thinking of getting chickens - many questions

[Cattle dog Mom]

I guess I stand corrected! That's so cool!

It just depends on where one lives and like I said, how far they are willing to go. I live in the middle of the state, in a town of roughly 500 population, so there is pretty much NOTHING "close". But being that I am used to driving a bit to get ANYWHERE, (It's an hour one way to Walmart!) driving a few hours or more one way to get something I REALLY want is no big deal. Many people that have lived their whole lives in a very populated area, refuse to drive more than an hour to get ANYTHING because they are so used to everything being so close at hand.

 

[Nero70002]

And if you want a rooster I've heard good things about Rhode Island Reds. I've even had one myself before we found out, and he was really sweet.

 

[black_cat]

And if you want a rooster I've heard good things about Rhode Island Reds. I've even had one myself before we found out, and he was really sweet.

I've heard VERY bad things about them. BAd. BAD. Aggressive. Loud. Murderous. More miss than hit on those.

 

[Nero70002]

I've heard VERY bad things about them. BAd. BAD. Aggressive. Loud. Murderous. More miss than hit on those.

That's odd I've never heard that before... Nevermind then...

 

[Cassandra Lana]

i've been thinking of getting a few chickens and i have a few questions:
1. how much care do they require? my mom had chickens as a kid and is really discouraging me from getting them because there's a ton of poop to clean up and they smell awful. i have a horse so i'm not terribly sensitive to smells. i'm thinking of getting about 4-5 chickens.

2. i live on 5 acres but near a busy road. i assume i would need a run or a fenced area. ideally i'd like them free range but i assume they would likely cross the road. do the chickens automatically go into the coop at night and i would have to close the door each night? i'm guessing the run is the most convenient way is to have a run but the best for the chickens is free range. i have seen coyotes once in my yard. if i build a large fenced in area, do i need to worry about predators during the day?

3. i think i want silkies. i'm reading they can be low on the pecking order. is it best to stick with one breed? i also wanted the all black ayam cemani and/or lavendar olive egger. would these not be compatible?

4. should i get a rooster (for flock protection)? how noisy are they? it looks like some places are only selling unsexed birds. are most people keeping even numbers of males and females? does that mean the lots of baby chickens are being born? can you only have 1 rooster per x of hens?

5. what sites are best to order chicks from? mypetchicken is already sold out of silkies till late summer/fall and feather lover farms only sells unsexed.

1. I spend about 10 minutes every morning (refilling food and water) and half an on weekends(shovel and replace bedding) tho it Depends how friendly you want them I spend 5-20 extra minutes a day giving them TLC if you want them to be friendly .
2. I would fence in your yard so predators don’t get in . Also see if you have hawks cause if so you should get them a run for when you aren’t outside with them . They will go back to the coop at night.
3. I don’t know much about silkies so can’t help here
4.be careful if you get a rooster. If you do then you should definitely put in effort to make it friendly. If your rooster loves you they can be fun but if you ignore it it may be aggressive. get one rooster for that small of a flock . Because I am not sure wat the numbers are I would do reasurch on the 1R:?H cause is you don’t have enough hens over mating will acure .
5. I got mine locally cause birds can die/get sick in shipping. Any buisness similar to Guys Farm And Yard should have chicks .

Good luck with those birds !!! You should have a lot of fun with them

 

[CinnaBun]

Do some research on Feather Lover Farms- they don’t get the best reviews on here.

You might want to look at Auto Sexing Breeds, so that you can buy all girls or identify them at birth. Maybe Cream Crested Legbars or Opal (lavender like color) Legbars for blue eggs?

 

[black_cat]

Do some research on Feather Lover Farms- they don’t get the best reviews on here.

You might want to look at Auto Sexing Breeds, so that you can buy all girls or identify them at birth. Maybe Cream Crested Legbars or Opal (lavender like color) Legbars for blue eggs?

Opal legbars are extremely rare from what I know, but I would recommend lavender ameraucanas. Unfortunately, they're not autosexing.

 

[gymangel812]

i think i will stick to a run at first (maybe one of the moveable ones). we have hawks and i don't want them being hit by cars. i probably prefer a pullet but i think that would difficult to find some in the more exotic breeds i want. auto sexing sounds perfect but i'm not seeing too many interesting looking breeds that are autosexing. i found a few CL listings for more exotic breeds... how do I tell if they're a good buy (like i'm getting healthy chicks)? unfortunately they're unsexed but there are the ayam cemani ones i want. since they're unsexed, how do i know they're not just giving me males and selling as unsexed?

https://dayton.craigslist.org/grd/d/springfield-ayam-cemani-chickens-chicks/7275212494.html

https://chillicothe.craigslist.org/grd/d/frankfort-miller-fluer-duccle-chicks/7267929661.html

black silkie https://chillicothe.craigslist.org/grd/d/greenup-chicks/7275641033.html

https://chillicothe.craigslist.org/grd/d/chillicothe-silkie-chicks/7265980896.html

https://limaohio.craigslist.org/grd/d/kenton-silkie-chicks/7267296497.html

https://limaohio.craigslist.org/grd/d/mc-comb-rare-breed-chickens/7257629377.html

https://chillicothe.craigslist.org/grd/d/piketon-ayam-cemani-chicks/7270669406.html

https://chillicothe.craigslist.org/grd/d/greenup-silkie-chicks/7275611893.html

what's a grow out straight run?
https://dayton.craigslist.org/grd/d/cedarville-chickens-and-roosters/7266408502.html

hens
https://zanesville.craigslist.org/grd/d/zanesville-silkie-hens/7277061357.html

also, has anyone ordered from mt healthy? they're less than 2 hrs from me so i could pick up the chicks.

 

[black_cat]

i think i will stick to a run at first (maybe one of the moveable ones). we have hawks and i don't want them being hit by cars. i probably prefer a pullet but i think that would difficult to find some in the more exotic breeds i want. i tried searching CL and there's only a few listings for chickens and they're either roosters or non exotic breeds. the only other place i know to get them is tsc. i live near central ohio. auto sexing sounds perfect but i'm not seeing too many interesting looking breeds that are autosexing.

TSC should be your last resort. If you *really really really* want to pay $50 for each straight run chick that you're getting from feather lover farms, be my guest.
However, I would recommend checking out Cackle hatchery- you can get yokohomas, phoenixes, fayoumis, seramas, appenzeller spitzhaubens, aseels....plenty of stuff considered 'exotic' to the majority of people at a much more reasonable price.

 

[black_cat]

. i found a few CL listings for more exotic breeds... how do I tell if they're a good buy (like i'm getting healthy chicks)? unfortunately they're unsexed but there are the ayam cemani ones i want. since they're unsexed, how do i know they're not just giving me males and selling as unsexed?

You don't know, because you're not using a hatchery.