Chickens

[ismokealotofpot]

thought you might like this

 

[Stonerman Enoch]

My mother once told me while she lived in a wall tent in Alaska she had some badass survival chickens that would scratch the dirt to keep alive if they had no food and still produce eggs

 

[mcpurple]

mc the hens will lay about 3 yrs regular after that they will taper off fast. we always close penned the older hens and fattened up a bit n made boiling hens out of them. fyi in winter they slow down laying as they are light sensative, if you put a low watt bulb in with them n give them 16 hrs of light a day(sun light + added light to equal the 16 hrs) they will never check up n give you all the eggs you will need. as far as an incubator just get or let a hen get broody and she will hatch out and raise them for you. nothing like watching a moma hen and her bitties.

edit: old hens make great stock, chicken and dumplings, and are perfect for chicken and dressing. seems a shame to waste a perfect bird by turning loose to become coyote food.

thanks for the good info 4 tat.
i was curiouse about eating them, my boss said theri is not much meat to them at all though, how could i fatten one up? just alot of good food? and releasing them was and still is my last resort.
i am going to try getting rid of them for free if i can and if not see if i can eat them an then if all else fails ill just kill them and feed them to the wild life, or i guess i could donate them to be food at the petting zoo.

 

[fumble]

Hey McPurp! How cool, you got chickens. I would love to have some myself, but the bf says no. Nothing like fresh eggs. How's the little one? Are you liking the daddy-life?

 

[mcpurple]

Hey McPurp! How cool, you got chickens. I would love to have some myself, but the bf says no. Nothing like fresh eggs. How's the little one? Are you liking the daddy-life?

ya it is pretty awesome.

its to bad you cant get some, they are great animals.
and the little man is great, getting bigger and bigger by the day. and yes i am loving being a dad, a bit stress full at times but its all worth it.


well i think i am going to make an egg incubator here soon so i can hatch some new birds in spring instead of buying them. im trying to get out of having to buy stuff that is not needed, like chicks or eggs.
http://www.stormthecastle.com/how-to-make-a/how-to-make-a-homemade-egg-incubator.htm
in the link shows what i will build, or close, i am going to make it a lil different but same idea. ill post it when ever i get time to do it.
i dont really need it for another 3 months but i would like it sooner so i can dial it in and what not

 

[PIPBoy2000]

Awesome. Those eggs are freaking huge! So... as long as I don't have a rooster they won't be cock-a-doodle-doin in the morning? They will still lay unfertilized eggs? Freaky-deaky.
I would love to have fresh eggs. Maybe I'll build a coop if I can think of somewhere to put it.

 

[mcpurple]

if there is no rooster then there is no noise.
and yes unfertilized but still lay the same amount of eggs.

if you look up cheap chicken coops on google theri is some nice cheap ideas.
i got my coop for free off CL, i had to replace the roof but it works great.

 

[unohu69]

yup I like this one to, im all about sustainable living, all i want is to get away from the 99%, im the little hidden quantum particle that doesnt even figure into their equation....

 

[Creeper38]

unoho69.... you have it all figured out... I'm right there with you!
~peace~

 

[scroglodyte]

forget the chicks.......buy pullets. i like a dual purpose bird like Buff Orpingtons. lay them for a year, and then.....processed.

 

[mcpurple]

forget the chicks.......buy pullets. i like a dual purpose bird like Buff Orpingtons. lay them for a year, and then.....processed.

i thought pullets were chickens just females pullet hen same thing right? i have one buff actually, i plan on eating them all though as they get older and get replaced after this coming up summer, i think most chickens can be used for multi purpose just some tend to lay more or get more fat on them. i can tell my birds have gain weight already since ive had them, i do feed them alot.
my plan is to start fattening them up a few weeks before i kill them so i can have more meat.
my boss said i should feed them very fatty foods for those 2-3 weeks

 

[smokey de bear]

Thats pretty damn cool McPurps, I wish we could have chickens in the city. Unfortunetly no livestock allowed in the city, but I think if I say they're my kids pets it's fine. lol

 

[Jimmyjonestoo]

Well after a little research into local laws considering owning chickens ( I live in city limits) I have convinced my wife to let me good some chickens. All I need to do is get my coop inspected to make sure its secure and I can legally own chickens. As soon as this rain lets up ill get started on building my coop so I can get the birds in spring. I'm super excited about it. Ill post pics and stuff as I progress.

 

[smokey de bear]

Nice Jimmy I'm excited for you lol, how many you thinking of starting out with and do you have an idea on the kind your going to be raising? The wife the other day asked me to look into chickens because she started to do a lot more backing and is realizing how expensive eggs are. lol we don't really eat em as is just bake and cook with em mostly.

 

[johndillinger1911]

Man, I've wanted to hatch chickens for so long, the only problem is i can't get my hands on some fresh eggs

But this is a doubt I've always had.. like, the hens lay eggs everyday...? do they need to have sex with the males every single day to do this..?

 

[scroglodyte]

no nookie necessary to lay. sorry mcpurp.......didn't see reply. pullets are like teenage hens. they are more money, but less work/mortality.

 

[scroglodyte]

Man, I've wanted to hatch chickens for so long, the only problem is i can't get my hands on some fresh eggs

But this is a doubt I've always had.. like, the hens lay eggs everyday...? do they need to have sex with the males every single day to do this..?

every day is a special girl, and it won't last long. 4-7 eggs a week. when they get to 2-4 a week, its into the pot pie they go.

 

[mcpurple]

Man, I've wanted to hatch chickens for so long, the only problem is i can't get my hands on some fresh eggs

But this is a doubt I've always had.. like, the hens lay eggs everyday...? do they need to have sex with the males every single day to do this..?

eggs can be bought or even ordered for very cheap. grange coop op carries eggs and chicks at about 1$ to 4 $ depending on breed.
and a male is not needed unless you want fertile eggs and an alarm clock that goes off at random.

 

[Jimmyjonestoo]

Nice Jimmy I'm excited for you lol, how many you thinking of starting out with and do you have an idea on the kind your going to be raising? The wife the other day asked me to look into chickens because she started to do a lot more backing and is realizing how expensive eggs are. lol we don't really eat em as is just bake and cook with em mostly.

Ill probably start off with 5 or 6 Rhode island reds or black australops. Those seem to be the most readily available around here. Is there a species that would be better for a beginner I should look for?