Too many pullets/chickens!!!

[Egghead_Jr]

So you know, mating the red male over barred or cuckoo hen will produce sex link offspring. Since you say the Barred cockerel is a jerk just eat him. Temperment is greatly genetic so choose the best behaving males to breed. Again, even though Silkies are docile I don't see the point of them other than fancy and built in incubators for the rest of the flock. Some folks keep a few Silkie just for the purpose of putting other eggs under them when they go broody.

Back to the sex links you can make from a red male over cuckoo or barred female. It's a one time cross though you can make as many as you want and keep crossing the parents as long as you want. The resulting chicks with white spots on heads are male, no spots on head female. There you go, sexed right at hatch. You can sell sex link pullets, guarantee pullets only, all spring long. The cockerels just give away as such or grow out to 12 weeks and butcher for still grill worthy chicken. You can't BBQ 4 nd 5 month old birds, at 12-14 weeks they pluck easy and you get the best feed to meat conversion you can on them. Smaller but cut bird in half for large portions on grill.

 

[FatChicksDigMe]

To "save" on feed cost, read the threads on FF (ferment feeding)....It does cut the cost of feed, makes a different with the poop & smell, chickens love it & it's good for them.  

I will check it out, thank you

 

[Free Feather]

How big is your coop, minus the run? Since your father is not giving you enough/the right feed for your birds, come warmer months, you want them to have a better chance to forage some of their own food. With that in mind, with your size yard, I would not have more than 20 birds, but a dozen or less would be better. The size of your coop will give you a good idea of the sized flock you can keep, but the number you will be able to properly feed is the most important factor. I do not feed very much in the Summer, but if you get a Winter, they will need to be fed.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I'd mentioned the black sex link idea using red cock over Domonique or Barred birds. Forgot about the Delaware pullets. Using same red cock over the Delaware will produce red sex links too. Resulting chicks that are white are male and red are female. In case you don't have enough barred and cuckoo birds for number of pullets you want to keep you should keep some Delaware too.

They can all be hatched together and easily sexed at hatch, white dot on head and white birds are male. Red chicks and black chicks remaining are red sex links and black sex links.

The good idea you have of selling off a bunch of birds as point of lay now will get you the cash to buy feed. I don't use layer feed but it's perfectly fine for near laying age birds. It shouldn't be used with young birds. I use non medicated starter or grower or an all flock feed like turkey finisher so any age bird can eat it then toss some oyster shell on the ground once or twice a week (35 cents a pound bulk rate and any amount you want at the feed store). They all peck at it but the laying birds will consume the bulk of it as they know they need it for eggs.

With $15 per pullet now you'll get enough feed money to get you through winter. Come spring if you hatch sex links you can easily sell 6 pullet chicks for $20 and have the feed money to get you through most the summer. There is no money in raising chickens but you can manage not paying anything out for them by selling chicks, point of lay pullets and eggs. All feed, bedding and electric costs are covered through sales. I say electric for incubating, brooding with heat and what ever heat source used to keep water thawed in winter. Keeping chickens really means free eggs and meat not really any profit.