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Started By
Message
re: Backyard Chicken Coop
Posted on 2/20/25 at 2:33 pm to Churchill
Posted on 2/20/25 at 2:33 pm to Churchill
quote:
White leghorns have the best feed to egg ratio out there and they prolific white eggs layers
I have read they are loud and my city's ordinance says you can have chickens unless a neighbor complains. So noise is a big concern.
quote:
Run a water line for an automatic waterer.
I was thinking of doing a rain catch system to auto water the chickens.
2
Posted on 2/20/25 at 4:31 pm to Bert Macklin FBI
quote:
I have read they are loud and my city's ordinance says you can have chickens unless a neighbor complains. So noise is a big concern.
The only time you would hear ours is when they were laying an egg.
Posted on 2/20/25 at 6:23 pm to Bert Macklin FBI
'The buffs and the brahmas check all those boxes. The others I mentioned maybe not so good as dual purpose.
Yes, make the run tall enough to get in if you can. You will probably need to go in there on occasion.
I’d go wire for a top. Easier, cheaper, and you need some sun. With only a few birds you won’t have much of a smell at all. If you have a lot, then the mud will smell bad till it dries out. Hence the need for sun.
I usually order every year or so from Murray McMurray Hatchery. I believe they are in Iowa or somewhere around there. Great service and if there is a problem with your order they’ll make it right. They sell (or used to, I don’t know the situation currently) pellets a few months old, ready to lay in a month or so. But they’re kind of expensive, about 25 dollars each or so plus shipping which is high as well. I’ve never ordered those, just baby chicks.
If you are near Baton Rouge I may be able to hook you up with a few buffs, about 1 1/2 years old.
Yes, make the run tall enough to get in if you can. You will probably need to go in there on occasion.
I’d go wire for a top. Easier, cheaper, and you need some sun. With only a few birds you won’t have much of a smell at all. If you have a lot, then the mud will smell bad till it dries out. Hence the need for sun.
I usually order every year or so from Murray McMurray Hatchery. I believe they are in Iowa or somewhere around there. Great service and if there is a problem with your order they’ll make it right. They sell (or used to, I don’t know the situation currently) pellets a few months old, ready to lay in a month or so. But they’re kind of expensive, about 25 dollars each or so plus shipping which is high as well. I’ve never ordered those, just baby chicks.
If you are near Baton Rouge I may be able to hook you up with a few buffs, about 1 1/2 years old.
Posted on 2/20/25 at 6:35 pm to Bert Macklin FBI
Chain link is okay if you already have it like Mr Churchill said. If you have to buy wire then the 1/2” hardware cloth may be cheaper and easier to work with. A mink is about all you would need to worry about with chain link. I use 2x4 woven wire on all my pens. I did lose a hen once because I had the roost too close to the wire covered window in the converted doghouse and a coon reached in and grabbed it.
This post was edited on 2/20/25 at 6:40 pm
Posted on 2/20/25 at 7:49 pm to Bert Macklin FBI
You in the BTR area? I might be able to get you a few. Let me know.
Posted on 2/20/25 at 8:15 pm to Bert Macklin FBI
quote:
Should I put the colored anklets on them so that I can tell them apart or is that unnecessary?
We never did this. We did have an aggressive buff one time and spray painted her arse feathers blue with a quick spray. She would try to peck the shite out of people. We called her spray paint. I can't recall how but she died sometime early last year. The rest of the buffs have been model citizens.
Posted on 2/21/25 at 9:18 am to LSUDad
quote:
You in the BTR area? I might be able to get you a few. Let me know.
I live in Jefferson Parish so I am not all that far. I don't think I will get the ball moving on this until it warms up some though. Just trying to do my due diligence before I start building anything.
Posted on 2/21/25 at 9:44 am to Bert Macklin FBI
quote:
Just trying to do my due diligence before I start building anything.
My friend gets over two dozen a day. The colors are White, Brown, Blue and Green eggs. They look like some have been died for Easter!
Posted on 2/21/25 at 10:42 am to LSUDad
quote:
My friend gets over two dozen a day.
I do have a slight worry that I will end up with more eggs than I know what to do with. What is the shelf life of these things?
Posted on 2/21/25 at 12:38 pm to Bert Macklin FBI
About a month unwashed and on the counter or 2 months washed and refrigerated. Some say longer but that’s my general rule I also don’t wash mine when storing. They also never last that long.
Store bought eggs are about a month old when you buy them.
Store bought eggs are about a month old when you buy them.
Posted on 2/21/25 at 2:33 pm to Bert Macklin FBI
We have 14. Barred rock, easter Eggers, buff orpington, splash austrolorp. And a Rhode Island red rooster..
Posted on 2/21/25 at 2:40 pm to Miner
Any favorites of the bunch? Also any opinion on needing multiple of a breed? In a perfect world, I'd get 1 Australorp, 1 Plymoth Rock, and one Americana or Easter egger or something like that.
Posted on 2/21/25 at 2:52 pm to Bert Macklin FBI
quote:
Also any opinion on needing multiple of a breed? In a perfect world, I'd get 1 Australorp, 1 Plymoth Rock, and one Americana or Easter egger or something like that.
The biggest thing to worry about different breeds is temperament and size.
If you have a single, smaller bird then the larger ones that tend to peck more may bully it.
I've had a few Australorps and have always liked them. Quiet, good layers of large brown eggs, and not at all flighty. Same with Buff Orpingtons.
Americana's are neat for the different colored eggs, but I find they lay small eggs and not as much as the others.
I had some White Leghorns a few years ago. Great layers but extremely flighty. I could only get close to them if I had snacks.
Posted on 2/21/25 at 2:54 pm to ApisMellifera
My hold back on the Buff Orpingtons is that it says they are broody. Does that cause issues? like do they peck the other hens that come to close or do they protect their eggs to a point where its hard to get to them to collect?
Posted on 2/21/25 at 4:35 pm to Bert Macklin FBI
quote:
What is the shelf life of these things?
You can Google, if unwashed, months.
Posted on 2/21/25 at 4:40 pm to Bert Macklin FBI
Never had any such problems with mine. Some are friendly and will sit in your lap, some are chicken and run away. All in all - a good choice.
Posted on 2/21/25 at 4:44 pm to Miner
quote:
And a Rhode Island red rooster..
When my friend gets too many roosters, they put them out in the pasture with the horses and cattle. Natural predators do the rest.
Posted on 2/21/25 at 7:07 pm to Bert Macklin FBI
I’ve only had Buffs for a year but so far none have gone broody.
You can still collect if they are broody, the issue is they stop laying. It usually isn’t all of them though. They get defensive whenever you go pull eggs but it’s as easy as putting your hand under and lifting them up and out the box.
You can still collect if they are broody, the issue is they stop laying. It usually isn’t all of them though. They get defensive whenever you go pull eggs but it’s as easy as putting your hand under and lifting them up and out the box.
Posted on 2/21/25 at 8:27 pm to Bert Macklin FBI
We wanted enough to be able to give family eggs also. So we just ordered multiple of each, except barred rock. Only one of her. We had buffs and marans before, copper and splash. Very colorful and pretty to look at. Another reason we got a variety. As far as collection from a broody hen, just lift her a little and get it. They might peck a little, but it doesn't hurt.
This post was edited on 2/21/25 at 8:32 pm
Posted on 2/21/25 at 8:27 pm to LSUDad
We would just process it and make stock from him.
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