- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Teach me about chickens - laying hens
Posted on 7/21/14 at 9:05 am
Posted on 7/21/14 at 9:05 am
I want a few laying hens for my backyard.
What type of upkeep am I looking at? Smell? Noise?
What do chickens eat?
I want to convert my old shed into a coop. How many eggs will 3 or 4 hens produce weekly?
How long will hens produce?
What type of upkeep am I looking at? Smell? Noise?
What do chickens eat?
I want to convert my old shed into a coop. How many eggs will 3 or 4 hens produce weekly?
How long will hens produce?
9
Posted on 7/21/14 at 9:22 am to Salmon
Will take about 4-6 months from hatch to laying and you will probably get close to an egg a day per chicken on average for about 2 yrs then they will lay a bit slower maybe an egg every other day. I would get white leghorns if you just want eggs but they will lay the white super market style. My parents have buff arpingtons that are a meat/egg layer and give the brown eggs. Not all of them lay an egg a day but pretty close. Now for food they give them laying pellets and go through about 50 lbs a week with 40 chickens. But they do get 2-3 dozen eggs a day.
Posted on 7/21/14 at 9:25 am to Salmon
Get u some rhode island reds. Not noisy. They eat grass an corn. Should get 1-2 a day. Most of the year if they are laying now.
Get ur varmit rifle ready. Hawks, possums, coons, skunks will arrive on the regular.
Get ur varmit rifle ready. Hawks, possums, coons, skunks will arrive on the regular.
Posted on 7/21/14 at 9:28 am to Salmon
quote:
What type of upkeep am I looking at? Smell? Noise?
have to tend to them daily. Noise is minimal. Smell depends on you. Keep the area clean and allow enough room for them and you shouldn't have any problems. Location of the coop will also make a difference- wouldn't want it right by my patio.
quote:
What do chickens eat?
scratch grains and whatever else they find around your yard.
quote:
How many eggs will 3 or 4 hens produce weekly?
figure 2-3/hen per day. depends on the hen.
quote:
How long will hens produce?
again, depends on the hen. I' think at least 4-5 years
Posted on 7/21/14 at 9:36 am to tigerinthebueche
get ready for tons of eggs...
my family used to raise laying hens and broilers, and we were giving away eggs at the end of the week we had so many.
We had 6 white leghorns and 6 rhode island reds, also had 2 or 3 Plymouth's.
my family used to raise laying hens and broilers, and we were giving away eggs at the end of the week we had so many.
We had 6 white leghorns and 6 rhode island reds, also had 2 or 3 Plymouth's.
Posted on 7/21/14 at 10:15 am to Salmon
Don't do it. frick having a bunch of dirty arse chickens. I have dealt with them and it is not worth the trouble to get a few measly eggs a week.
Posted on 7/21/14 at 10:31 am to Salmon
What kind of set up do you have? We gave them their own house and let them roam during the day, the only problem is that they wouldn't stay confined to their part of the yard. We put up a fence and everything, and all they wanted to come and crap on our back porch. So eventually when the wife and I had kids, we got rid of them due to the hassle of always having to clean up their crap from the back porch.
(We had 4, and probably got 15-20eggs/week)
(We had 4, and probably got 15-20eggs/week)
Posted on 7/21/14 at 10:34 am to TJG210
but he could save 1.47 a week on eggs.
kiddin, I guess it oculd be a fun hobby
kiddin, I guess it oculd be a fun hobby
Posted on 7/21/14 at 10:35 am to TJG210
quote:
What kind of set up do you have?
I have a shed exactly like this in the corner of my lot and would look to make this type of conversion
This post was edited on 7/21/14 at 10:36 am
Posted on 7/21/14 at 10:47 am to Salmon
quote:
What kind of set up do you have?
that is a similar set up to what we had.
Just make sure you clean the shavings every week or after large rain storms.
If you let those shavings sit it water for more than a couple of days the smell it makes with the chicken poop is disgusting
Posted on 7/21/14 at 10:53 am to gaetti15
Yep. Got my wife 4 chickens because she "thought" she wanted them. Had them for about 3 months and she's ready to dump them off. They are nasty little suckers. But really quiet.
Posted on 7/21/14 at 10:53 am to Salmon
1,2
Posted on 7/21/14 at 10:54 am to Salmon
if you put thier feet through your belt loops they are easy to lay.
Posted on 7/21/14 at 11:12 am to Salmon
I have had chickens for a few years now. You cannot compare the eggs to the 1.50 a dozen.
The eggs them selves are a higher quality. I noticed a huge difference, they are comparable in taste and texture to the free-range eggs that run about 4 or 5 a dozen.
As far as smell, get a movable chicken coop and move it once a week. Any definable area you can provide them they will destroy all the grass, no matter how large. Once the grass is gone, there is nothing left but mud and chicken sh*t and that smells after a rain.
For noise, if you get a rooster (you cannot tell what you are getting when they are chicks) they can be loud in the mornings. Also if you got bad luck and get two roosters, be prepared to kill one off or they will be covered in each others blood everyday by the time they are a year old.
I've enjoyed having mine, but you do have to be ok with killing them yourself every now and again. Once they get older, they begin to eat the eggs of your hens that are actually laying. On the bright side, they older laying hens go great in a gumbo.
If you are not ok with killing them yourself, someone on here or craigslist will gladly take them off your hands once you are done with them.
The eggs them selves are a higher quality. I noticed a huge difference, they are comparable in taste and texture to the free-range eggs that run about 4 or 5 a dozen.
As far as smell, get a movable chicken coop and move it once a week. Any definable area you can provide them they will destroy all the grass, no matter how large. Once the grass is gone, there is nothing left but mud and chicken sh*t and that smells after a rain.
For noise, if you get a rooster (you cannot tell what you are getting when they are chicks) they can be loud in the mornings. Also if you got bad luck and get two roosters, be prepared to kill one off or they will be covered in each others blood everyday by the time they are a year old.
I've enjoyed having mine, but you do have to be ok with killing them yourself every now and again. Once they get older, they begin to eat the eggs of your hens that are actually laying. On the bright side, they older laying hens go great in a gumbo.
If you are not ok with killing them yourself, someone on here or craigslist will gladly take them off your hands once you are done with them.
This post was edited on 7/21/14 at 11:13 am
Posted on 7/21/14 at 11:15 am to Salmon
Run a water line for an automatic waterer. Set up a sink to wash eggs. Put in an automatic feeder. They are easy to fool with like this.
Posted on 7/21/14 at 12:07 pm to Churchill
Don't wash the eggs unless they are soiled. Keep the laying box clean and you will have clean eggs. You will remove the natural coating "bloom" that keeps bacteria out. Eggs are actually porous and you can push bacteria into the egg by washing.
Posted on 7/21/14 at 12:17 pm to DillHole3315
quote:
As far as smell, get a movable chicken coop and move it once a week. Any definable area you can provide them they will destroy all the grass, no matter how large. Once the grass is gone, there is nothing left but mud and chicken sh*t and that smells after a rain.
its called a chicken tractor. check tractor supply or build one yourself. much cleaner than a stationary coop. do you have an outside dog or something to protect them? varmints like chicken almost as much as church folks.
Posted on 7/21/14 at 12:17 pm to Salmon
Rhode Island Reds are probably the easiest to keep and cheapest to buy. Dominiques, barred rocks and buff orpingtons are good also. Feed them corn and laying pellets. With those breeds you can get about 75% lay, so 4 chickens and you'll average 3 eggs a day. If you are worried about noise don't get a rooster, the hens will probably be a little happier not getting raped several times a day. Hens are pretty quiet. We turn ours out during the day and put them up at night, otherwise you're opening up the varmit buffet. The eggs will be the best you've ever eaten.
6 months and they should be laying good. You'll get 4-5 years of eggs, although some will go longer. I had some fighting hens that laid for 15 years.
6 months and they should be laying good. You'll get 4-5 years of eggs, although some will go longer. I had some fighting hens that laid for 15 years.
This post was edited on 7/21/14 at 12:20 pm
Posted on 7/21/14 at 12:22 pm to ZacAttack
quote:
barred rocks and buff orpingtons
my mom has a couple of these, along with some easter eggers (they lay colored eggs) and a couple of fighting hens that someone gave her. those fighting hens are pretty, but mean as hell, you have to keep them by themselves, they like to fight from birth.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News