Who Else Keeps Chickens?

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Guineas are horrible to raise. They are super-loud and go off like a car alarm. They are banned in a lot of areas because of it. My neighbor had some. After about 3 days I had to go over there and have a talk with him. If you like your neighbors avoid getting them. Ducks may be much better choice.

I'm off-grid and have a pretty solid homestead set-up. I always run chickens ..just for eggs as none of them end up on my tables. I have made the choice not to butcher my animals and mostly eat fish (fresh caught by myself) When my hens get older and stop laying they live their lives out with the rest of my flock. I treat my chickens like family but that's just my thing.

If you are making your money by selling young chickens look into getting good Roosters and incubating the eggs. But I dunno' I think you can buy baby chicks for under 5 bucks online and have them delivered to you in a box. It may be cheaper than going through the incubating process (from a cost and time thing)

I make my dough selling the eggs as I contracted with a few big restaurants up here. Weekly deliveries and a pretty good return on my investment.

2 Big things: Know how to keep parasites off them (Diatamaceous Earth is what I use, in their feed and externally and sprinkled in their coop) and read and learn about egg-bound Hens (life threatening) because sooner or later you'll encounter it.

All my chicks get socialized with me from day one. They are tame AF. I am a huge fan of Buff Orphingtons for many reasons...esp. as they are a cold weather bird and mellow (good layers too). They all love to be picked up, walked around and they'll sit on my lap. Pretty fun creatures to hang out with and observe what they do all day. I'm retired so I can do that.

I like the idea of the loud shitheads running around. I don't have a dog and I'd like to have an alarm system.

My neighbors don't complain.. We're all kinda planning for dry times. They say when they hear my 100 roosters going off they hear security. I have really good neighbors though, we share food and wine. I believe there is a feeling in the air now that we might soon need each other.

We eat ours. Once we looked down the awful rabbit hole of commercial chicken production we decided we'd rather eat these.. My chickens are still babies at 5 weeks, there's are fully grown and as big as a turkey in 5 weeks. It must be more than just a cross bred chicken to cause that. We like the chickens but they live out their purpose when fried.

It's much easier to raise them when they're tame and easy to handle.. Its definitely worth the time to make friends with them.

Up to this point I had been ordering chickens.. With great luck. Out of hundreds of chickens ordered I probably lost 20 in the mail. But... I ordered 100 pullets a few days ago and 40 of them were dead on arrival. That hurts.. The hatchery says they'll call me to make it right next week, and I sure hope they do.

This was going to be my last order anyway, as I've grown out some breeders from the hatchery stock I'd been getting. I bought 4 Hovabator incubators, so now I can set about 160 eggs.. with some luck I should be able to hatch 100 chicks a month. I can improve the quality and size this way. Only problem is, like you say, grown chickens do have more problems than growing chickens.. as far as egg issues and parasites.

The first batch of chickens I got were from the local auction and they all died a nasty chicken flu death.. That was disappointing and I almost quit right there. The key is to never bring chickens home from random places. Once you do, you'll have problems. I do use our auction for selling, with great results.. since most of the chickens there are sick or otherwise fucked up, mine shine.

It's great that I have a chicken friend now, I know my wife wants me to shut up about them. Haha I tried the chicken forum.. That lasted about 10 days, I basically got thrown off for saying that chicken wire was an acceptable building material, among other things. Haha

 

[Singularis]

I've been meaning to pick up some guineas. They say that you don't really have to feed em, they rid your place of insects and eat for free.

They make perfectly ghastly cries and sound something like dying raptors. I'm not sure they are worth keeping for their bug-eating prowess.

 

[kola]

They make perfectly ghastly cries and sound something like dying raptors. I'm not sure they are worth keeping for their bug-eating prowess.

Guineas are really bad, yes. Another nasty animal cry? Peacocks ! Holy crap, blood curdling screams in the middle of the night.

 

[anotherbob]

nope but I know they're kind of crazy. And they like me in a way that makes me feel very uncomfortable.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

Chickens, goats, ducks and cows here. And my wife just keeps adding to the farm haha.
Think we're approaching 30 chickens now if I'm not mistaken.

 

[kola]

Goats are fun. Currently I get raw goats milk from a neighbor. For 3 bucks a quart that sure beats me raising them and doing all the work. Maybe down the road though. I am lactose intolerant but can handle raw goats milk in small amounts. It's delicious...and nutritious. My German Shepherd gets a pint a day as well. FYI: Male goats stink. A hormonal thing.

Back to chickens: the price of feed has skyrocketed. I can grow my own greens (and oats) up here in the Rockies at 9000 feet for 8-9 months out of the year. I have two good-sized greenhouses. Grow-yur-own is good cheap feed for my Egg-ladies.

 

[ChonkyTonks]

My bestie just finished a 10x20ft chicken coop. He is in the process of acquiring some heritage naked necks to start his own breeding program. It is amazing how much knowledge he has from simply reading and re-reading the standard of perfection. At some point, he will add Jersey Giants to the mix.

 

[kola]

I am getting rid of my chickens this Fall. I'll just buy from the neighbors and save money...and the work involved. 2 bags of chicken feed per month is about 40 bucks now. I can buy a dozen eggs for 4 bucks from a neighbor. Do the math. Not worth it, IMO

 

[Ebarber]

I raise them too. Just for eggs mostly. After they quit laying they retire here. I do raise meat chickens on occasion but my layers live their lives out here after their service. I've been letting my flock die out as we are looking for a larger piece of property. I don't want to have to disrupt a flock by moving them. I only have 2 hens left and just lost my rooster last fall. He was really cool. He was 8. I figure I might do some broilers for a while so we aren't tied down with another flock after these 2 go if we are still here. It's funny how they all have different personalities. Chickens don't get enough credit for intelligence either. They are actually pretty smart. I don't see myself ever without chickens after owning them. They are really cool. Yeah mine get spoiled rotten!

 

[Ebarber]

Oh yea you can hug em.

Yep you can!

 

[kola]

They are smart for sure. And they have great vision and are super-accurate with their beaks to get food. I often sit with them and just hang out. They have different personalities too. And they make different sounds. All mine were always raised since hatched, handled and end up quite tame ( I prefer Buff Orps) They love to be held and they sit on my lap..and yes, hugs are huge. Great little creatures. It's a crying shame so many get badly treated by ignorant owners.

 

[scloyd]

Yep you can!View attachment 160022View attachment 160023

Nice sign collection. Watch your mailbox for a PM. I have a free sign for you to add to your collection if your interested.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I am getting rid of my chickens this Fall. I'll just buy from the neighbors and save money...and the work involved. 2 bags of chicken feed per month is about 40 bucks now. I can buy a dozen eggs for 4 bucks from a neighbor. Do the math. Not worth it, IMO

Yea just for eggs it can be expensive. It takes time and effort.. Auctions, egg sales, to break even or make money. I'm using about 5 bags per week now... and it sure makes me sick to fork over the cash.

But just yesterday I sold 8 Australorps for 30 bucks a piece.. $240 for a cage of chickens. Now I can keep the shit show running a little further. Haha

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

My bestie just finished a 10x20ft chicken coop. He is in the process of acquiring some heritage naked necks to start his own breeding program. It is amazing how much knowledge he has from simply reading and re-reading the standard of perfection. At some point, he will add Jersey Giants to the mix.

Yes Sir.. The first time you read them they sound a bit confusing, but after starring at it long enough you get an feel for what a good bird looks like.

Ive got a Barred Rock Rooster that is a real beauty.. I'll post pictures soon. I think I'll let my son show him this Fall.

 

[vosBghos]

We gots chickens on our 3rd set of 6 , got raccoon and skunk problems , but a high powered pellet gun has come in handy…

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

We gots chickens on our 3rd set of 6 , got raccoon and skunk problems , but a high powered pellet gun has come in handy…

It's a problem.. We had a fox a while back. A friend of my was waiting for an excuse to buy an night vision scope, we had a few beers and got us a fox.

 

[Ebarber]

Nice sign collection. Watch your mailbox for a PM. I have a free sign for you to add to your collection if your interested.

Thank you so much Scott!

 

[vosBghos]

It's a problem.. We had a fox a while back. A friend of my was waiting for an excuse to buy an night vision scope, we had a few beers and got us a fox.

Yeah if we didn’t live in city limits my kids would have coon has for sure lol

 

[Streeper541]

I have not kept animals for the past 20 years. My wife and I both grew up with them, but moving around every couple years with the service makes that hard.

Now that we've retired from active duty and settled down, we plan on it. This year was phase one, small garden & a bean crop. Next year will be phase two... we'll add chickens & a large garden and a few small crops. Phase three, we'll start pigs & a couple grow houses.

It takes time, but we're getting back into the swing.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I have not kept animals for the past 20 years. My wife and I both grew up with them, but moving around every couple years with the service makes that hard.

Now that we've retired from active duty and settled down, we plan on it. This year was phase one, small garden & a bean crop. Next year will be phase two... we'll add chickens & a large garden and a few small crops. Phase three, we'll start pigs & a couple grow houses.

It takes time, but we're getting back into the swing. View attachment 160193

Pigs are great! Good luck on your adventure.