chickens???

[kitten76]

we are going to be moving soon, we can have chickens and plan on getting a few and a rooster. i have questions about types and collecting eggs, feed. also, and most important, a chicken coop to keep out animals. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.if there is any info i should know, please info me. i would love it! thank you!

[darkvixen77]

Hi there
It depends on what you want your chickens to be like really: good egg layers, pretty, friendly etc... it may be an idea to go to a breeder (make sure they are reliable) and ask about which is the best breed to buy. You have to understand that also if you get a cockeral, (depending on where you live) your neibours may not be best pleased if it is up crowing at 5 am.
The best sort of feed is just a plain layers mash which can be bought from certian farmers and has all the nutrients they need although chickens love any vegetable scraps you can give them.
The best type of cage is a rabbit like hutch with a run connected onto it so that they can be tucked away in the hutch at night and allowed into the run during the day.
If you are interested and not too bothered about how your chickens will look, there are many ex battery hens in need of good homes and once they have settled in they make very friendly chickens.
If there any more question, feel free to ask
Have fun choosing!

[Kendalle]

if i remember right chickens don't need a rooster to lay, but lay more if there is one... so if you don't want any unwanted fertilized eggs you can have the male in a pen next to the hens but not with them and then if you decide you want babies... well ya can probably figure it out. good luck post pics

I have also read that most ducks lay more eggs then chickens do and their eggs are better tasting but i think that is preference as well

[kitten76]

thank you all so much. we are looking for chickens to lay eggs, and in the city even tho the lot is quite large, we can only have 5. and i didnt know that they could lay eggs with out a rooster. i spent most of my childhood on a ranch and didnt know that! learn something new everyday. now i dont have to worry about the neighbors and baby chicks.

[darkvixen77]

Yea we have 5 hens that still lay once a day and we dont have a rooster
Make sure that you have proper fox protection as well, foxes love chickens :S

[rodentopia]

if you wanted good egg layers, i'd go for a sussex because they lay quite alot of nice eggs, and plus they're pretty. my brother is starting an egg business, so you can pm me if you want to ask any questions or want some photos of the back yard operation.

we feed them layers mash in the evening a couple of hours before dark and layers pellets in the morning and when we feel like giving them a treat, we boil up vegetable leftovers and give them to them with the mash.

it's good to have a rooster though, they have great little characters. all of them are different, unlike hens, who can get a little samey after a while.
i read that after a while in a group of chickens with no rooster and all hens, one of the hens with start to turn into a male chicken, but be completely useless. it was in a book called "hen and the art of chicken keeping" or something like that.