Excited about getting started

Date sort Score sort
Dljohnson

Dljohnson

In the Brooder
7 Years
Dec 30, 2012
23
0
22
My family and I have so much to learn about all of this but we are so excited. We are looking into finding chickens that are great egg/meat producers. My daughter wants unique and pretty chickens. We can house about 60 chickens in our chicken coop and about the same amount of turkeys or ducks in the other coop but so unsure about what kinds and where to get them. Budget is small at this time. Where do you find the great deals to get started. Thank you.
 
You have come to the right place for poultry knowledge! Ask questions, do searches, or just peruse the forums - thousands of friendly and wise folks to help you on your journey! For "great deals" I would think about re-purposing other things you already have that can be used for what you need. Also, Craigslist is a great place to look. Maybe just drive around your area - look for former chicken keeping structures - knock on the door and ask. Might stumble into a real deal that way! Best of luck to you!
 
welcome-byc.gif
glad you joined us! local breeders, and people an craidslist is a great place to get started. polish, silkies, and cochins are all pretty breeds, as for egg laying austrolorps, rhode island reds, and legherns, are nice. oh and ameraucanas, and marans lay blue and chocolate colored eggs. so those are nice =)
 
welcome-byc.gif
Welcome to BYC. Understand that the cheapest deals are not always 'great ' deals when buying poultry. Health issues are always a concern. Study the forums before buying.
 
For dual purpose I would look into Wyandottes, Orpington, Australorp, Rocks, Delaware. Or raise egg layers and purchase meat birds a couple of times a year for butchering. Unique and pretty don't go as much with dual purpose... Silkies and cochins are not GREAT egg layers and I dont think there would be much for meat. Wyandottes come in many colors and are a heritage breed. Wyandottes so far are my favorite. If you are going raise ALOT of birds and butcher you may want to check out the incubator page and possibly build your own incubator. OR purchase an incubator. Buying chicks can get EXPENSIVE. I am not really a hatchery fan, I prefer to find a good breeder of what I am looking for. This is my second year and I am planning on building an incubator and ordering some hatching eggs. MUCH cheaper and seems more FUN than ordering chicks!
 
I would also put a light in the coop. I thought I would not care about eggs in the winter....But it is REALLY annoying to buy eggs from the store when the chickens are out in the coop...NOT laying! I am going to build a bigger permenant coop and put a light in the coop over the winter to keep them laying next year.
 
Hello and welcome to BYC
frow.gif
X 2 Sourland's advice!! Ask around and be careful when you buy "bargains". Raising chicks will be your cheapest bet, though you'll have to wait 5-6 months for the first eggs. A friend of mine kept track of every sent he spent on his flock and told me one day how much his hens cost by the time that laid their first eggs. It was about 60% of what I paid for my point-of-lay pullets! If you incubate and hatch your own you will also save money in the long run.

Read a few of the threads here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/16/chicken-breeders-hatcheries

And check out this chart:

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

And have fun!!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom