Quick chicken question (new question added)

[ninny]

Google "Chicken Tractor"

We are making one for the meat birds. Would this setup work with turkeys?

 

[Neiklot]

deer netting

What is that, "deer netting"?

 

[~gd]

deer netting

What is that, "deer netting"?

It is a very light weight net [like fish net] a deer is fairly big and strong but smaller than your red deer. It works mostly because it is hard for a deer to see it and they don't like the feel of walking or running into it. The big idea is to keep the deer out of your garden. In many suburbs they act as big garden pests since they eat so much plants.

 

[ninny]

Here is another question What are the thoughts on these breeds? I decided to go with something different this year.
Easter Egg Chicken (Ameraucanas) (I get two of these each year but never any blue/green eggs so am thinking about getting more at once this time)
Cuckoo Marans
Salmon Faverolle
Speckled Sussex
Golden Laced Wyandotte
Single Comb Standard Rhode Island White

I need a friendly, year round layer that will forage for a large part of their food. How is the roosters temperaments? I am going to try and order from cackle this year.

 

[pinkfox]

Easter Egg Chicken, my experience with these guys is there all as different as their coloration but of your list THIS would be my chouce for a general all around good laying active forager...they dont tend to go broody and my mum has 2 of these gals tand they are the only ones to lay almsot the whole way through winter in CT,they get 5-6 eggs a eek out of their EE girls
the ee roos can go either way, some of the meanest ive met were ee's and yet others have been some of the nicest!!!

Cuckoo Marans, lighter on the laying, most people get these guys ore for eye candy than laying numbers...but they tend to be good foragers and those dark chocolate eggs ae pretty!
ive got a friend with them who gets 3-4 eggs a week out of most of her layers.
my frined marans roos are a little standoffish, but ive not had one on oe experience with this breed.

Salmon Faverolle, one of my absolute favorite breeds, they were origoanlly bred to be "dual purpose" meaning you get a good numbe rof eggs AND a meaty carcas, but youll never get asmany eggs form them as you would the dedicated laying breed...
they are sweet friendly liad back birds, they do well on forage/ranging but they arnt as quick/active as some of the other breeds. if doung favrolles its not suggested to mix them with other chickens as they tend to get picked on...
theireggs are a realy pretty soft dusty pink color too! but 4 eggs a week seems to be the normal
the roos tend to be serious mushballs but good at keeping their flock alerted to dangers...

Speckled Sussex, another all time favorite, and another "dual purpose" (and talk about eye candy!) my mum has one speckled and shes my favorite lays 5 nice sized eggs in an average week and has a great persnality, shes definatly "middle of the flock" an active forager but not ovely flighty...
every sussex roo ive known has been alert but easy going!

Golden Laced Wyandotte, another dual purpose pretty girl, mum has one of these too, she gives on average 5 eggs a week and has a nice middle ground personalty, they tend ot be good foragers but not flighty and do well in a mixed flock, ive not personaly known any wyandotte roos but im told they are nice

Single Comb Standard Rhode Island White, i dont knwo anything about the RIW's, but the rhose island reds are GRET layers active foragers but can be a little flighty, the meanest roo ive met was a hodeisland red roo though, dont know if the whites have similar temperments...

for me, id go salmons, sussex or EE's...

As it stands now id realy like a little flock of sussex or favs...

 

[IW]

I love the Wyandott family and have Silver Lace ladies and my Silver Lace Roosters of the past have always been very mellow when compared to the Auracona of the past. I have had Ameracanas in the past but didn't have as much luck with them for colored eggs either. I have some sweet Speckled Sussex in my flock but they haven't produced eggs quite as well as my SL ladies.

 

[ninny]

Well a friend of my is getting the RIW I wouldn't pick them because well I want eye candy for a change in the yard but their her birds. So it's now between the salmons,wyandottes and the speckles for me.

I'm trying to only pick two.

 

[Hinotori]

deer netting

What is that, "deer netting"?

It is a very light weight net [like fish net] a deer is fairly big and strong but smaller than your red deer. It works mostly because it is hard for a deer to see it and they don't like the feel of walking or running into it. The big idea is to keep the deer out of your garden. In many suburbs they act as big garden pests since they eat so much plants.

It does not work on Elk (similar to the Red Deer). We have the huge Roosevelt Elk here, 1000 pound + animals. My netting worked great keeping the Black Tail deer out of my garden all summer. The elk herd came through again this fall and just ran through the netting multiple times. My GSD decided to get suicidal one night and chase them off. They haven't been back since.

 

[Hinotori]

Here is another question What are the thoughts on these breeds? I decided to go with something different this year.
Easter Egg Chicken (Ameraucanas) (I get two of these each year but never any blue/green eggs so am thinking about getting more at once this time)
Cuckoo Marans
Salmon Faverolle
Speckled Sussex
Golden Laced Wyandotte
Single Comb Standard Rhode Island White

I need a friendly, year round layer that will forage for a large part of their food. How is the roosters temperaments? I am going to try and order from cackle this year.

Hatchery "americana/araucana" are not Ameraucanas. Have to get those from a private breeder. One of the big hatcheries is saying they are going to carry real ameraucana this year, but the rooster they showed for the blue ameraucana didn't even look like an EE. Green legs, no beard or muffs, and it had wattles.

I got 12 EEs via Privitt Hatchery two years ago (I knew what they really were). One laid a pink egg, two lay actual blue, most are a green shade, a couple are nice olive with the full brown over blue. Some have been very nice birds. Some haven't laid well and we are getting rid of them this spring. Personality is all over the place.

I got a pair of wheaten ameraucana last spring, two blue wheaten hens, two more wheaten pullets, and two silver pullets this fall. Two of the wheaten pullets and one of the hens have started laying. Very blue eggs. Friendly to overly friendly birds. I have to watch out for a few of them. They will fly onto me to snuggle in.


I've heard it's hard to get good egg color from hatchery marans since they don't select for egg color, just quantity of birds.

 

[ORChick]

I have one Speckled Sussex hen, and she is very friendly. I don't coddle my chicks, so most of the hens don't like to let me too close to them, but the Sussex follows me around, and will eat out of my hand. She lays medium sized light tan eggs, and during the warmer months is one of the better layers from my small mixed flock.
I have had several EEs, and they have all been, for the most part, quite friendly, and pretty good layers. One laid a light tan egg, but the others have laid green to olive eggs.