Chickens & Guineas

How We Got Started In Chickens

Growing up and visiting my uncles' farms, it seemed like everyone had a small flock of chickens. I remember at times the dinner menu still had to be butchered upon our family's arrival. And when we left, we always came home with a dozen or two fresh eggs. Today, I have noticed that a very small percentage of farmers bother with chickens.

Big hatcheries produce over 90% of all commercially sold chickens and eggs. With all of our government regulations, the small farmer can't compete. The cost of feed, high-tech production equipment, and slaughtering facilities has taken the profit out of chicken farming for the average farmer.

In most cases it is cost prohibitive to maintain a small flock. The price of chicken feed, pardon the expression, "isn't chicken feed". And, chickens aren't the cleanest of animals. They do require a fair amount of time and effort to keep their coups clean, sanitized, and free of parisites. Plus, we have to watch for predators, such as raccoons, opposums, coyotes, and hawks.

Store-bought eggs and fryers are fairly inexpensive, they've passed all the government inspections. So why raise chickens?! Because I've visited commercial hatcheries and have seen chickens processed and packaged with the USDA stamp. I've seen eggs, by the thousands, moving up conveyor belts to be pasturized and whatever else they do to them before being packaged as FRESH! Have you ever wondered why there isn't a packaged date on egg cartons?

But most of all, I have tasted fresh eggs from our chickens, and there is a difference. Not only in taste, but fresh eggs have a bright yellow yolk and the whites are nice and firm. Home grown chickens have a yellow fat in their skin, unlike the pale fleshy color in most store-bought chicken, and the taste is uncomparable. Back to top.

There are over 40 breeds of poultry, not counting bantams, recognized by the American Poultry Association. Many breeds have as many as a dozen varieties within their particular breed, some differing only in small items such as the shape of their comb. The most common variety difference within a breed is the color pattern of the feathers.

Primarily there are three purposes for raising chickens, egg production, meat production, or as a hobby. At first we wanted to produce eggs for our family and relatives. We enjoyed our chickens so much they quickly became our hobby, and in expanding we now not only have egg producers, but also "dual purpose" chickens (meat chickens that lay a large amount of eggs).

Next we had to decide on whether to start with hatching eggs or buying chicks or pullets. Since at the time we knew nothing about hatching and we wanted to get an immediate return in the way of eggs, we elected to purchase pullets that were just about ready to start laying. Most commonly, such pullets are sold at about 20 weeks of age but may range between 16 and 22 weeks. Another advantage to purchasing pullets is that all the brooding and rearing has been eliminated.

We started with ten Pearl-White Leghorn pullets (pronounced leg-gern), we bought them at 16 weeks old. They had just began to lay, normally they start laying at 4 1/2 to 5 months. For someone that wants to raise chickens strictly for eggs, this is a excellent breed. They are fairly small, weighing about 4 lbs at maturity, and don't consume a great deal of feed, also we have found them to be very good foragers. They are excellent layers with a reputation for laying up to 12 weeks longer than most good layers. Pearls lay a top grade, good sized egg of uniform shape with a good shell. They require little space and even though a little excitable, we have found them to develop docile personalities. Pictured is a 6 mon. old White Wyandotte pullet (left) and a leghorn hen (right), notice the size difference.

The following spring we decided to buy some chickens that we could butcher for fryers. We looked at "dual purpose" chickens that would also help supplement our egg production. We ordered 1 day old baby chicks from Cackle Hatchery in Lebanon, MO., I mention this only because we where extremely happy with their service, selection, and very competitive prices. We ordered quite a variety, Light Brahma, Buff Orpington, Speckled Sussex, White Wyandotte, a Jungle Fowl rooster, and some guineas.

Light Brahmas are a much bigger breed with pullets reaching about 7 lbs and cockerels weighing up to 9 1/2 lbs at maturity. They are an extremely slow growing chicken, but when fully fleshed make a beautiful roaster. They are easy to dress with light plumage and yellow skin. They have a small pea comb, great size and are almost immune to cold weather. Brahmas have full feathered shanks and toes, and a striking black and white plumage pattern. They are quiet, gentle, and easy to handle. The hens are good layers of brown eggs (sometimes with small dark brown speckles), laying well in winter, and they also will set. When the chicks arrived they were a creamy white color, some with gray markings. Of all the larger breeds we have, they were the first to start laying. The big breeds develop slower and therefore start laying later. We got our first Brhama egg when the pullets were about 5 months old. The eggs are still small, but are larger than the leghorns when they first started laying. Eggs are of good quality, the shells seem to be nice and hard, and have a good shape. Pictured here is a six month old Light Brahma cockerel.

Buff Orpingtons became one of the most popular farmyard chickens in this country after being introduced from England in the late 1800's. They are a large "golden" chicken with a very quiet and gentle disposition. Pullets will grow to about 7 lbs and the cockerels to about 9 1/2 lbs. They to are a good "dual purpose" chicken. A beautiful eating bird, they are easy to dress, pinkish white skinned, and very plump & juicy. Their heavy plumage makes them a great winter layer of big brown eggs. Orpingtons are excellent setters and mothers. The baby chicks are a light buff color. Our pullets began laying at about 5 months, although we had one that would get into our nest boxes when she was 4 months old. We call her "Little Mama", every day she would be there when we came to collect eggs and she would softly "talk" to us, as if she was really trying but nothing happened. She is the only chicken we have that seems to like being picked up, needless to say, she is one of our favorites.

We bought our Black Australorps later in the summer after reading many good things about this breed, and we have been very happy with our decision. They originated, as their name suggest, in Australia, developed from Black Orpingtons. The emphasis in breeding was on egg production without sacrificing size or meat quality. They were introduced to America in the 1920's and are one of the best layers of all heavy breeds, one hen set a laying record of 364 eggs in 365 days. They are very pretty birds with a glossy black plumage with a greenish sheen and a bright red comb. Cockerels weigh up to 8 lbs and pullets 7 lbs at maturity. Pullets mature early and will start laying around 5 months old, our young cockerel also matured quickly and was crowing at 4 months, much earlier than any of our other breeds. Austrlorps are quiet and gentle and do well in confinement, our flock is allowed outside most everyday and they usually elect to stay inside. The baby chicks are adorable, black with white on the underside and small patches around the head and wings. After final plumage, they dress out nicely, and have plump bodies with a pinkish white skin.
Pictured left is a Black Austrlorp cockerel at 4 months old. He is my favorite young rooster, he likes to help me feed and water the other chickens, always under foot. Back to top.

Guineas

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