the chicken time frame?

[Gazinga]

ok, maybe someone can break it down to simple one page terms....

how long they incubate till hatch
how long to keep heated till coop
how long till they start to lay
how old they need to be for meat
how old when they stop laying
how long they live (years)

Thanks for anyhelp on this one, i just wanna try to give people a simplifed time line for all the chicken goings on..

 

[Gazinga]

anyone?

 

[Nemo]

I'm not expert, but I'll have a go at it...

It takes 21 days for an incubated egg to hatch.

You should start the brooder at 95 degrees and decrease it 5 degrees per week until you hit 60. That's uhhh... seven weeks? The chicks should be feathered before then.

Pullets will start laying at 4-6 months, depending on the breed. Our Buff Orps are 20 weeks old this weekend, and I'm about ready to pop with anticipation of our first egg.

Age of butchering depends on several factors, but breed is the biggest. Cornish x Rocks are pretty much perfect at 8 weeks. If you're culling out unwanted roosters, then they are usually layer breeds, and will take longer to get as big. If you are culling out old hens, they might be several years old.

I don't know when they stop laying. I've heard they lay the best in their second year (between their first birth day and their second), and can slow down anytime after that.

I also don't know how long they can live. I'd guess ten years would be a really old chicken.

 

[Gazinga]

thanks nemo, anyone else have an opinion on it? nemo sounds pretty close to what i was thinking