I am about to order chicks. I am converting our shed into a coop and fenceing in a run/lot. I have a LARGE family and we need about a dozzen eggs a day. I plan on having 14-16 egg layers. I also want to have meat chickens. I do NOT want/need a rooster for the layers but I DO want the meat chickens to breed/produce. Do I need to divide/segregate the shed and run so that the meat chickens will court only each other? I don't want the rooster to waste his energy on the wrong hen and I don't want to gather the wrong eggs for eating. We live in Lexington KY so the weather is average (not too hot/not too cold) so do the chicks need to live in the garage or shed? If I need to keep them in the garage, at what age can they move to the shed? Please give me any advice/tips you have on breeds for eggs verses meat and what you think I should do. Now I am off to read the books I just got on chickens from the library. I sure wish I had not sold "Barnyard in your Backyard" in our yard sale. Thank you, Brooke Wife to a hardworking Irishman mother to eight beautiful children.
For the chicks it depends on your temperature... it should be roughly 95*F the first week and dropped 5*F each week till 6 weeks when the temperature should be 70*F, after that they should be good
