Buff Orpington hen with baby.
Buff Hen With Baby
The hobby, project, or whatever one wishes to call it concerning people raising chickens in their backyard or at their home appears to be getting more popular in recent years. It is something that is not difficult and will provide meat and eggs for the family.
I strongly recommend that it is understood that it is generally as, or more expensive to raise chickens for either eggs or meat yourself than to buy at them at the local store. I do know you won’t find the quality in any of the stores. Possibly a farm market or just some small scale chicken farmer selling a few eggs out of their home would compare, but the eggs in the supermarket, just aren’t of the quality you get from having your own chickens and eggs.
[singlepic id=11 w=320 h=240 float=right]The picture to the right shows some chicks I recently ordered. It includes Barred Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire Red, Buff Orpington, Silver Laced Wyandottes, and Rhode Island Reds. The darker one’s are the wyandottes and barred rock, and the lightest are the orpingtons. It is almost impossible to distinguish between Rhode Island Red and New Hampshire red as their colors can be almost identical.
These chicks are what I believe to be some of the most popular, “dual purpose” breeds. They have similar egg laying characteristics other than I feel the Buff Orpington does actually lay a few less eggs per year than the others. It is a little heavier and might even be classed more as a “heavy” breed. It also has white skin when dressed for the oven.
Tags: barred plymouth rock, buff orpington, chick, chickens, hobby, rhode island red
The recommendation for ordering chickens, especially chicks is now. This is to be sure that the chicks will be available on the date you want them.
A small flock of chicks I raised. There are 5 varieties in the picture.
Generally, even if you order shortly before you want them, they will be available in small quantities. If you order pullets that are ready to lay eggs, they can be ordered anytime as they can tolerate the cold in the northern climates.
I have found that purchasing pullets that are ready to lay is somewhat a gamble in that it is impossible to tell the exact age of these pullets and quite often you might wait longer than expected before you see any eggs. I realize not all people selling young, ready to lay pullets, will lie, but a pullet will more than likely stop laying for a few days to a couple weeks when relocated.
The relocation coupled with the possibility of getting pullets that might have hatched a week or two later than you are told, can make for a lengthy wait. Obviously the hatch date should be accurate and will be if you know the person you are buying from.
I actually haven’t found a place anywhere near where I live that provides ready to lay pullets, but I do know there are often cards on bulletin boards in the feed stores, or the proprietor often knows of someone that has a few.
Most of us will buy day old chicks so will want to order early. I believe in ordering a couple months before I want the chicks. April is the recommended month to start a flock in the northern climates.
Tags: When To Order Chicks
With the movement toward cleaning up our environment and going green the question, “How Green Are Chickens?”, would seem to be one that many people have asked themselves, or thought about in some way.
Chickens if I understand green, are Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: compost, droppings, How Green Are Chickens, manure
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