Thinking 'bout chickens

[hoosierheightsfarm]

Wanting to get some chickens to furnish our own eggs. What do you guys suggest?

Patrick

[cff]

I've grown to really like Black Australorps, their heavy layers of brown eggs and young roosters make good 5 lb birds for the table.
I've ordered them from McMurray before with pretty good results.

I've also started messing around with a few Pearl Guineas, not great layers but pretty darn good in dumplings


www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/product/black_australorps.html

[Alan]

Thanks for that link Carolina, I really appreciate it and am checking it out right now.

Anybody here ever order from Sandhill? It looks like they have a really nice variety of types there.

-Alan

[plantsnobin]

McMurray is where we have got our chickens from for the last two years. We haven't had any problems with them, but I was thinking this spring I might order from Sandhill, though I understand you need to get orders in very early, as they raise their own birds and have very small quantities. I also want to get sweet potatoes from them. Last year we bought silver laced wyandottes and new hampshire reds, this past spring we got columbian wyandottes, black australorps and speckeled sussex, all straight run. We ended up with mostly hens. We have the last 3 breeds together, so I can't be sure who is laying and who isn't, but none of them started laying as early or as reliably as the new hampshire reds for us. The columbian wyandotte rooster is a particularly NASTY tempered beast. Might be a good thing if you needed him to protect a flock. We have never had a rooster so hateful of any other breed before. For egg production, I would go with the reds. Prices were $1.81 & $1.92 st run, plus 13 cents each for the coccidiosis vaccine.

[hoosierheightsfarm]

Is this the "wrong" time of year to try to start chickens?

[cff]

Most (but not all) hatchery's start shipping in mid February, if you can get them this time of year and have a place warm enough to brood them you can raise them without any problems. Keeping them warm and dry is the only issue that I know of.

I like to order chicks for spring delivery after the weather has warmed up in late April or May, it just seems easier to me than fighting the cold and damp days of winter.

Have you picked out the verity your going to order yet ?

[flowerpower]

I have the Barred Rock. Nice sized brown eggs. The birds handle the cold very well here.

I spoke with one of the girls at the local feed store about ordering chicks. They are very limited on the breeds ordered. (I bet from Mc Murrays) I figure other people might want some of the more interesting breeds. So she is supposed to speak with the other lady who orders them. I suggested putting a sign-up sheet at the counter to see if enough people would be interested. I really dont want to mail order birds.

[bluelacedredhead]

Could be from McMurrays, or Ideal in TX. But if it's from either one of those, it's only limited by the imagination of the people at your feedstore. You should ask whose poultry they do bring in.
And yes, I think the sheet is a great idea. Perhaps it will open their eyes to the fact that Leghorns and Cornish X meatchicks aren't the only breeds that people would be interested in. Let's hope so!!

[plantsnobin]

Patrick-last year we got our chicks in late April. I can show you how we set ours up sometime. This year I was planning on selling chicks in our little shop, It will probably more like taking orders for people for delivery here. Hatcheries generally require an order of at least 25 birds to keep them warm during shipment, and many folks just don't want that many birds. I don't know if I will be ordering from McMurrays or Cackle Hatchery. Probably McMurray since that is where we got ours so far. Karen

[cff]

I’ve only had one really bad experience-ordering chick’s; about two years ago I placed an order to Cackle Hatchery for 50 Rhode Island Reds and 50 white leghorns.

The day I received them we lost two of the Rhode Island Reds, and over the next few weeks we lost several each day until all 50 had died. Oddly all the chicks were in the same brooder eating the same feed and water and we didn’t lose any of the leghorns, all 50 of them turned out to be pretty nice birds.

[plantsnobin]

CFF- thanks for that info about Cackle, I hadn't used them yet myself. Looks like I will stick with McMurray.

[Alan]

Hey Karen, if you do decide to sell or order chicks this spring then let me know, I would like to place an order with you and since your close you would be a great source of advice. I still don't know exactly what I want, I do know I want chickens more geared towards egg production than meat with a decent sized egg and a decent sized chicken that can somewhat fend for itself.

Let me know,
Alan

[hoosierheightsfarm]

Thanks for everyones advice. I dont know yet what kind to be getting. I need to finish my workshed so I have somewhere to work on things out of the cold and wet. Like a chicken coop.
Patrick

[plantsnobin]

I have requested a catalog from Sandhill, they say it will be sent the first week of January. I like that they actually raise their own birds, as opposed to contracting with others for the eggs. They have very small numbers and limits on how many you can order per hatch of each breed. But, they are a preservation center, not a commercial hatchery, and the way things are going, I think it is going to be more important to support this kind of thing. They have a very good reference on their site that is helpful even if you don't order from them, it could help you decide what breed might best suit your needs. They also have a lot of sweet potato varieties that I am looking forward to.

[ohiorganic]

If I were getting chickens for the first time and ordering Murray McMurray I would get a sexed run of 50 heavy mixed layers. You will get a variety of layers, all of which will do well on pasture. You should get no more than 4 or 5 cockerels in a sexed batch. If you want meat the heavy breeds are okay but it will take at least 14 weeks to get them to table size (around 4 pounds on the hoof/3 pounds dressed). But know that these birds will have a lot more dark meat than the rock cornish cross meat birds (and this is what is sold at all grocery stores) and have longer leg bones and tiny breasts. But they make the best roasting birds (do not fry these guys-you get shoe leather)

I really like it when we had barred and buff rocks and orpingtons. My all time favorite rooster was a buff orpington named Mr Kazudy. the girls were good egg layers. we got around 15 to 20 dozen eggs a week from 80 hens except this time of year when they would slow way down, even with artificial light.