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Chickens

Started by Furby, March 06, 2005, 01:12:07 AM

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Furby

Stopped in at TSC today to pick up a couple of big washers.
Started looking around a bit and they have a shipment of chickens and ducks in.
Decided I'm going to get me a couple. ;) The yellow ducks are half off and they have lots of them, but I think I'm getting chickens.

What do I need to know?
Any tips/tricks?
I plan to get a couple of laying hens, no chance I can keep a roster so I need to make sure I get hens.
The signs had discriptions of hens and rosters, but most of those little guys looked pretty much alike. ::)
Any breed stand out as a good one for laying?
Looks like my Mom may be getting a couple as well for the kids to raise, but she really wants some that lay the blue eggs, what kind are those?

My Sister inlaw's Dad had a couple all summer a few years back. They never laid one egg. Don't want that to happen. :-\

thecfarm

You won't be able to tell if you get a rooster or a hen,unless you know how to sex them.Araucana lays the blue and green eggs.Also known as the Easter egg chicken.These are not good layers. Put the chickens in a box with newpapers on the bottom.They like it WARM.Put a clamp light with a 40 watt bulb and cook them critters.But make sure the box is bigger enough so the can get away from the heat.Will take a few weeks to get feathers.I keep mine in the house until they start to smell like chickens,than out they go to the coop.Keep them away from drafts.If you have pets,make sure they do try to kill the chickens.Rhode Island Reds lay brown eggs,a good layer.Need to dip the chickens beck in the water so they know where to get a drink.The book will say to put them in a round place with a red light.I done it with the above 5-6 times and never lost a chicken or a duck. Good luck.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Roxie

Hey Furby! 
That's good advice from thecfarm.  I'm familiar with Dominicker chickens.  I always purchased my chickens when they were older and ready to start laying.  You can tell their sex real easy by then.  I never had a rooster because some of them can be hard to handle.  If you feed a good laying feed, your chickens will lay eggs.  Dominicker's lay small brown eggs though.  Good luck with your chickens, and keep us posted with your progress!   :)
Say when

Norm

Good advice so far Furby, I raise many different breeds of egg layers, including the Araucana's, all brown egg layers except them. Chickens are surprising easy to take care of and will eat food scraps as well as prepared feed, we give ours a combination of both and let them roam the yard to eat the bugs and grass. I also raise laying ducks too, kaki campbells and indian runners, they lay more and bigger eggs. I prefer the taste of duck eggs myself, they are sweeter with more flavor is best as I can discribe. There is something very soothing about having hens around, they make a cooing sound, keep the bugs down and provide the freshest eggs possible.



Duck eggs on the left, Araucana's next and then some brown ones from our black stars.

And what happens when you have your own hens. :D



Any roosters that slip through go into the stew pot first time they crow. ;D

Furby

Quote

Any roosters that slip through go into the stew pot first time they crow. ;D


I was just reading that again after doing a search.  ;D ;D ;D

I realy didn't pay all that much attention at TSC. It was after I got in the truck that I hatched the plan to get me a couple.
Really like the ducks, and have been considering turning the swimming pool into a fish pond anyways, but I know I can't pass the ducks with my neighbors, they are just going to be too messy and noisy. A rooster's gonna give me trouble as well, but I'm pretty sure I can get away with a couple of hens as my neighbors already know I'm totally crazy.  ;D

As it is now, I buy a dozen eggs, use a few, forget they are in there and end up dumping them. I figure having fresh eggs would be fun, and a few here and there for the neighbors would help keep things cool. ;)

The chicks are about the size of a softball or so, not fresh hatched. How old do they need to get before they start laying?
I plan to go take a closer look at the chicks again either Tues or Wed.

Ironwood

Furby,

  HEY THANKS,  almost forgot about PEEP season coming. Today we will make a trip to our local TSC for veiwing by our three year old. THANKS FOR THE REMINDER.

   REID ;)
There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love to do, there is only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.- Wayne Dyer

Patty

Our chickens are my favorite farm animal....after Becky of course.  :) They are really easy to care for. We get ours as day olds, and put them in a cardboard box with a heat lamp clamped on it. You'll know just by watching the chicks if it is too warm or too cold. Get  a little waterer when you buy the chicks, and as somebody mentioned, dip the little guys beaks in the water so they know where to get a drink. That is about all the training they require. They normally start laying eggs in about 4 or 5 months or so, depending upon the breed. I like the black stars for hens, they are good layers and seem relatively smart....as far as chickens go.  ::)  They lay brown eggs.  According to Martha Stewart you can tell what color eggs the chicken lays by looking at their ears. I bet you didn't know chickens had ears, now did you!  :D  I personally have not tried this as I do have some pride left, but I have been known to look at their legs.  :o   Generally the aracona's (the ones that lay blue eggs) have dark colored legs, unlike the brown or white layers that have yellowish legs.  OK, so now you know way more than you ever wanted to know about chickens! Good luck with them, Furby!
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

WH_Conley

Patty, I never could tell anything from a chicken leg for the breading. ;D ;D ;D

Raised on a farm, but didn't know chickens had ears, thought they went the way of chicken lips. Learn something new everyday. :D :D
Bill

tnlogger

patty thats a new one on me  :D :D all i ever see when i look at chickens is drumsticks,thighs, and breastmeat. with plenty of BBQ sauce. ;D
gene

SwampDonkey

blue eggs? robins and grackles :D :D :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Paschale

I'm with tnlogger...matter of fact, as I sit here typing away, there's a chicken roasting in the oven.  It's a Tyson.   ::)  I sure would love to try a chicken that came from the farm, with no hormones or anything, but for today, this'll have to do.

Oh, and Furby, if you get those hens laying a lot of eggs, well, consider me your first customer!  I'll gladly take some off yer hands.   8)
Y'all can pronounce it "puh-SKOLLY"

sawguy21

I had to feed and water the capons (meat chickens) when I was a kid. To this day, the only good chicken is a dead chicken-on my plate with gravy and dressing ;D
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Patty

You haven't lived until you raise chickens for meat. Just ask my boys.  :D  The smell of dipping those headless chickens in scalding soapy water is a smell you never forget, but always wish you could. 

As for the taste, well they are tougher than what you buy at the store, my guess is because they get some excersize, whereas the store bought chickens are raised in a 1 foot square box.  But knowing you are eating healthy corn fed  meat is worth all the work. We raise them every other year, enough to last for two years in the freezer. By then you forget how much work it is and are ready to do it again.  :D

We try to keep laying hens all the time. I replenish the stock as needed.
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

Tom

Hey Furby   You might be throwing away good eggs.  They will keep under refrigeration for 3 or 4 weeks.

pigman

Tom you are right as always. :P  A a large egg producer I visited a few years ago, said they never even shipped any eggs until they were three days old. They advertised farm fresh eggs, but said the eggs taste better after several days of cold storage.
Bob the stale egg eater
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

Ianab

And... how to tell if your eggs are fresh.. or more importantly.. not fresh

Put them in a bowl of water.
Fresh eggs will lay on the bottom of the bowl. Not so fresh, they will stay on the bottom but stand up on their ends. Not fresh, but still OK to use. If they float to the top then they are past the use by date. If they make like a cork... it's ready to blow  :o


Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Tom

I was just thinking about those half off ducks.  What in the world do you do with a half a duck that's not grown up yet.  I can just picture the little boogers hopping around the front yard, flying in circles and tipping over in the pond.

A customer of mine convinced me that I should look into Dominickers if I wanted chickens.  They are an old breed from Jamestown days that were brought to this country because they laid good and ate good too.  If you raise Dominickers, look into the organizations that are proud that they are perpetuating the breed.

Fla._Deadheader


  Maybe ??? I learned sumpin new today. Never heard of scalding SOAPY water for chikin plukin. ??? Hey Patty, What's with the Soapy water ???  We always used plain water ??????
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

wiam

Harold,  I have not tried it, but a small squirt of dish soap is supposed to help feathers come out. 

Will

Fla._Deadheader


  I'm from the old country. No soap on my chikins.  ::) ::) :D :D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

pigman

I bet that soap would make the feathers clean and could use them for a pillow or feather bed. :P  Of course on this side of the Mason and Dixon line we don't need feather beds cause it is almost warm.
Bob in a border state
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

wiam

Bob
One year I had a guy come and butcher mine. (very pricy)  He told about a customer that picked up the feathers after butchering and took them to the local laundrymat.  She ruined a washer. :D :D

Will

farmerdoug

Boy do I remmber bucthering chickens when I was young.  My Dad raised chickens for eggs and meat.  We had 2000 laying hens at one time.  Cleaning eggs was not fun anymore.  With that many hens and being that my Dad hatched all of our chickens in a 400 egg incubator we had alot of roosters.  So he took orders and we plucked and dressed them on Saturdays.  I was very happy to see those chickens go.  We still have a couple of dozen for fresh eggs but we let the hens hatch and raise the little ones now.  The extra roosters make excellent fried chicken. ;D
Doug
Truck Farmer/Greenhouse grower
2001 LT40HDD42 Super with Command Control and AccuSet, 42 hp Kubota diesel
Fargo, MI

Furby

Thanks for the info everyone, I'm taking notes.

Tom, I figure 2 weeks past the use by date is old. ::) I can be real forgetfull!

Ian, I was wondering how to tell. I read someplace once that if the clear white part started to look cloudy after cracking open the egg, it was going bad. Just didn't know if it was true.

Paschale, A friend of my Mom sells fresh eggs. Just off Lk Mich Dr. before you get to the river going to Allendale. I can get you info if you want.

Patty

I don't know why we add soap to the water, that is how I was taught over 100 years ago.   ::)

I imagine it is to make them easier to pluck. We have been skinning them to save time the past few years, but I don't think they taste as good that way.   We certainly could use one of those fancy chicken pluckers.....and NO I don't mean me with my Sunday clothes on!  ;D 
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

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