For average to above verage egg layers I would suggest sex-links (every hatchery has their own version - they are brown egg-layers) and Ameracaunas - blue egg layers which are fun to have.
Hatcheries will ship day-old chicks to you via U.S. Mail, but the minimum order is usually 25. For small quantites check out your local feed-stores, The Ace Hardware store and Tractor Supply near us both sell chicks.
Most chickens with the exception of heavy breeds are potential flyers. Some people clip their wings to prevent this (we don't.) Leghorns, because they are light weight are very good flyers.
Our chickens free-range and we too have lots of red-tail hawks in the area - they have picked off a couple of bantams and young hens, but seem to leave the adult hens alone. We have a large flock and the hawks seems reluctant to get into the thick of things. If you have only 5 or 6 hens they will attempt to pick them off. If that is the case I would cover the run with netting.
Keep in mind that whatever vegitation you have growing in your run area will be demolished in short order and you will end up with a bare-dirt run.
Janet - Healdsburg
__._,_.___
To post a message to the list go to
CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
MARKETPLACE
.
__,_._,___
No comments:
Post a Comment