The current flock – Barred Rocks, Australorps, an elderly Buff Cornish and one Australorp/Delaware cross.
Chickens are often the first thing people want when they move to the country — fresh eggs, chicken soup and cute baby birds. And chickens do make good sense on even a small operation. They eat food scraps, supply you with breakfast, make compost, help in pest control and offer entertainment. Although I’ve always raised a few of my own birds, I’ve kept a single flock and periodically ordered new birds. The more I look at what I’m doing the more I really want to raise my own. Ordering chicks from a hatchery means the potential for bringing in disease; shipping chicks uses irreplaceable fossil fuels. Like heirloom vegetables and fruits, what you raise can be tailored to your specific needs and preferences if you raise your own chickens. So, I Have A Plan.
Delaware chicks enjoying dinner.
I have a preference for dual-purpose birds — the sort that lay a reasonable number of eggs but are large enough to make decent meat birds. I would also prefer to breed my own rather than depend on the commercial hatcheries. That preference was strengthened this last year when I ordered some new chickens from a hatchery I’d used before without any problems. I lost 16 of the 25 chicks. Some just keeled over and died for no obvious reason. Several had severe leg deformities and had to be butchered because they couldn’t walk. Others had weak legs, almost all had very crooked toes and one had a badly crossed bill. Chickens of the same age were dramatically different in size, as in twice as large as others in the same group. Those sorts of problems indicate inbreeding — not the kind of thing I want in my chicken flock. I finally gave the surviving chicks away. Although I have and have used an incubator, I would really like to let mama (the avian variety) do the work. So, this year, I’m changing the system so I can raise my own, which means I need to decide on a particular variety of chicken. Making a statement about the “best” choice for a chicken flock is rather like volunteering to be shot at sunrise — everybody has a strong opinion and the messenger may be the one who winds up receiving most of the bullets. The right answer, of course, is that it depends on what you want out of the deal. There are so many different chicken varieties out there that you can find something to suit.
Former flock of Buff Cornish in the chicken tractor with Foghorn the Delaware rooster.
Choices, choices. What kind of chickens do I want? A dual-purpose chicken won’t lay as many eggs as the Leghorn, which is ultimate laying machine. But with three flocks (I’ll explain why later on), I’ll have enough chickens to supply all of our eggs even in the winter months, and lots of extras in peak periods to sell, freeze, feed to the pigs or hard-cook and feed back to the chickens. A dual-purpose chicken won’t grow as fast or be as meaty as the Cornish Cross, the classic meat-only bird butchered at eight weeks that you’ll find in the grocery (which I think is too delicate and prone to health problems, anyway). Some of the dual-purpose heritage breeds, however, grow to a reasonable size by 12-14 weeks, and they often have more flavor than a Cornish Cross, especially if you age them for a few days after butchering and cook them properly. Finally, I want chickens that will go broody and set their own eggs, which will hopefully allow me to retire the incubator. Broody chickens quit laying while setting and rearing chicks, but again, if I have enough chickens, that shouldn’t be an issue. And none of the dual-purpose heritage breeds are 100 percent broody, so some will keep right on laying while Sister Sue is setting on the nest.
Here are my criteria for the new chickens: • I want chickens that will lay at least 200 eggs a year per hen. • I would prefer white chickens, as they have light pinfeathers. White-feathered birds are an advantage for butchering, because their pinfeathers don’t show up black against the pale skin. Most people don’t like the look of a black-speckled fryer, which means cleaning the dark-feathered chickens is a much more labor-intensive process. But this is a trait that takes a back seat to the other qualities I’m looking for. • Yellow skin is an advantage in a laying flock. A chicken bleaches out as she lays, because she deposits skin pigment in her egg yolks. It’s much easier to see bleaching in a yellow-skinned hen. • Chickens that mature early will lay sooner and grow better for butchering, so I want fast growers. • I want a breed in which at least half the hens will set. • Since the kids are involved in the chicken-keeping, I don’t want birds that are highly aggressive; an attacking rooster can cause considerable damage to a child. • I know that hatchery catalogs, like seed catalogs, tend to go for salesmanship rather than truth; I’m inclined to go with chickens I either have personal experience with or know from discussions with those I considered to be reputable breeders. By the way, if you’re looking for a quick reference in choosing a chicken breed or breeds, do an Internet search for . It’s available in a variety of places on the web. John Henderson is the social sciences librarian at Ithaca College in New York. He’s also a chicken person who has raised many of the heritage breeds. The college used to maintain a copy of the chart, but I couldn’t find one when I searched the website. It’s available from other sources, though. Henderson did a good job researching most of the heritage breeds and can comment on many from personal experience. To be continued next week…
Baby Chickens How To Care For Them in
Wolf Pen, West Virginia
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Wolf Pen West Virginia,
including Sussex Chickens, Welsummer Chickens, Turken Chickens and more.
Be sure to check out the Bargain Specials, as you can combine different
egg layers in smaller amounts and buy as an assortment. Wolf Pen
West Virginia also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Wolf Pen West Virginia, bantams for sale, ducks for sale, geese for sale,
turkeys for sale, guinea for sale, peafowl for sale, pheasant for sale,
chukar partridge for sale, bobwhite for sale, many different breeds of
baby chicks for sale in Wolf Pen WV.
Baby Chicks By Mail in
Wolf Pen, West Virginia
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Wolf Pen West Virginia
catalog is a yearly traditions in many houses. My kids and I eagerly await
the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog. We love looking at all the cool and
different chicken breeds available. Catalogs are free so head on over to
their site and request one if you are interested.
Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
and bantams. Bantams are fun hardy little chickens, they lay tiny eggs
that kids especially love collecting. Bantams typically weigh less than 2
pounds when full grown. Just like ordering anything online there are pros
and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in
Wolf Pen West Virginia * Big Selection - If you are wanting a large
variety of different chicken breeds and egg colors, you will find the best
selection at an online hatchery. * Both Bantams and full sized chickens
available * You get to choose what sex you want. If you want a mixture of
both male and female then choosing a "straight run" will save you money
and you will get a mixture of male and female chicks. You can also choose
all males or all females too. * Weekly specials. Hatcheries have sales on
chicks, you are likely to get a good deal if you are flexible with the
breeds you are wanting. Cons of buying baby chicks in Wolf Pen
West Virginia * Order early to get the best selection. Certain breeds sell
out fast, sometimes as early as 6 months in advance of shipping! If you
are wanting a certain breed it's best to order your chicks in the fall
before their orders sell out.
Baby Chickens Male Or Female in
Wolf Pen, West Virginia
Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries
will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is
necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put
in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce
enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to
buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you
choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship
and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in
Wolf Pen West Virginia is easy and has always been a very pleasant
experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks
but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all
those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait
was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Wolf Pen,
West Virginia Baby chicks are quite
cute and also
tough to stand up to,
yet it's best to plan for their
arrival prior to you obtain them. Prepare initially
by collecting not only the
appropriate materials, but
additionally the appropriate
understanding to look after
them. Raising baby chicks is relatively
straightforward, you merely should offer them with the following: A
clean and also warm and comfortable
habitat A lot of food as well
as water Focus and
love Environment Your environment can be a basic box, aquarium,
pet cat carrier, or guinea
pig cage. Line it with old towels as well as
blankets (without any loose
strings!) to begin, and after a
couple of weeks make use of straw over paper.
Note: Avoid making use of only
newspaper or various other slipper
surfaces-- or your chicks legs could expand
misshapen. You also need
something to provide food and
water in, such as a chicken feeder and water
recipe from the feed shop, or a pickle jar
lid for food and also an animal bird water dispenser from a family pet store. Likewise, as the chicks get
older you could introduce a perch
into the environment to get them
trained on perching. Heat To
keep your chicks warm you have to
supply them with a warmth resource.
This can be as simple as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp style light from a
hardware shop, or an infrared reptile heat
bulb additionally work extremely well (my
suggestion). Chicks require this
heat 24/7 till their downy fluff is
changed with plumes (which could use
up to two months). The freshly
hatched need a temperature level
between 90 and 100 levels,
as well as every week this can
be lowered by
approximately 5 degrees or
so. The heat resource ought
to get on merely one side of the cage
to allow chicks a range of
temperatures. The chicks are your ideal
thermometer- if they are concealing in the
opposite edge of your warmth
lamp, you should
decrease the temperature level. If
they are smothering each other under the
warmth (not simply curling up),
you have to put some warmth.
House cleaning
Cleanliness is vital and it maintains your chicks healthy. Make certain to alter
the bed linen
usually and also
constantly offer clean
food and also water Food and also water.
Chicks grow extremely fast
which needs lots of tidy
food as well as water. Offer
enough at all times as well
as inspect
frequently to
stop dehydrated and
hungry chicks. Chick food is various than adult chicken food, as well as it comes
in both medicated as well as non-medicated selections. Feed chick food for the
very first 2 months, after that
switch to a grower food (~ 17 %
healthy protein) for an additional 2 months,
and afterwards to a slightly
reduced protein feed or a level feed
(if you have layers). Soil Some chicks want
to obtain a head start on taking
filth baths, while others won't occupy that activity up until they are
older. If you have the room in your chick
unit, introduce a tray of sand or
dirt for them to shower in.
Interest and love There are a couple of advantages to spending time with your chicks. To start
with, they will certainly probably bond with you and
not escape as grownups. Second, if you
analyze your chicks daily as well as
see their habits, you can
catch disease or other troubles earlier. Watch out for wheezing, hopping, or
other undesirable
indications. Make certain to
additionally look at
their poop, as looseness of the bowels could cause matted plumes and clogged up cloaca.
Last but not least, it is essential to keep an eye out for social problems, such as the
littlest chick obtaining badgered. Vacant nest syndrome So your
chicks are currently totally feathery
and its time for them to leave the
safety of your residence
and relocate outside right into a cage. Have a look at our
part on chicken coops to learn more
regarding cages as well as
correct cage habitats.
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