Please tell me a bit about your flock

[MandyH]

We usually keep a flock of between 200-300, but amazingly we are down to below 100 right now. We keep a large closed flock for several reasons: 1) to have eggs to incubate 2) to have eggs to eat and sell, and 3) to have enough birds to sell and not affect numbers 1 and 2. Ours are all purebred and penned seperately to keep them that way. If I get tired of a certain breed, I sell it out completely and get another kind to replace it. Now, this Summer when feed was out of control ,stupidly high, it about killed us. I also DO NOT deal with live birds when I want a new breed, I search and search to find the hatching eggs and hatch them myself.

 

[magikchick]

I only wanted 3 or 4, yeah right. I have about 15 at this time but have been up to 30. I'm hatching and selling chicks.

I have 31 eggs in the incubator right now and 7 that just hatched outside with a hen.

I get enought eggs for us to eat and have plenty to hatch out. If I want to add any I buy hatching eggs. Just recently I added frizzles to my flock.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
I have a flock of 30 mixed heavy breed, brown-egg layers. I chose the size because my coop is just the right size for this many chickens and I wanted to get at least 2 doz. eggs each day to sell at my roadside stand this spring and summer.

I decide at around 8-10 mo. if I am going to cull a bird for nonlaying. Any other undesirable characteristics that may occur before culling time will be noted and remembered and a bird of any age with these will be culled as well.

Undesirable traits for me include: being a nuisance(escaping the property perimeter fence on numerous occasions to tear up the landscaping, gardens, eat by the road, etc.), leading an insurrection each time they escape and taking others along for the ride(this jeopardizes the rest of my flock and cannot be tolerated for long!), refusal to go in the coop to roost and resisting efforts to be caught during this time....one lone bird outside each night brings in potential predators(safety in numbers!), and, of course, nonlaying, failure to thrive/illness(hadn't had this yet), excessive meanness in a roo.

I chose a variety of breeds for their laying potential, variety of pretty colors, and their mother instincts. I now wish I had included more New Hampshire Reds, as they are beautiful and lay the biggest, brownest eggs of the flock. I have Aussies, White Rocks, Buff Orps, Doms, Black Stars, NHR, and some mixed mutts. I have a Partridge Rock roo, a RIR roo, and a Blue Orpington roo. I plan to hatch my own chicks from now on whenever I get a broody hen, to make my flock a truly closed flock.

I don't sell any of my flock. Any birds culled are a food source for my family.

Hope this helps!

 

[SunAngel]

I decided I wanted chickens last March or April after we got a catalog from McMurray that a friend sent our way. DH pretty much didn't care.

We ordered 36 (their Ornamental Layer Collection, plus extras), 8 were for his business partner. We went to work on building a coop and run. I had no idea how many we would want to keep, if any.

They arrived May 19th. I ended up getting lots of the same breeds, 10 of them were WC black Polish, which aren't really good egg layers. I sold most of them, kept one and at 8 months, she still isn't laying.

I think today I only have 6 of the original order. But through hatching, other BYCers, local ads and the poultry auction nearby, I now have 54 chickens and 8 ducks...one big coop and run, a part sectioned off for a grow out coop/pen, a bantam coop and run and a duck house and run. I also have a dog house waiting for us to build a small run onto that I can use for a hen and chicks. I have an order for chicks in with Ideal for shipment in April, 10 eggs in the incubator and am impatiently waiting for TSC to get chicks in.

Its a terrible addiction lol. But I am getting 12-16 eggs a day now, have sold chicks, chickens and eggs, made friends in the chicken world and love each and every one of the group that I have kept.

 

[Foxhound lady]

I walked into the feed store June of last year and on impluse (yeah I know its bad!) bought 2 BA, and 2 Frizzles.

One chicken coop and then rebulid the chicken coop into a palace later

We have the orginial 2 BA's, 2 EE, 1GC, 1BR and 3 Silkies so 9 total

With 13 more coming in March

When I was picking birds after the intail purchase I went for friendly and sweet and all my chickens are that.