We had a RIR and a barred rock just beating the hell out of each other yesterday. It was the smallest BR so I doubt they were fighting for top tier. Bottom rung I suppose. It was brutal.
Every once in a while I get eaten eggs if I don't change the bedding in the nesting boxes. Weird, but they always seem to let me know to add some bedding by cracking eggs!
Cooked up another one of those yard birds last night. It was easily the best chicken I've ever had. I'm hooked...can't go back. Looks like I'll be doing this for a while.
Of the 6 that I got there is one of the sexlink that is expressing rooster like behavior and it's much larger than the rest. If old boy turns out to be a rooster he will get the chop being that this city doesn't allow roosters. He's about 5 lbs already and he is about 13 weeks old.
One of our laying hens was missing her middle toe yesterday. I have no idea how, other hens are fine. They were free ranging like always. No other marks on her, the toe is sheared off clean. She seems fine, slight limp. We'll keep an eye out and on her.
This batch of meat birds got some new roommates. A guy my FIL works with bought some of our last batch of birds. He usually buys them from the Amish but he said ours are 100% better. Business is good.
You've probably already stated this but what feed do you use? I want to do about 20 birds for myself.
Mine will pick the clover and other broadleaf weeds pretty clean over 24 hours. This is 50-60 birds on 120 sq ft. They lay down a lot of fertilizer too.
The city where I live requires a 10x10 coop to house no more than 6 chickens. Anything after that requires a permit to build and a permit on a per chicken basis. I thought these guys were joking when the inspector told me that. I told him me and my 5 brothers used to share a 8x8 bedroom as kids on bunk beds. WTF.
When you live in Backwoods, IN...you don't have to worry about any kind of local government azzhatery like that.
Im sold. IN here we come. LOL. I have been trying to convince my wife to get the F out of dodge (NY) everything here is complicated and $ driven.
I had a conversation with a co-worker who lives in NY just north of the city and he about threw up when I told him how cheap everything is here. My property taxes were 1/18 of his for about the same size house, etc. The list goes on.
Oh yea NY is ridiculous. Can't wait to get out. A 1500sf house on .4 of an acre can easily incur a 17k a year tax bill in the ny metro area. The ny metro area has been expanding in mileage endlessly as people are being forced to love farther and farther due to sticker shock. Lol.
Wow, and I thought a $1700 tax bill for our 3 acres was a lot. And I don't think there are any regulations for chickens here, that I know of anyway. Our coop and run are plainly visible from the road.
I don't know if you stated but how big is that tractor. I keep my laying hens in one that's 12 by 4 and move them at different rates depending on what part of the yard their in. I over built that tractor so it's a little heavy. Down to 2 laying hens a bantam that lays once in a while and a rooster. The egg eater got the ax today. Out of the 15 chick's I have I should have a few replacements.
