My wife wants to raise some chickens from chicks maybe 5 or 10 anybody out there raise these things?. is it an easy thing and whats needed to get started. (wants them for grandkids). (HELP>>>)

 

I dunno much. I do know a guy who knows about everything. He gets old vegetables from a near by grocery store and feeds them that. Try that and save some money on feed. Your gonna need a good fenced area (Mainly to keep animals out), coops.

Are you gonna try to get them to lay eggs???

 

theyre pretty easy to raise, me and my dad have had a flock of about 50 for like 15 years

youll need a cage for them while their young, and a lamp for warmth.

a feed store should have everything youll need, feeders, water containers (most are plastic with a white bottle like part and a red "trough" that screws onto it)
start with feeding them chick starter
then at about 4 months switch to laying mash

try to stay away from like easter or any other kinds of special occasion or left over chicks cus most of the time theyll all be roosters

if you have anymore questions ill be happy to answer

 

If you are going to eat the eggs, I recommend feeding them grain only. Those eggs are made of what the chicken eats, and they eat anything. You could compare it to drinking unprocessed milk. If you're used to it, it tastes good. If you've been drinking homogenized milk, it tastes bad.

 

Thanks for the replies, I would want them to lay eggs so the grain idea is a good one. Now to build a coop. I have 60+ acres so space is not a problem.

 

my grandpa used to have chickens. he had a rooster but kept it locked in its own area (that was one mean bastard).

make sure the fence is tall, i'd say 10-15 feet. chickens can "jump/fly" kinda high.

 

A family down the road from me raised chickens when I was growing up. It was kind of neat, except be aware that you're going to have chicken stuff everywhere they roam.....

 

And let me tell you, that is some nasty, fowl stuff!

 

WHAT ?!?!?!?! My step-grandfather use to raise chickens and they ate anything on the ground and those were the best eggs ever. Then agian I hate just plain old white eggs you get at the grocery store. I get my eggs at a local farmers market.

Also Buckdropper, be ready for the stench that comes with them. Good luck with this man. I'd love to do this but dont have any land.

 

Yea, he'll be shooting them off that nice deck he has

 

He needs to get some of those "prissy" little Bantams that match his personality so well.

 

Do this. Please, I can't wait.

After years of being subjected to....goat boy....goat breath....etc...



Heeheehee......

 

we had chickens going up. We had a chicken house that was about 10 ft by 10 ft at the base and had roof, completely enclosed. They had an area outside where they could walk but it was completely enclosed with chicken wire and it was attached to the house so they could come and go as they pleased. We had a regualr door on the outside of the house and a screen door, left the screen door open during the day and closed it at night.

Inside we had places for them to roost and the feed bin and the water (as stated in the above posts). We feed them chicken feed for the most part but we'd let them wander around the yard somedays.

You will get snakes and roadents in there (we got a lot of racoons and black snakes) so be prepared to walk in there and see a 6ft black snake with a bunch of lumps in them.

When they are younger, we kept the chicks in a cardboard box with a heat lamp. We actually incubated some one time and they turned out alright.

Good luck, fresh eggs taste awesome.

 

to funny R

You would love this i just know it. Well i am going to give it a whirl so i guess i'll have to build a coop for the stinky things

 

eh they dont smell too bad

and a 6 or 8 foot fence will work fine, but you might have to trim some of their wings

dont forget to build a roost and nests in the chicken house