[Ag-eq] anyone out there

[Nella Foster]

    Susan:

Thanks for the information.

Your chicken coop sounds like what I had in mind.  I would want the top 
covered since we have hawks, coyotes and dogs in the area.  I remember my 
Grandfather having boxes for them to lay the eggs in, do you do this?

Do they lay eggs everyday?

When do they start laying and how long will they continue?

One of the local farm supply stores often sells chicks, so I think I'll ask 
them if they know what breeds do well in our heat.

I love the idea of getting my own eggs.  I pay about 3 times the cost to buy 
organic range fed eggs at the grocery store.

Do you think there's a taste difference in the brown and white eggs?

Nella
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Susan Roe" <dogwoodfarm at verizon.net>
To: "Agricultural and Equestrean Division List" <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 02, 2010 12:43 PM
Subject: Re: [Ag-eq] anyone out there


> 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
>
>
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