from 5-6 eggs per week. So five chickens will then give you 25 to 30 per week that is what I get. I have RIR's a few mixes and a Lakenvelder, they are a little rare but all are good layers. Now only you can decided how many your family friends and neighbors need. OK? Sound good so far?
4 people eating 2 eggs about 4 times a week equals 32 eggs, that is about 5 chickens then maybe 2 more for gifts and you will be all set.

(3)Can you raise fryers alongside/in with your egg stock effectively? (yes, i really did ask that question....)
Yes you can, but remember to let the chikens sit for about 24-48n hours after the dirty deed is done or you will have very tough meat, trust meI didn;t do that and I was sorry.
(4)How big of a coop will i need? I have seen suggestions of 4 feet per bird to 10 feet per bird.
(5) More Tylenol please!
Call you doctor
(6) What breed would be best for egg production? White eggs or brown? If i decide to sell surplus eggs, again white or brown?

I love brown eggs, they are the same nutritiopnaly as the white I just think brown are cooler and look more homey. Brown make yoou really look like a farmer.

(7) What Breed of fryer best induces that "finger lickin good" excitement? (pardon me while i fantasise about my grandmas home grown fried chicken from when i was a kid for a moment).
Just stick around here and they will tell you I do not raise chikens for meat but I eat the excess roos.

Just a thought some of our nice folks in here do not consider eating our little ones so try to be a little discreet, know what I mean. Love all you guys,,,,

OH btw, all the complaining about taking care of them goes out the window you are going to be stuck with the job so face it, but believe me it will be worth it. If you do it right it takes about 10 mInutes or less each day with an occassional half hour tossed in once in awhile and that is all it takes.

YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY

Rosemarie

 

[suenrob]

Welcome to the insanity Fred!!!!!!

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Everyone's elses comments are great, so I am not going to address each point. What I will say is, build it big and plan for a lot. Unless you have some sort of zoning restriction, everyone I know who has started out with 10 have way more than 10. The first house was out grown and either added to or rebuilt.

You will be fine and Chickens are soooo much fun.....

 

[bunch-a-chickens]

white leghorns(white eggs) and rhode island reds(brown eggs) seem to be favorite layers. I dont know the best meat bird. some say the cornish x rocks grow so fast their organs will shut down if you let them live to long, so you couldn't keep stock. the long-run cheepest route to go would be get a meat bird that doesn't grow so fast(like white rocks) and keep some laying stock of them(and a roo) and you can continue to raise meat birds instead of continually buying more. even better, don't have meat birds and laying birds, get a dual purpose like a rir(rhode island red) and you can raise you own out of them for meat birds

 

[SeaChick]

Welcome!!!!

Here's my personal take on your questions:


(2) How many hens would be adequate for a family of 4 to have a consistent supply of eggs? Wouldn't mind having some extras as i have a couple of neighbors who are having a hard time of it and i am sure they would appreciate some fresh eggs as well and possibly some to sell.

Anticipate increased egg usage, because they are SO much better than store bought. Remember that they slow way down in winter, especially if you're north (where are you!) and stop completely when molting or broody. We have 3 people in our family and 6 hens but I would be much happier with 8 or 9 I think. We get low on eggs sometimes and I even had to BUY some for baking at Christmas!!









(4)How big of a coop will i need? I have seen suggestions of 4 feet per bird to 10 feet per bird.

General recommendations on this board are a MINIMUM of 4 square feet of INDOOR space per bird (has to be useable floor space, not taken up by feeders or croppings pits) and this is especially important if you have harsh weather when they'll likely be indoors all day, like snowstorms. Then, a MINIMUM of 10 sq ft per bird in the outdoor run, unless they will be allowed to totally free range all the time (expect predator loss in that case).


(6) What breed would be best for egg production? White eggs or brown? If i decide to sell surplus eggs, again white or brown?

Good resource: http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

White or brown is your preference, up here people equate brown eggs with healthy, which isn't true, but people who buy local eggs prefer brown.



Good luck!