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CindySue0369

CindySue0369

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Hi you all!

I am starting a small egg and meat farm for my daughters and myself. My chicken pen should be done by end of November. We are remodeling our old horse barn and adding an outside pen with cover.

My thoughts are to raise Black Australorps and Silver Laced Wyandottes, since I want egg layer and meat producers. I hope to have good brooders to keep meat production up and good layers to produce 4 dozen eggs a week. Any ideas on how many hens I will need? Will 10 to 12 hens be enough? Are these breeds good enough brooders? I will need to find some young pullets after the chicken pen is finished, is anyone selling these breeds near Russellville Arkansas?
 
Hi CindySue,

I don't know much about the Black Australorps and Silver Laced Wyandottes so I can't give any info. Some chickens are better for meat and others are better for eggs. A good dual purpose bird (good for both eggs and meat) is the Rhode Island Reds. There are other dual purpose but the RIR are the ones I'm most familiar.

But you asked how many hens and that depends on the purpose. Are all 10-12 going to be layers or mixed meat and layers. Because you said you're looking for about 4 doz a week. With 12 hens you could easily get 6-7 doz per week (up to 1 doz per day). Less during molt and shorter daylight hours unless you supplement light.
 
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great to have you joining the BYC flock
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Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. I've owned both Australorps and Wyandottes over the years, and given the lay rate of the two breeds (in my experience, 5-6 eggs per hen per week for the Australorps, 3-4 eggs per hen per week for the Wyandottes average over the year), 12 hens should be enough to give you 4 dozen eggs per week. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.
 
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Good luck to you and thanks for joining us!
 

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