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Post by ohiodreamer on Apr 2, 2015 13:30:11 GMT
We live in town where chickens are allowed, BUT we have decided that our yard is not set up well for chickens so we won't have them here. After years of "talk" we are actually getting our behinds in gear and getting the house ready to put on the market and move to a bit of land. IF all goes as planned, we could be ready for chickens next spring. SO...what should I read to get ready? I know there are a TON of books out there, but they are not all equal. What would be your top 2-3 book recommendations for a beginner?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2015 18:00:07 GMT
For us, chickens was one of those things where we learned by doing, but we still read a lot. Carla Emery's book, of course, and online where we could ask questions and get real life answers and support.
First rule of thumb with anything in homesteading is start small, then grow once you get some experience under your belt.
What do you want your chickens: meat, eggs, both?
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Post by ohiodreamer on Apr 2, 2015 19:13:21 GMT
I'd like both. I'm thinking 3-4 egg chickens and 3-6 meat chicken to start with. I'm big on "start small" and work up. I have friends locally with chickens, but they are egg and pet chickens so no help on the meat side. We are night time readers. We've been reading about bees lately.....we get our first colony in a week. So I'm just looking for the "next" thing to read up on.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2015 20:24:01 GMT
Well, chickens are hard or easy. I can't say we've read much of anything, but I could sure write a book! As far as meat chickens go, some people swear by the cornish/rock crosses. We don't like their texture or flavor. We raised them on pasture and the mortality rate was 50%, and they still weren't good eating. We'll stick to cockerels from the old heavy breeds: they have a 90%+ survival rate (realize I have children tending chickens, so perhaps the handling is not quite as gentle as an adult would do) taste good and aren't mushy when cooked. We don't get as much meat, but the family will eat it! (And no, we don't like store chicken meat.) Our layers are mostly the same sorts as our meat birds, so if someone hides and sets a clutch, it works fine for us. You don't have to keep a rooster unless you want chicks, but ours take on predators so they stay, and letting the hens raise the chicks is dead easy, beats raising them with a heat lamp. If you never butchered, I suggest getting someone who knows how to let you do it with the first time, rather than trying to learn from a book. Probably there's an old timer in your area who would be willing.
Now the kids are campaigning for turkeys. I dunno . . . if someone would clean out the garage I could be persuaded: gotta keep 'em somewhere until they're big enough to go outside. (The kids are also campaigning for cow and horse . . .)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2015 20:44:37 GMT
What Sunbee said! Start small! A good - not mean - rooster is priceless I think - he seems to calm things down, when he follows me out to free range the ladies line up behind him, he's protective, AND I agree on how nice it is to have chickens be the moms! I make sure to rattle their nightly scratch tray in a plastic jar so they hear that &/or my voice & come. Really handy for roundup, even better so that someone subbing for you some night can get them locked away easily. (Ask my SIL how we learned the need for this!). I have a Buckeye rooster, Americauna & Buff Orpington hens. The Cornish Cross are zombies, high death rate, not much taste even if they are outside (they barely move).
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Post by 1shotwade on Apr 2, 2015 20:45:08 GMT
I find the best way for me to learn something new is to see it done. Someone telling me or ready about it,well that's hit or miss. That being said,you just can't beat youtube.'Bout anything you want to learn can be had on there.
Wade
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Apr 3, 2015 1:34:17 GMT
This is just me-but-I did a lot of research before I got my first chick...and before we built our first chicken coop. I read "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens" front to back the first time-then really studied the chapters I felt were going to apply to what we wanted out of chickens. I got the book about 3-5 years before we started and I think it helped us A LOT. I'm not saying it will answer every question that will arise once you have them-that is what forums like this are for...and for me-my county extension agent helped out with questions, etc...(does that sound like "Green Acres" or what??!!) My first piece of advice is-get the book. It is quite expensive in the farm stores, etc...I think I got the most recent version through Abe Books possibly?? Regards, Mari
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2015 1:39:48 GMT
Get in touch with Cackle Hatchery...They will send you a free catalog. It is a very good catalog with good descriptions of the various breeds and their best use. I realize it is not a book, but it is very informative and has great pictures.
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Post by bergere on Apr 3, 2015 10:46:43 GMT
I would recommend that you get some predator proof housing first, (if you haven't already). It will save you from a lot of frustration, as everything loves to eat chicken. Then, you start with a couple of chickens... then a few more and then, you are hatching eggs and adding more. I don't have a big rooster running with my laying hens. Right now, have no interest in raising them. I do have another pasture, that I have some bantams in, and I do have Roosters over there because I am starting a breeding program. These two Roosters, so far anyway, are very sweet and gentle, never once has tried to get aggressive with anyone. They are Lavender Ameraucana Bantams... super sweet birds that lay tiny light blue eggs.
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Post by wally on Apr 3, 2015 22:04:45 GMT
What MarinIn said.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2015 19:30:34 GMT
I'm with bergere - predator proof housing is a must. Building Ft Knox is your first step. It's not so much keeping the chickens in as it is keeping the predators out. Find out the predators in your area and build to keep them out.
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Post by claytonpiano on Apr 4, 2015 21:02:49 GMT
Story's Guide as previously mentioned is a great resource. Countryside Magazine has given me great ideas and you would benefit from visiting farms with chickens. Mother Earth News Fair has great resources and it is cheap if you live near where they are having one. There is one in Asheville, NC next weekend.
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