Rainbow Flock Research Fun

How to Build a Rainbow Flock with Different Chicken Breeds

Every spring we face a dilemma  It’s tough  We only need to buy five or six pullet chicks from so many different types  So we study the Hoover’s Hatchery website to choose breeds to buy at our  nearby farm store    

 

How can we possibly choose the right mix?  There are Brahmas, New Hampshire Reds, Wyandottes, Orpingtons, Sussex, hybrids and a dizzying array of other appealing breeds  We’d like to buy one chick of every breed, but that won’t work Our coop is small  

 

Part of our

Never Say Never… Or Always

Justin Bieber’s song, NEVER SAY NEVER, applies to chickens How can that be?

 

Rich and Marion Patterson learned “how” with their new flock When preparing their chick order in early spring they selected half their chicks to be from well-known, dual-purpose production breeds So, they included Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, and Delawares in the order along with one California White, a famous laying dynamo All are breeds unlikely to pause laying and go broody The other half of the flock was from fun breeds like Brahmas and Cochins They’re gorgeous modest layers that have a tendency to go broody

 

Their

Downsizing A Flock

From time to time, we’ve had to downsize our flock It’s emotional Saying goodbye to the feathery friends who have generously given us eggs is hard An empty coop, lacking the bubbly chicken energy is a sad place Downsizing or eliminating a flock can be distressing and tricky

 

Why Downside a Flock

 

People downsize a flock for many reasons Here are a few we have had to use

 

  • We’re moving and can’t have chickens in our new home
  • Our hens are getting old and aren’t laying many eggs We need to replace them with younger ones
  • We bought chicks when egg

Keeping Chickens Safe

Mini Predators: Protecting Chickens from Mice and Sparrows

Mention the word predator to a backyard flock owner and they’ll likely conjure mental images of a hungry raccoon, fox, or owl carrying off a favorite hen  

 

Mini predators? They’re the tiny wild animals that don’t directly kill chickens but filch expensive feed, make a mess, and possibly introduce diseases and parasites Mice and House Sparrows are the major culprits, helped occasionally by starlings and rats

 

It’s probably impossible to completely eliminate these hungry animals, but there are ways to keep their numbers down The fewer sparrows and

Trimming Feed Costs

How Much Does It Cost to Raise Chicks to Laying Age

Tending backyard chickens is both a delight and bargain Relative to the cost of buying and keeping a purebred dog or cat, chickens are equally fascinating animals that are relatively inexpensive to keep and come with a bonus Fresh eggs!

 

Just what does it cost to raise a clutch of chicks to the laying stage?  How can that cost be reduced?

 

Marion and Rich Patterson decided to keep track of costs They already had feeders, waterers, brooders, and a coop, so the costs listed below are the

Chicken Care When You’re Away

For all their many benefits, a backyard chicken flock presents one problem for families who love to travel Chickens need care every day That’s impossible from a distant hotel or campsite Fortunately, there is a time in chicken maturity when traveling is easier It’s when the birds are maturing from adolescence into early adulthood

 

Baby chicks need constant vigilance They must be checked often every day The heat may need adjusting Small waterers and feeders quickly empty and need refilling, and sometimes a waterer tips over, soaking litter that needs to be replaced

Once in a while a chick dies and

This Chicken Predator Lives in the House

Anyone tending a backyard flock knows that hungry predators are eager to convert a hen, or even a whole flock, into lunch Raccoons, weasels, mink, foxes, and raptors are amazingly common even in suburban and urban areas Protecting chickens from these hungry animals requires keeping them securely locked up in a tight coop during the dark hours when most predators prowl

 

Many flock owners would be amazed to learn that a major chicken predator is probably the most common suburban animal If free ranging dogs can access chickens, they’ll often convert them into a lifeless bundle of feathers Nationally dogs

Neighbors Help Make Backyard Flocks Possible

Occasionally a friend visits us at Winding Pathways  He’s a retired professor of ornithology…a bird guy The first thing he does is “go visit our girls” These girls are our backyard chicken flock

 

Our chickens are attractions that entice friends here and are ambassadors of positive neighbor relations Our hens give us eggs while showing visitors how well these fascinating food producing animals fit into modern lives and suburban backyards

 

We live in an urban world A couple of generations ago most Americans grew up on farms or in small rural towns Although they now live in a modern suburb they