Is it possible to create a sustainable meat/dual-purpose flock using the hens to incubate/raise the chicks?
I'm new to chickens, and I'm just starting out into researching. So far, from my understanding, you have to keep broody hens isolated with their chicks. We're about to move to a small farm so we've got the space to do that (I think).
We'd like to raise 100-150 birds for the freezer/sale.
I understand it takes 21 days for eggs to hatch out (?) how long until that hen can start laying again?
One hen can incubate/raise 10-15 chickies?
I think we're going to look into Brahmas, we live in a cold-weather area & have young kids, so those look to be the best option for dual-purpose.
Is it worth the extra labour/resources to create a sustainable flock?
I'm new to chickens, and I'm just starting out into researching. So far, from my understanding, you have to keep broody hens isolated with their chicks. We're about to move to a small farm so we've got the space to do that (I think).
We'd like to raise 100-150 birds for the freezer/sale.
I understand it takes 21 days for eggs to hatch out (?) how long until that hen can start laying again?
One hen can incubate/raise 10-15 chickies?
I think we're going to look into Brahmas, we live in a cold-weather area & have young kids, so those look to be the best option for dual-purpose.
Is it worth the extra labour/resources to create a sustainable flock?