What are your chicken goals

[Hedgeland Farms]

I find mine to be very good layers, including though winter (although all mine are quite young, the oldest is a 2 years) make good meat birds, and are very easy to handle. They do go broody quite a lot, and make good mothers. Coronation Sussex are also excellent, but slightly harder to get.

Thanks for this!!

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

Oh, I love it, too!

I only have 18 chickens, and I do sell eggs, but I've started earning enough selling them to cover feed costs.... only now it's winter.

You'll have a great time with all those biddies running around! And you've got lots of time to plan and get prepared. I know so much more now than when I first started. I'm so looking forward to redesigning my coop so that it "works" better. And the goat house! Manure management has been a real challenge, even with composting. Winter has weather challenges - drainage issues, specifically. I've been trying to iron those out for 2 years now.

You are smart to get all that minutiae dealt with now. I bet it'll save your sanity later!

The time to plan is super important to me this time and I (like you said) going abt it a wee bit differently than the first time lol. Learning more is kinda a hobby of mine and this place is a wealth of knowledge

 

[Meg22]

I find mine to be very good layers, including though winter (although all mine are quite young, the oldest is a 2 years) make good meat birds, and are very easy to handle. They do go broody quite a lot, and make good mothers. Coronation Sussex are also excellent, but slightly harder to get.

I also have light Sussex. They are beautiful friendly birds. Very big. My 5 year old loves them and they love her. Ours are still only pullets but rainbow is giving us a good quantity of eggs.

 

[K0k0shka]

А lot of people's goals evolve. If you can pull it off and you're happy, go for it!

My chicken goal is to have a combination of pets, eggs and meat, at a small scale. I've been keeping a main flock of no more than 8, who are "pets with benefits" and provide us with eggs. I also hatch chicks for meat every spring, with a broody, and process them by fall. The core flock gets to live out their lives, and every year we get a new supply of meat from the temporary chickens. We are a family of 4 so we have plenty of eggs to eat during the active season, sometimes even some to give away. We get zero eggs in the winter and have to buy, but that's fine. I have Orpingtons and Barnevelders in the main flock and, since their main purpose is to be pets, I picked the breeds based on that. Eggs are just a nice bonus.

 

[WIchickMama]

Mine are a hobby. I like a multi-generational flock. I keep a flock, not individual birds. Birds move in and out of my flock.

I like to let them out. I do not like predators, and have fed way too many of them.

I work hard on the balance of enough eggs for me and mine consistently, and not so many as the chores become too much, the feed bill becomes too much.

If your feed bill is too high, the easiest thing is to reduce your flock numbers.

Mrs K

This is definitely how I do it as well. A hobby, no one leaves unless they aren't a good fit for the flock (super bully) or they pass. We are looking to find that sweet spot with eggs, enough to eat, bake and have extra but not so many we are drowning, lol.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

The core flock gets to live out their lives, and every year we get a new supply of meat from the temporary

I have 9 that will live out their entire lives with us. The others will eventually be harvested and replaced.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

This is definitely how I do it as well. A hobby, no one leaves unless they aren't a good fit for the flock (super bully) or they pass. We are looking to find that sweet spot with eggs, enough to eat, bake and have extra but not so many we are drowning, lol.

I think it's super awesome you keep everyone forever!!!
How do/will you keep egg production going?
Will you just keep adding to the flock? Or do/will you wait till everyone passes eventually?


I don't know what it is abt having a lot of eggs, it literally makes me so happy!! And i just love giving them away lol. I told my husband I wouldn't mind being able to provide the entire town with eggs!!! (This'll never happen lol I can't possibly house nor feed that many chickens )

 

[DatCampG]

My goal is to keep my birds happy and healthy during the Winter months. I need to go any buy some new five gallon buckets with lids to keep in the house on (icy days) for when I get them fresh water. I have fifty hens, five roosters and eleven guineas. I don't sell my eggs, I give them out "free to my elders" in the community. I also barter for square hay bales in July for the Winter months. Have a nice Thanksgiving.

 

[WIchickMama]

I think it's super awesome you keep everyone forever!!!
How do/will you keep egg production going?
Will you just keep adding to the flock? Or do/will you wait till everyone passes eventually?

I add chicks every season, I don't keep any roosters so those don't count towards numbers, I added onto my run this year and coop next year. I did rehome 2 hens this year as they were Polish and were consistently getting picked on by my standards and they were not as healthy of layers as I want.

I too love eggs, getting them daily makes me so happy and I barely even eat them. Lol

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

My goal is to keep my birds happy and healthy during the Winter months. I need to go any buy some new five gallon buckets with lids to keep in the house on (icy days) for when I get them fresh water. I have fifty hens, five roosters and eleven guineas. I don't sell my eggs, I give them out "free to my elders" in the community. I also barter for square hay bales in July for the Winter months. Have a nice Thanksgiving.

This is so awesome!!! And nice goal. I too am hopeful to keep everyone safe and warm this winter. (We just had our first little snow. Abt an 1.5 inches )
I never thought to use eggs as a bartering tool either