Raising chickens?

Question

I just went into contract on a farmette and there are 47 chickens. Are they hard to care for? What can I do with them? I will not chop off their heads. Can someone tell me my options with them? I have no experience but I am willing to learn. I can tell the owner to get rid of them too. Any suggestions????

Answer 1

You can take the eggs to market, plus have fresh eggs for breakfast, or exchange the eggs for what your neighbor has on their land (fruit, veggies, sausage, whatever).

Chickens aren't hard to raise. You feed them seed and lettuce, you clean out their mess. Keep them comfortable temperature in winter and summer. You must have one rooster. The rooster helps make more chicks. You can sell the chicks to neighbors who have farms, or give the chicks their health shots and give them to other cities for poor people who want to have an income and food. The chickens make the eggs themselves, just give them a pattern (so they know to lay the eggs oval and not square), and collect the eggs in the morning and toward evening. Keep them safe from other animals and kids like keeping the mesh fixed so there are no holes for them to escape. 47 is nice size...I think my grandpap had about 30. But of course it was years ago and they had a big family and also had chicken dinners. I think you're lucky. Just be sure to get them their shots (or ask if they've had them, against bird flu).

Answer 2

Love the chickens! At night make sure they are safe from
opossums and raccoons. Close the door behind them after
they go to roost. Ideal is 1 rooster per 12 hens. you can feed
them "laying mesh" so they produce eggs. a little shell corn
is good. Things to watch out for is maggots. Don't leave any
thing dead laying around. If they do pick up some they will
show it by being droopy. There combs will be pail. A few
drops of drugstore turpentine -4 or 5 will take care of that. If
there nose and beaks smell bad then 2 or 3 drops of iodine.
then there is dogs to be aware of. If a dog dose a lot of
looking at them he is a potential chicken killer. Now the yoke
of the egg will be a brighter collar. That is from the chlorine
in the grass. If you get get a baby chick or two that seen
droopy you can give them a little coffee. That will make them
hipper enough to start eating and drinking. Lastly, make sure
there vents stay open. All should go fine. Love the Chickens.
Good luck.

Answer 3

I would raise them until they die, and collect the eggs and ship them to local markets.
Chicken feed is inexpensive, and is mostly just corn meal.
Do you have a place for them to run? Free-range chicken eggs are at a premium now, and you could possibly let some of the eggs hatch out and start a full-on egg-based money-making machine.

Just a thought though.

Answer 4

I tried raising chickens once. They all died. My neighbor said I was doing it wrong from the beginning. My wife still thinks I planted them to deep. LOL
Chickens really are no trouble if you don't mind some extra care. They need a place to roost, fresh water daily, sometimes medicated feed, and a source of light in their roosting place. If you have a local feed store stop by and ask them some questions about cost and general care.

Answer 5

Have you considered making a petting zoo for people to come and play with the farm animals?

Depending on the size of your farmette, maybe you could add some cows and goats.

Also, you could sell the eggs from the chickens or give them to a homeless shelter or a food bank.

Answer 6

fence of a part of the property
make some egg laying boxes on poles about a meter high with a little roof

Plant some leguminas trees .for them to sleep in and they will eat what the trees produce

put in a small pond with fish
and grow some corn on the other side of the fence all around .
try to produce as much of the food yourself

And you will have the best eggs in town
If you got one Rooster to fertilize the eggs ,you can make more chickens

And no chicken tastes better than free range chickens

Answer 7

They love to peck at each other and if they bring out blood the wrest will peck the other to death. There is a easy solution to keep then for several weeks in an area that has red lights so they don't see the blood on one. This has worked good for us.

Answer 8

Chicken are so much fun! Read about how to feed them and the great part is that you get to collect eggs.

Answer 9

You don't have to chop off their heads. You can wring their necks. The Chinese serve them with their heads attached.

Answer 10

I applaud your conscience. Here are some web sites that may help.