25 New Chick Came In A Box At P.0.

[bp fick]

8 am and the phone rang. It's the post office. "Your chicks are here." I head down to the PO and realize, as I enter, that it isn't open for another hour. I can hear the workers sorting mail, so I call out, "You all have a box of chicks you want to get rid of?" "Oh yes" comes the reply.

This is small town America. The lady hands me my box of chicks and says, "Take good care of them."

Oh what fun. Get them home to the barn and take each chick out and dip their little beaks in the water. Within a few minutes, they are drinking, and eating, and scurrying about.

Thought I'd start this thread and follow it through for anyone thinking about raising chickens. Most wait until spring, but our egg business has really taken off and I need to get more layers on line sooner than next September. By my calculations, these Golden Buffs should be laying by New Years or there about.

 

[missingstexas]

Pretty cool. I'm contemplating getting some chickens, thanks for thinking about posting...

 

[Duffster]

They don't look like they will be very good eating yet, might want to let them grow a little. :laughing:

 

[Duffster]

What do you feed laying hens?

I mix my own feed and was just curious about what they would need.

 

[forgeblast]

We ended up getting 6 this year, 1 named jump, jumped out of the tank and the dogs got her. The other 5 are doing great, out of the 5 hens we though we were getting only 3 stayed girls....so now we have 2 roosters.
For feed i mix my own for the layers, i get a bag of purena layers mash, a bag of black seed sunflower, and a bag of scratch grain. i mix it all one scoop at a time and put it in a galv. clean garbage can. They are doing great on it. Have almost all the girls laying now.

 

[bdw593]

Been thinking of getting some layers myself... What breed u go with?

 

[300UGUY]

We got 25 cookoo marans last week. Our egg biz is doing great. We took our sign down early this year, we had only enough for regular customers. Our biggest problem is predators. I took out another coon last night, he was less than 10 feet from our hens when our dogs caught him.

 

[bp fick]

I also "mix" my own feed, but it is based on TSC's layer mash, to which I blend cracked corn, milo, oats, etc. They also free range for up to 8 hours a day, so they really eat very little, frankly, of the processed feed. When cooped up in winter, I fully expect that to change, as even if they go out, there won't be much seed or insects, nor any grass, which they love to pasture on.

I got three kinds in spring. Speckled Sussex, an older English bird. Nice personality and good butchering, but only a fair layer of a medium to smallish egg. Took those to KY to a friend who loves the breed.

Block Rocks or Black Sex-Link. These are OK, but their feed ratio is little high, as they too are a slightly larger bodied bird.

My favorites were the Red Sex-Link. Known by a jillion names, but Rhode Island Red Rooster over a White hen, usually a Delaware or similar.

They lay sooner, (17 weeks) and lay every 23-24 hours, on the dot. Exceptionally large brown egg. Every Day!! Like the personality as well. Great bird.

This batch is Myers Hatchery version. Golden Buff they call them. (not Orpington) Just their version of Red Sex-Link.

 

[Duffster]

I also "mix" my own feed, but it is based on TSC's layer mash, to which I blend cracked corn, milo, oats, etc. They also free range for up to 8 hours a day, so they really eat very little, frankly, of the processed feed. When cooped up in winter, I fully expect that to change, as even if they go out, there won't be much seed or insects, nor any grass, which they love to pasture on.

So there isn't a protein mixed in like soybean meal?

We did "chicken chores" for my wife's aunt over the weekend and fed them some watermelon rinds. I could not believe how little was left the next day.

 

[bp fick]

I don't buy oyster shells either. Too pricey and the evidence isn't that solid in the Ag studies as to its efficacy.

The commercial layer mash has a lot of calcium added. I do supplement by re-cycling the egg shells we use. You can either toast them for a few minutes in the over, at the end of baking something else, or just let them dry out naturally for a week. Pummel them into bits and mix them in the feeder. They love them.

A word on mixing one's own feed. I base mine on a commercial, organic feed. I don't believe I have the adequate scientific knowledge to actually mix 100% of my own feed. Studies indicate that if you want top egg production then you cannot skimp on diet. I won't do it.