#149772
Nov 8th, 2007 at 07:19 AM
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Joined: Mar 2005
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OP
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Just encase I do get the trailer I thought I would start researching some of my tentative plans.
Does anyone know about laying hens. I'd like the most disease resistant type possible. I'm not interested in double yoke layers. And I would be as happy with brown as with white eggs.
My brother used to have 2 dozen layers and he had more eggs than he could use. If anyone has ever raised chickens can you tell me all about it please?
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,521
The Bird Man
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The Bird Man
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,521 |
BREAKFAST AT TK'S HOUSE!!!!! Actually I used to help run our church's retreat farm. We used to run it as an ACTUAL farm. Church members used to bring us their baby Easter chicks and ducks each year. Most of the chicks were hens, and yes, we had eggs coming out the wazoo (so did the hens). Our hens laid one egg a day, EACH, but when you have two dozen or more hens that is a phenomenal amount. We let our hens wander as they liked, but they always came to the henhouse to roost and lay. Still, we lost a lot of chickens to predators.
I prefer brown eggs to white. I don't think there is a difference in the quality or flavor of the eggs at all, it just seems like brown eggs are MUCH more flavorful, and what the mind believes is often true for the whole body. Be sure to buy Laying Mash at your local feed store. If you want infertile eggs, keep the hens separated from the roosters at ALL times or else do like we did and just don't buy any eggs at all. Hens ALWAYS lay an egg a day, whether or not they "Been" with a rooster, so roosters are TOTALLY unnecessary to egg production, unless you want to have the eggs develop and hatch into more chickens.
Kingdoms RAGE and go to war...but the PEasants plant potatoes.. EARTH FIRST! (we'll strip-mine the OTHER planets later.)
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Joined: Aug 2003
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Patriot
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Patriot
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Are you going to build a coup or pen for them? I'd like to have a few chickens too. Will my dog eat them?
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,521
The Bird Man
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The Bird Man
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,521 |
Are you going to build a coup or pen for them? I'd like to have a few chickens too. Will my dog eat them? He might, Rabbit, he might.
Kingdoms RAGE and go to war...but the PEasants plant potatoes.. EARTH FIRST! (we'll strip-mine the OTHER planets later.)
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 225
Member
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Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 225 |
dont know what you plan to feed them but my dad raised some chickens as a hobby. he fed them cracked corn sometimes and the eggs were so incredibly rich. when he fed laying mash they were kinda pale but the corn made the yolks bright yellow and they were very satisfying to eat. of course with ethanol production jumping to the forfront this might be way too exspensive nowadays.
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Joined: Mar 2005
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OP
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So I only need about 3 chicks that's good to know. I had no idea they layed everyday.
Your right I won't have roosters. Their idea of dawn and mine is entirely different.
It's good to know there is a particular food for them I didn't know that.
I'm thinking of a little chicken house sitting on a concrete run completely enclosed in chicken wire and piping. That way I wouldn't have to worry about predators from any direction.
I hoped to raise corn for the little darlings and maybe putting some large pots of live wheat plants in the pots. Let them get some exercise working for their own food when it comes in season. Am I crazy?
Is their a particular breed that is better than others? Some hens can be kind of aggressive I'd like to avoid that if possible. I don't want my ankles pecked or anything.
I never even thought about ducks or geese. Hummmmmmmmm
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 18,803 Likes: 32
Patriot
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Patriot
Joined: Aug 2003
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I didn't think about totally fencing them in. My in laws used to have chickens and they had them a little area that was built up off the ground. They went in it at night but during the day ran around the yard. I'm not sure what it was but they threw some type of stuff on the ground and the chickens ate it. They had 3 or 4 and more eggs than they could use. My mother in law always said they made cakes taste better than "store bought" eggs.
The people living next to us used to have a rooster that woke us up every morning at the crack of dawn. When it didn't make me mad I thought it was kind of cute.
TK, hope you can get a camera in a while and let us see a picture.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,521
The Bird Man
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The Bird Man
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,521 |
My sister-in-law's hobby is raising chickens. She has some of those chickens that lay colored eggs. The shells are pastel blue, green, or even pink. These chickens have a funny looking topknot on their heads that make them look like a Dr. Seuss character. They are called AURACANA chickens and here is a picture of their eggs.
Kingdoms RAGE and go to war...but the PEasants plant potatoes.. EARTH FIRST! (we'll strip-mine the OTHER planets later.)
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Official Taste Tester
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OP
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That is so cool. do you have a picture of the chickens too?
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,521
The Bird Man
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The Bird Man
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,521 |
Here is the best picture I could find of one of the Auracanas. Auracana, The Easter Egg Laying Chicken
Kingdoms RAGE and go to war...but the PEasants plant potatoes.. EARTH FIRST! (we'll strip-mine the OTHER planets later.)
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 12,160
Official Taste Tester
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OP
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What a great picture. She looks like she's ready for holloween rather than Easter in that picture. I'm definitely going to research these chickens. I think I would like to have these types as long as their aren't any problems with them.
How many does she have?
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,521
The Bird Man
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The Bird Man
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,521 |
I'm not sure. She raises all kinds of poultry. I'll ask her when I talk to her.
Kingdoms RAGE and go to war...but the PEasants plant potatoes.. EARTH FIRST! (we'll strip-mine the OTHER planets later.)
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 18,803 Likes: 32
Patriot
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Patriot
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 18,803 Likes: 32 |
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Joined: Mar 2005
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Official Taste Tester
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OP
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I researched them and it says if they are hand raised they can be very calm natured. So they sound perfect. Of course rare, hard to find and possibly expensive but maybe I can still afford a few.
If she has an information about hand raising them I'd love to have it.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,521
The Bird Man
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The Bird Man
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,521 |
I'll see she calls AT LEAST once a week.
Kingdoms RAGE and go to war...but the PEasants plant potatoes.. EARTH FIRST! (we'll strip-mine the OTHER planets later.)
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 12,160
Official Taste Tester
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OP
Official Taste Tester
Joined: Mar 2005
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Thanks Thorny your swell.
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 21,848
Hot Rod
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Hot Rod
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 21,848 |
tk I used to raise chickens...... First off you have to buy the feed if your not on a farm. Laying mash for sure......Being a farmer all my life, it was not a pleasant job for me....Cause we kept ours in a pen....... If they can be loose it is best.We buy ours brown eggs from a farmer who lets his run loose on a large hill side , and it works. Our neighbors are too close for that...... But good luck if you can .. I prefer the cows..
PS... My horse isn't here, this is my Nitemare..
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 12,160
Official Taste Tester
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OP
Official Taste Tester
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 12,160 |
I was thinking of a concrete "floor" that I could hose off to one side into a spot where I could shovel it over to the compost pile easily. Am I out of my mind on that one?
I just don't like the idea of having to move the coop every year to keep the chickens safe from ground born diseases. See I've been studying.
I looked into cows but I don't think I'll have enough land for that. I was interested to see that there are dwarf breeds of cows. It's so fun what you can learn on the internet.
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 21,848
Hot Rod
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Hot Rod
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 21,848 |
llama is fun.But costly.......Or a horse to mow the grass......I did own 3 one time till they died of ole age......Then I turned to 4 wheelers .
Animals are fun, but where to get rid of the poop isn't if you cannot spread it on the field. I liked rabbits but when it had babies, I went beserk.....gad it got our and there was dead bodies and blood everywhere....That was a shocker.. I quit them quick.
Pigs are good eating, but that is another dirty story..ha ha They like mud. Too expensive to keep up..
Chickens like any animal will pick up diseases, not matter what sort of footwork they do......So do we. I once had banny roosters...colorful and cute..But useless...... Get a couple chickens and have fun......
b
I tried turkeys twice........They are the ones to watch carefully,, but it was so much fun to watch them..But hard to clean when you butcher.
Try them.
PS... My horse isn't here, this is my Nitemare..
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