(continued from The Urban Chicken Diaries, Part One)
I was surprised at the response to part 1 of this diary, pleasantly I should add, also surprising was the number of chicken aficionados in Kossackville the poll indicated 78 out of 436 or 18% (which means I can't BS - damn!) . There was a great exchange of ideas and information in the comments I hope they encouraged the 183 people that indicated they would like to have chickens to take the plunge.
If you are not impeded by local rules and regulations that would prevent you from maintaining chickens on your property (or you think you can get away with it) the next 3 steps are:
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Revelations beyond the orange fold.
* Decide on the scope and nature of your chicken adventure, one compatible with your ethical and emotional temperament and the time you have to invest.
* Locate a local source of chicken feed and other supplies. If the feed store is also a small breeder, even better.
* Go on line to some hatchery web sites (request a printed catalog – they are more informative) and select the breed, or mix of breeds, that meet your goals. Two hatcheries that I've used without problems are
McMurray Hatchery and
My Pet Chicken
Of the 6 reasons I mentioned in Part one for wanting to raise chickens, the option that many people are temperamental not suited for is raising them for meat.
The Meat Breeds
While the meat breeds do lay eggs they lay fewer than the egg breeds. Further, the best time for butchering, slaughtering or if you prefer a euphemism that's a bit less "Friday the 13teenish"" ....... ..harvesting, is before the time they start to lay eggs on a regular basis (between 1 and 6 pounds, 1 to 4 for banties, depending on breed and dressed size desired). For obvious reasons, you don't want to be thinking of them as pets. It's not the most emotional satisfying experience to get attached to an animal that you will, in a very short time, be ....uh....harvesting.
The Principle characteristic of the meat breeds is that they gain weight fast and they have a low feed to weight ratio (2 - 2 1/2 pounds of feed = 1 pound of chicken)
The best meat birds are of English origin, 3 of which are: Australorp, Orpington, and Cornish. The Cornish originated in the Cornwall area of England. The traditional Cornish Hen (sometime incorrectly call a Cornish Game Hen)is a young Cornish bird that weighs 1 pound dressed.
Other than the Cornish Hen, Standard breeds are raised as broilers or fryers around 3-3 ½ pounds or roasters around 3 ½ to 6 pounds
A compromise option , if you are hatching your own birds or buying straight run chicks (non-sexed so you generally get a 50/50 mix of pullets to cockerels) is to isolate the cockerels until they are 1 to 3 months old then bring them in for dinner. The pullets will become your laying hens.
As meat breeds are not good egg producers, so it is that egg breeds do not gain weight as fast as the meat breeds and eat three times the feed.
That problem can be partly solved by raising one or more of the dual purpose breeds. Their egg production is close to that of the egg breeds and their weight gain is comparable to the meat breeds and feed to weight ratio is half that of the straight egg breeds.
The dual purpose birds offer not only eggs and meat but the option to raise an endangered breed, preserving a part of America's agricultural heritage and you can do so in Standard or Bantam flavors.
They tend to be more docile birds and retain the free ranging qualities of the wild bird.
Almost all of the dual purpose breeds are American in origin and they all lay brown eggs. Many of these breeds are endangered because they are not desirable in large scale egg or meat production – their continued existence is dependent on small, individual operations and hobby breeders.
Examples of this group include, among others: the Rhode Island Red, Plymouth Rock, Delaware, New Hampshire and the Dominique. The Dominique (also called the "Dominecker") is the oldest American Breed and a few years ago was near extinction as a breed but has been preserved through the efforts of small breeders and hobbyist.
A list of over 100 endangered breeds and varieties can be obtained from the Society for the Protection of Poultry Antiquities (SPPA)
If there is no rooster ban in your jurisdiction and you decide you want a rooster, the best ratio of hens to roosters is around 20 hens per rooster Smaller ratios tend to encourage impromptu cock fights – that are often lethal. Roosters don't work and play well together.
The combative nature is not as serious in the first few months so they can be raised together while they are still cockerels.
The Egg Breeds
If one of the restrictions in your locale bans roosters, bear in mind that hens do not need a rooster to lay eggs. OTOH, if you want to breed your own chickens you will have to find an outside "stud" for that purpose - immaculate conception is not a common phenomenon among chickens.
A good laying hen will lay around 24 dozen eggs a year if properly maintained. (That number can be increased without harm to the birds, which I'll discuss in future diaries) The egg laying breeds originated in the Mediterranean area and the three principle breeds are the Ancona, the Minorca and the Livorno (Leghorn).
The Leghorn (or a Leghorn hybrid) is the breed most commonly used in commercial egg production. These breeds, particularly the Leghorns, are nervous and easily spooked and are, therefore, a poor choice as pets. And, the Leghorn roosters can be down right nasty and aggressive critters.
Unless you have a huge demand for eggs (family of 20), the best option would be one of the American breeds because of their more even disposition and the hardiness of the breeds. A Bantam variety could also be a good choice.
If you have no intention of raising the birds for meat then paying a little extra for chicks that have been sexed is worth it. For example, in the McMurrey catalog the price per Araucana chick is $2.51 if you purchase a straight run and $3.15 each if you purchase female only – the extra 64 cents is worth it.
The Big and the Small of it.
Two major groupings of the breeds are the Standard or Large chicken and the Bantam or Miniature chicken. Many of the Standard breeds are also found in the Bantam size. Both the Dominecker and Cornish mentioned above are found in the Bantam size.
Having raised both, I prefer the Bantam or "Banty" for a number of reasons.
First is their temperament; they are a much more docile bird than Standards and, while not saying much, seem to be smarter than their big cousins. These qualities make them a more suitable choice as pets particularly if you have young children – large birds can be intimidating . Being attack by an irate, overprotective Banty rooster is at worst an annoyance and is usually just funny - being attack by a large Leghorn rooster, OTOH, is quite a bit more than annoying and not at all funny.
From my observations, they seem to handle temperature extremes as well or better than does the Standard, particularly heat extremes.
My area (west of Denver) the extremes run from 98°F (37°C) and up (but it's dry heat .......Pppt!), to 10°F (23°C) and lower . - More on controlling extreme temp in part 3
Their small size is ideal when space is a serious consideration. Almost any metric about large birds can be adjusted for Banties by multiplying or dividing by 0.67 or 2/3rds, for example 30 large birds require a 100 square foot coop. 30 Banties, OTOH, require only 67 square feet. Or at the other end, a recipe calling for 2 eggs (large) will require 3 Banty eggs.
Shell color, despite information to the contrary, is no indicator of the quality of the egg. The hen's diet, health and environment are the three largest factors in determining the egg quality.
The only colors other than white and brown, and a wide range of shades in between, are blue and green of various shades. Only one breed, the Araucana, and two hybrids, the Ameraucana and the Easter Egger lay the green and blue eggs. The Araucana is a South American breed that originated in Chile.
I've raised both Standard and Bantam Araucanas and they are my favorite breed. It's not just the egg color (although it is a cool feature) but also the plumage which is not standard and is widely varied (which is why they are not in poultry shows), the hens are more colorful than are other breeds and the Araucana rooster is always a sharp dressed dude. Further the Araucana is very docile and is, IMHO, the best breed for pets in either size.
Part 3 will cover care of chicks new birds, coops, yards, free ranging, security and chickens as pet.