[Ag-eq] anyone out there

[Susan Roe]

Hi Nella,

First things first.  There is no such thing as a stupid question, except for 
the ones you don't ask.  Personally, I had much rather you ask anything and 
everything instead of assuming who knows what.

What kind of chickens do you keep?
I have three hen varieties.  Buff Orphingtons, Bard Rocks with a Bard Rock 
rooster and Black Ostrolorps with a Rhoad island Red rooster.  All three are 
brown egg layers because that is all my husband and customers want.

Would the hens lay if there isn't a rooster around?
Yes, hens will lay perfectly viable eggs without a rooster, however, they 
just won't be firtle.  My husband insists on a couple of roosters just for 
the crow facter.  We have sixty achers here, so that is not a problem.

I was thinking about getting 3
 hens; what do you think?
Three  is a good number to start with especially if you've never delt with 
them before.  I started off with five hens and one rooster.  I was hooked 
for life!

Do you know if there are types of chickens that handle the heat better than 
others?
In all of my poultry catalogs, I have only seen reference to cold hardiness 
and I look for those because the winters here in Central Virginia have 
lately been hovering in the twenties and thirties.  The best way to combat 
heat is cool water, plenty of shade, and make sure your coops have good 
breeze ventalation.  One of the biggest aids we found to help cool them off 
is draping a soaker hose over their run area and either in the morning or 
just after the hottest part of the day, turn on the soaker hose for about 
fifteen minutes.  You don't have to do this every day, just when you see 
your hens becoming droopy or really sticking to the shady areas.

How much space do you think chickens should have?
Well, for 25 hens per flock, my three flocks have their own coop, 12 by 4 
feet and then a fenced in run that is 12 by 12feet.  I even have the top of 
this run covered with chickenwire.  I do not let my chickens roam around 
forseveral reasons, other people's hunting dogs, fox, racoon, possum, farrel 
cats, several nesting pares of hawks and one very active pare of nesting 
owls.  I don't mind the wildlife, in fact we go out of our way to accomidate 
them, but I don't believe in sharing my chickens.

 I would have to build an enclosure for them, since I don't want them all 
over the neighborhood.  I would make sure they have plenty of shade.
I started out with my five hens and a rooster in a mobile coop that was six 
feet square and six feet high.  This also had two perches that also acted as 
support for their little enclosed hen house which they could reach with a 
ladder.  A rectangle space would give them a more lengthy area to stretch 
their leggs, but you still wouldn't need more than eight feet.  Keep in mind 
shade and rain protection as well.  Feed is not a problem.  A little scratch 
and mash and most of all, lots and lots of organic matter.  My hens are like 
little pigs with feathers.  Grass clippings, fall leaves, fruit, vegetables, 
broken up bread, and anything that happens to wander into their cage and 
doesn't run fast enough, is fair game.  They are not picky.  I don't feed 
table scraps nor do I feed them meat scraps because there is too great a 
chance for bacteria to be introduced.

So, as you can see for yourself, I don't mind talking about my chickens. 
Please feel free to ask whatever, whenever you want.

Susan
dogwoodfarm at verizon.net