Planning for Chickens

Aren't these guys great?  Haven't you missed my ramblings on the wonders of the feathered fowl? It's been almost four months since my last treatise on the chicken and frankly, that's plenty long enough as there can never be too much discussion about this noble bird.  Plus we have chicken on the brain at our home since were planning for our spring order of meat chicks AND since youngest wants to raise hens for eggs.  Though he enjoys the raising of the meat birds, he does not favor their short stay with us and is looking for a more permanent feathery friend.  Actually he's hoping for several feathery friends and if he has his way, we'll go into the egg business on a serious scale.  That said, we're holding out at 3 hens, he's lobbying for at least 10, and I would guess the actual number will fall out somewhere around 5 or 6.  We'll keep you posted.

As a result of our chicken-y thoughts and conversations, I've been busily pinning on my Chicken Pinterest board - check it out to see a few of the coops and feeding systems youngest is considering for his future girls.  We're also debating pros and cons of various egg laying fowl, though in all likelihood the chosen breed will have more to do with what we can procure from our friends at Jenks Hatchery or from the local feed store.  Right now his top choices include Golden Nugget, silkie and Wynadotte - choices based almost completely on looks (the silkies are "soooo cute," the Wynadottes are "beau-TEE-full" and he likes the Nugget's name).  At almost 7 years old, I guess he already knows a good-looking girl when he sees one.  Also, just for fun, we're considering other possibilities for our meat chickens other than the trusty Cornish Cross.  At the top of the running is the Heritage White from Jenks which reaches market weight at around 9 weeks, just slightly longer than the Cornish Cross's 6-8 weeks.  We like that this bird thrives in the great outdoors, forages well, and harkens back to the Plymouth Rock breed.  I also really like the stunning Red Ranger but being it takes almost 12 weeks to reach market weight, we'll probably stick with the faster growing breeds.

So follow along as we embark on our new chicken adventure.