What's Cookin' discussion

Do you have chickens? If so what kinds do you have? Do you use them for the meat, the eggs or both? This is the place for questions and/or advice.

Having chickens has really been a great thing for me. I started with two hens about a year ago. I wanted them for eggs. I soon learned that I wasn't getting enough eggs plus they were a delight to have. (They're super friendly & constant company when I'm working in the garden.) So that led to the addition of 3 more hens last fall. They have free roam of the backyard & garden area until sundown when they go into their coop. They've really earned their keep. In addition to the eggs I have almost no problem with any kind of bugs in my garden & they are also providing poop for the compost & they did most of my pre-season dirt prep. I would just lock them in the area I wanted done for a few days & they would scratch it all up, eat any grass weeds & of course leave their droppings. I currently have a Barred Rock, a Rhode Island Red, 2 Easter Eggers & a Buff Orpington.

I've been wanting chickens for along time, but we live in an area where there are a lot of natural predators. I read somewhere that roosters will protect the hens if you have one, but I'm not sure about that.

Do you have to feed your chickens feed, Alisa? Or do they only need to be let loose in your garden? And I'm curious...do they actually leave your plants alone but go after the weeds?

Roosters will protect as much as they can but obviously they can't against coyotes etc. I don't have roosters because of the noise & I don't want baby chicks, just eggs. A lot of people have coops with a big fenced yard so the chickens are protected at all times. There are a lot of websites that have pictures & chicken coop plans on them.

I let mine free range in my yard during the day. I give them a little pellet mix in the am & some scratch in the pm but for the most part they're on their own w/grass & bugs. I am by no means a chicken expert but from my research it seems that they do best w/grass & bugs. Commercial feed is made for chickens raised in factories where they want them to get fat fast. There is also the issue of the chemicals used to grow corn. You can totally see the difference in the yolks from your own grass fed chickens compared to grocery store eggs. They taste a lot better also, IMO.

For the most part my girls are good in my veggie garden & stay out of the actual veggies. I have found a few things that I can not keep them out of (ie tomatoes & brussell sprouts) so those things I put in areas they can't get to.

If you look at chicken breeds you can find chickens that do well in different types of settings. Some breeds do better in heat, or cold, or free range etc. One website I like is Meyers Hatcheries. I've never bought chicks from them so I am not speaking to their quality of chick BUT they have pages of chicken profiles, with pictures, characteristics, temperment, etc. It will at least get you started.