# Chickens



## Nupine (Nov 13, 2007)

I didn't see a chicken thread. So I made one. Post anything Poultry! I also have some for sale in Ohio.


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## ksacres (Oct 30, 2007)

Cool, I like this site more everyday-no rules about what kind of topics or posting weblinks! 

I have a mix of black and white silkies-plus one blue roo, to produce the blue color. I don't have any chicks or adults for sale, but I will have hatching eggs as soon as my bator is full. 

I also have a trio of Ameracauna bantams, but they are running with some Self Blue OEG Bantam roos. Which brings me to my next point...

I have 5 Self Blue OEG Bantam roos, this years hatch for sale or trade. $5 each or will trade for eggs or chicks of silkie or Ameracauna Bantam type. 

I had planned on breeding these too, b/c I really love the true breeding blue genetics, BUT, all my pullets drowned themselves in a water bucket while I was away. 6 pullets and NO cockerals drowned! 

What do you have??


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

We have about 50 laying hens for eggs, and we raise 400 meat birds every summer on pasture and sell them to customers. It's a pretty good business.


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## ksacres (Oct 30, 2007)

That's a LOT of chicken! How do you brood them all?


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## FarmGirl18 (Oct 5, 2007)

Hi Sarah, we do the same thing with the meat chickens. Haven't done 400 yet though. We did a batch of 120 a few weeks ago. I agree, it's a pretty good business. Do ya'll use Cornish Crosses? We also have about 60 chickens for eggs.


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## cute kids (Oct 5, 2007)

how do you reach your customers? any rules/regs re:selling chickens for food?


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## FarmGirl18 (Oct 5, 2007)

The main regulations here in OK are just that the customers have to come here to the farm to pick them up. We've not had a problem selling them though even though our prices are higher than at the store. Some people realize all the stuff that is done to "store bought" chicken.


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## cute kids (Oct 5, 2007)

and how do people know about you--word of mouth, ads, ???


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

ksacres, we order all of our chickens, I couldn't imagine brooding that many!!
Bethany, We tried the cornish x rocks, we hate them. They have so many leg problems and they don't get big drumsticks on them. We order chickens from the hatchery in PA, Reich Poultry Farm I think its called. We get a combo of two breeds, one is called Buff Silver Cockerels, and the other is Barred Silver Cockerels(they are the same breed just different colors) These chickens are BRED to grow on grass and they run all over the yard and eat bugs and grass, we don't use near as much feed on them. They also don't have any leg problems(out of 300 of these we raised this year, maybe 1 with leg problems) We are raising 100 extra cornishes because we oversold and are trying to fill orders. The cornishes don't grow near as fast as these other birds. The other birds dress out 4-6lbs at 9-10 weeks. And they have big thighs, drumsticks and really nice breasts and wings. You can only get them from the hatchery in PA and they are really worth it. We also get a special laying breed from them, they lay in the hot and the cold and are very consistent layers. PM me for the phone number.
cute kids,
In IL, I don't really know the laws for selling chickens, but I do know that they have to be taken to an inspected facility to be butchered. We take our chickens to a butcher(butchering sucks) For now, we are selling chickens to friends and milk customers, and everybody passes our name along by word of mouth. Once they taste our chickens, they tell EVERYBODY about us. We also plan on buying a portable freezer and taking chickens to farmers markets hopefully next year. For farmers markets, the meat just has to be kept at or below 41 degrees.
Any other ?? feel free to ask!


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## dobe627 (Oct 16, 2007)

I just added 6 Polish chickens to my coop. 1 white capped black rooster. 2 hens the same color, 2 blue and 1 splash. I got them from a lady that shows them but she had too many. They are really funny looking, and funny to watch. I raise and sell guineas, and the guineas are just looking at the new chickens kinda funny. I will try to get a picture. The lady had a bunch of silkies she was getting ready for a show. I just can't imagine trying to bathe all those chickens.


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## ilroost (Oct 7, 2007)

We have around 35 chickens we use for the eggs. We also raise turkeys and muscovy ducks


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## cute kids (Oct 5, 2007)

are the chickens and turkeys raised together, or must they be kept separate? how do you market your eggs?


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## FarmGirl18 (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks for the info Sarah, we will have to consider getting some from that place. Our Cornish crosses dressed out at 4-6 pounds at 8 weeks, we did have a few with leg problems, but not as many as the first time we did it. So you just let yours run free? We have 2 movable pens that we move around out in the pasture. And we do the butchering ourselves. We have a large family so we all work together and have alot of fun doing it. But it is alot of work. I do like the idea that the kind you get don't need as much feed, the cornishes eat a ton!


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

My mom was thinking of rasing some just for our family - but I couldn't butcher them (yep, I'm a whimp :roll


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## FarmGirl18 (Oct 5, 2007)

It's really not that bad..... :lol:


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

Like I said, I'm a W-H-I-M-P and I know it! I can barely look at a raw whole chicken lol


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

Believe me Chelsey, butchering chickens isn't that bad, its just the mess you have to clean up.
Bethany, 
We built hoop houses with cattle panels and tarps. We pull them around the pasture and let the chickens go free range in the pasture during the day. We still provide free choice feed of course. Another thing we use is Fertrell Nutri Balancer poultry minerals, I don't like Fertrell's minerals for ruminants, but their chicken minerals are AWSOME. We mix our own feed too, which saves money.
http://www.plamondon.com/hoop-coop.html
Those are the hoop houses we use, they are great for goat kidding pens too.
I'll PM you the number of the place we get chicks from


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## FarmGirl18 (Oct 5, 2007)

Those are some neat pens, looks like they are light weight and easy to move. My brother designed and welded these for us, they are 10x10, and have wheels on the back that fold up when you aren't using them. They worked really great for us this year.


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

Wow those are really nice. I'll have to show it to dad  Ours take about one weekend to build, and we can do it for $100-$150, We found though, you have to use pressure treated wood for it, and you can't cheap out on the tarps, they still have to be replaced every year. For the goats, we put a panel down the middle so we can put two goats in for kidding.


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

Bethany, those pens look awsome! I don't think we could have out chickens free range - Quincy would eat them :roll:


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

Our dogs used to eat our chickens too, but usually we spanked them and yelled at them(we don't do that to the dogs unless they do something REALLY bad) and they never touched the chickens again. They are interested when we get new chicks but they haven't eaten them.


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## FarmGirl18 (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks Chelsey, my brother did a great job building them. Yes I know about chicken eating dogs as well, we've had several in our lifetime. The ones we have now are pretty good with them though, my Lab did try to eat some but I got out the "hot shot" and I think she learned her lesson. She is just one big ball of wildness though. :roll:


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## ilroost (Oct 7, 2007)

cute kids i keep my turkeys and chickens apart, but i know a lady down the road who keeps them together. I have heard that if you keep them together that the turkeys can get a disease called blackhead. As for marketing the eggs i used to have a sign up out front but now i have so many people around here who want them i had to take the sign down, now i have the same farmers around me come by as regulars, if im not home they just get them out of the fridge in the garage and leave the money.


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## ksacres (Oct 30, 2007)

I could never butcher my own either! Now, selling them to people for food doesn't bother me a bit, but to do it myself-uh-uh!!


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## Nupine (Nov 13, 2007)

I forgot I made this thread. I have White Silkies, Silver laced Wyandottes, White Sultans, Ameracauna mixes, Cochins, Naked Necks, a few mutts, and just last Saturday a pair of awesome Golden Sebrights and a trio of Mille Fleur D'Uccles!! I have had chickens for about 5 years, and haven't been chicken less since!! I have a lot for sale, pm if interested. And hatching eggs for sale too. I have about 50-60 chickens. I am a vegetarians, and we don't eat any of ours.


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## morganslil1 (Nov 13, 2007)

Golden Sebrights and a trio of Mille Fleur D'Uccles......I would love to see them if you get an opportunity to post pictures.


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## gerald77 (Feb 13, 2008)

woohoo! chickens!! i have 20 chicks. i had 22 but they died. anyway here are pics of them. there are plymouth rocks, california whites, welsummer reds and two other kinds i can't remember. some are dual purpose and the others are layers. these guys are messy!

kristin


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