Post "dumb" or afraid to ask questions here....with me!

[Living_Legend]

I have a few answers!
1) A fertilized egg is just an egg that is able to hatch a chick, the rooster has done his part and if the egg is kept warm and incubated either by a broody hen or an incubator then you might be able to hatch the chick. Some people think that fertilized eggs have more nutritional value, they are absolutely able to be eaten.

2) If the coop door is open and chickens have free will access in and out of the coop some might prefer to hang out inside or wander in and out.

3) It is alright for chickens to get wet, just make sure they don't get soaked or stay wet for long periods of time. Be sure they have a warm place to dry off. Chickens usually do prefer to avoid puddles and mud, we have one chicken however that very much enjoys a nice puddle of water

4) a "Dual Purpose Chicken" is a problem we had last year, a rogue chicken that refused to leave the others alone. We disposed of her when she was about 8 months old, she was a little tough, but if the chickens are egg layers that's what they'll be like. I'd say that if the hens are a few years old they probably won't be very good, but if they're less than a year old I'd say that's best.

5) I'm not sure of the answer here

6) There's the debate about cutting feathers at all, and how it's considered cruel. But my belief is that cutting both sides is probably best. I cut both sides of my duck's wings and they are happy and healthy and I don't have to worry about them flying out of the run where they are vulnerable to the coyotes and our farm pup. My best advice is to do your own research here and decide what you think is best for your animals.

Happy Farming! I hope I helped!

Thanks for the input. specially the age and quality of meat

 

[PirateGirl]

2) Yes. Depends their mood, depends the weather, depends on a lot of things. This morning mine all came out, looked around, the food wasn't filled yet, and they went back inside. Sometimes I get home from work and they are inside, sometimes outside. I have one that goes and hangs out in the coop any time any of them is laying an egg. So it's nice to have a good coop set up that they are comfortable with because they will go in and out throughout the day.

3) Yes and No. Mine try to avoid walking on the snow. They like to drink out of dirty puddles. I have watched them stand in the hail. I have also seen them refuse to leave the coop when there's precipitation. I don't see any rhyme or reason to any of it!

 

[X_and_Z]

8) That would depend upon your market. Where I live, anyone who wants chickens has them, so it would be harder to sell them. (PS - female chickens under a year are referred to as pullets, males under a year are cockerels)

And in my area $20 and up for a POL pullet. The higher prices would go to desirable breeds.

I would suggest a search on your local CL for "pullets" or the specific breed to see what prevailing prices are. Perform the search daily for a few weeks to see who sells out quickly - some people are not realistic about their asking price and you want to weed those out. If CL isn't useful in your area, look at bulletin boards at feed stores, sale ads in your local papers or other free sales sites like weebly or ebay classifieds.

One thing about looking at the ads you may see what people in your area value - in my area (a city) phrases like "handled daily" "raised with kids and dogs" "raised on organic feed" seem to correlate with slightly higher prices and faster sales. I would suspect that these phrases would not even show up in ads in more rural areas.

 

[Living_Legend]

And in my area $20 and up for a POL pullet. The higher prices would go to desirable breeds.

I would suggest a search on your local CL for "pullets" or the specific breed to see what prevailing prices are. Perform the search daily for a few weeks to see who sells out quickly - some people are not realistic about their asking price and you want to weed those out. If CL isn't useful in your area, look at bulletin boards at feed stores, sale ads in your local papers or other free sales sites like weebly or ebay classifieds.

One thing about looking at the ads you may see what people in your area value - in my area (a city) phrases like "handled daily" "raised with kids and dogs" "raised on organic feed" seem to correlate with slightly higher prices and faster sales. I would suspect that these phrases would not even show up in ads in more rural areas.

Thanks for the info. If I was only to get rid of 2 chickens or something like that I might just give them away for free at $20 each if the person can prove to me that they are going to a good home meeting coop and run minimums..... flipping the script.

 

[Living_Legend]

9) I know you only give a chicken grit if they are eating anything but feed. So when I give them food scraps that are ok for chickens from my dinner table can't I just sprinkle grit right on top of the scraps every time or do I have to give it to them separately?

 

[X_and_Z]

Thanks for the info. If I was only to get rid of 2 chickens or something like that I might just give them away for free at $20 each if the person can prove to me that they are going to a good home meeting coop and run minimums..... flipping the script.

That would be a great option too and it opens up a few more possibilities - perhaps you can network with a 4H or FFA group?

 

[feedman77]

Do they free range?

Feed them scraps if you want to give them grit keep it seperate. Most will get what grit they need from he ground

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

1: No diff if you just plan to eat it you only know the diff if you try to hatch them (note some females can be self fertile and will produce a roo)
2: it depends on the hen plus the weather.
3:My chickens don't mind rain or snow as long as they can get to cover then they are fed up with it mud does not bother mine so.
4:any thing over 16 weeks as then you'll get a decent amount of meat.
5:Yes they can go broody without a male (I wish I had a broody).
6:you normally cut one side as it makes them lop sided if you know what I mean..then again my hybrid layers all have 1 side cut and they still manage to get over our fence to the neighbours yard (to be fair he never cuts his grass it's like a jungle over there so I doubt he can see them lol)

 

[featherhead007]

I need to start to speak the language. I am bad with that at work to. I am good at what I do but am bad at explaining it. pullets, cockerels, pullets, cockerels, pullets, cockerels,pullets, cockerels,pullets, cockerels,pullets, cockerels,pullets, cockerels,pullets, cockerels,pullets, cockerels,... if i keep saying it it might stick.

So a pullet is a...........?

 

[Living_Legend]

Do they free range?

Feed them scraps if you want to give them grit keep it seperate. Most will get what grit they need from he ground

They will not be full time free ranged. 2 days a week when I work from home they will be let out into a 36ftx16ft free range area I created for them for a few hours. PLUS 2 more days a week on the weekend whenever possible for a few hours pending plans. With 2 young kids we are mostly home but it's not 100%.