Utah dude intro....

[GreySoul]

Hi yall,

New chicken guy here with six barred rocks, 9 red sex links, and three easter eggers (4 speckled sussex hems and a rooster on the way too). I found a love of chickens while deployed to Diego Garcia and feeding the Queen's chickens (helped me deal with my first deployment). Chicken noises and behaviors calm me to this day and raise my mood level on rough days.

I am keeping my flock at the size it is now at 25 give or take, by 2020 I would like to be raising my own chickens and not depending on a hatchery for chicks (unless I need new genes in the pool). I am hoping that this could be a self funding hobby for me with a flock of 25 chickens by selling eggs and surplus chicks. BTW, to maintain good flock genetics and egg production how often should gems and roosters be retired?

 

[The Phantom]

 

[drumstick diva]

Hens are retired when they are no longer laying - some folks have an "old hens home," for them in gratitude for providing so many eggs. You can freshen the gene pool by having 2 or 3 different lines of roosters and rotating them in/out of the breeding pens.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy
Happy to have you here with us at BYC!
Diva has given you some sound advice. Hope you find this site as enjoyable as we do!
Thank you for your service!

 

[Pork Pie]

Hello and welcome to BYC

You can use this link to contact members in your area - Find Your State Thread

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[theoldchick]

Welcome to the flock. Chickens are soothing for the soul. Good luck with your plans.

 

[Joeschooks]

Welcome to BYC! There’s so many helpful, knowledgeable folks here and I’m sure you’ll find this site a very useful resource. I hope you enjoy it as much as we all do.

 

[Kiki]

We are glad you joined this flock!
Jump right in and make yourself at home.

This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

Coop Ideas:
Chicken Coops

 

[Teila]

G'Day from down under GreySoul Welcome!

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

BYC has Topic of the Week discussions which I have found to be a great resource, informative and sometimes entertaining; so definitely worth checking out.

If you would like to share Pictures and Stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out

Including your general location on your profile will assist others. Location, climate, season etc can be important factors when members are responding to any questions you may have and vice versa.