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 A couple questions for the chicken keepers
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JennyJKerr
True Blue Farmgirl

55 Posts

Jenny
Kenosha Wisconsin
USA
55 Posts

Posted - Apr 20 2011 :  2:45:26 PM  Show Profile  Send JennyJKerr a Yahoo! Message
I am thinking of maybe keeping a couple chickens in the next couple of years. We can't have them here at our rental, but there is a possibility that I'll be headed back to our home in Indiana for a little while the next time hubby deploys and I would like to keep a few egg chickens. I've already checked with animal control in our county back home and they said you can have small amounts of chickens in the city limits, but no roosters.

This brings me to my questions. I wouldn't want to buy eggs, but baby chicks I guess... can I be guaranteed all females when buying them as babies? Also, does anyone know of a reputable place online to buy just a couple of chicks? Everywhere I look they want minimum orders of 15 or 25. I'd like more than one breed and if I had to get 25 of each my smallish backyard would look like a chicken rave party! lol

I'd like some of the heirloom birds or some with colorful eggs. I don't know which ones get along well with the each other. Are chickens like fish as in you have aggressive and passive? I used to keep saltwater fish and I know there are certain types that can't be kept with other fish or they will prey on them. I'd hate to get a bunch of bullies picking on the other chickens!

Thanks for your time! I have a couple of books on general backyard farming, but they don't really go into much about this sort of thing.

My Blog ~ http://www.travisandjennykerr.com/kerrfect
My Etsy ~ http://www.etsy.com/shop/beletvieux

Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl

13055 Posts


Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts

Posted - Apr 20 2011 :  4:11:29 PM  Show Profile
First off, all mailorder hatcherys have a minimun order (it helps keep the chicks warm), so find a feed store or local hatchery you can drive to , to get your chicks. Second off, yes, most hatcherys sell sexed chicks, but then again you have that minimum, also they cost more than a straight run (random tossed into the shipping box, so to say). If you want your chickens only for eggs, i would suggest "sex links" or "red stars", they are bred for egg production, by carefully mixing some of the best breeds to come out with this egg production line, they are quiet and docil, healthy and easy keepers, and brown xtra large egg layers, hens are all in the red/brown color range, while the roosters are white with black markings, so no problem sexing them at hatching...The easter egg layers are commanly called "Americanas", they too are quiet and docil, but very hard to sex at hatching ( it takes an expert). Any breed of chicken can be aggressive at times, but if you have a large enough coop and no crowding, its just usually pecking order among hens...

"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross

Edited by - Bear5 on Apr 20 2011 4:14:55 PM
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl

1257 Posts

Michele
Athol Ma
USA
1257 Posts

Posted - Apr 20 2011 :  6:19:27 PM  Show Profile
Honey go into the 'All things Chicken section here & I bet you will get all the info you need...us chicken people do tend to talk alot about our 'kids' But I would say if you only want 2 chickens get to a farm where you can buy 2 female/hens that are just at laying stage....this way you don't have to do the whole baby thing with possible illnesses/pasty butt/ect....you get to have some that have already gone thur that stage & you can then decide later if you want more & can handle raising the babies.....anyway just a thought but do check out the all things chicken area....michele'

Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622
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SheilaC
True Blue Farmgirl

1948 Posts

Sheila
Vermont
USA
1948 Posts

Posted - Apr 20 2011 :  7:28:29 PM  Show Profile
always see lots on Craigslist too. . .


http://troutwife.blogspot.com/

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JennyJKerr
True Blue Farmgirl

55 Posts

Jenny
Kenosha Wisconsin
USA
55 Posts

Posted - Apr 21 2011 :  07:48:40 AM  Show Profile  Send JennyJKerr a Yahoo! Message
I didn't know you could buy full grown chickens... I mean I figured you might be able to luck out if someone had to get rid of theirs, but I've only seen full grown chickens for sale at the flea market and those were kinds of bloody and featherless... they just didn't look healthy. If I could get full grown instead of chicks that WOULD definitely be preferable!

My Blog ~ http://www.travisandjennykerr.com/kerrfect
My Etsy ~ http://www.etsy.com/shop/beletvieux
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