Monday, I ordered new Buff Orpington chickens for our house. I have spent quite a bit of time the last few weeks researching the type to buy. Our Rhode Island Reds are wonderful producers but a little more aggressive than I would like to see in a backyard chicken. I also wanted a variety of breeds as layers. In addition, we are sharing these with another family. We will be butchering some and keeping the rest as layers. Buff Orpintons seemed to fit the bill for both meat birds and layers.
The most important traits for me were how well they would lay eggs and their personalities. I wanted a breed that is known for not being overly aggressive, producing eggs regularly and was not prone to going "broody" on us. Broody is what they call a chicken who tries to sit on her eggs and won't produce more.
The next big decision was whether to have them vaccinated. After research I decided to have them vaccinated against the two most common diseases. I do not want to feed them medicated feed which inhibits one of the protozoa which is a common problem as chicks. This will keep us from having residual medication in the meat or eggs.
The first four weeks of their life our new chicks will spend inside our friends heated garage under a heat lamp. Last time, we had to keep them in the basement and I am just too allergic to them to try that again. When they are fully feathered, we will bring them here and move them outdoors. There they will eat a combination of commercial feed, bugs, seeds, table scraps and grass from our yard.
I will let you know how things are going as time goes on. Our chicks are due to ship the end of March. I will be sharing pictures at that point. I will try to post some each week the earlier part of their development so you can see how they grow.
The most important traits for me were how well they would lay eggs and their personalities. I wanted a breed that is known for not being overly aggressive, producing eggs regularly and was not prone to going "broody" on us. Broody is what they call a chicken who tries to sit on her eggs and won't produce more.
The next big decision was whether to have them vaccinated. After research I decided to have them vaccinated against the two most common diseases. I do not want to feed them medicated feed which inhibits one of the protozoa which is a common problem as chicks. This will keep us from having residual medication in the meat or eggs.
The first four weeks of their life our new chicks will spend inside our friends heated garage under a heat lamp. Last time, we had to keep them in the basement and I am just too allergic to them to try that again. When they are fully feathered, we will bring them here and move them outdoors. There they will eat a combination of commercial feed, bugs, seeds, table scraps and grass from our yard.
I will let you know how things are going as time goes on. Our chicks are due to ship the end of March. I will be sharing pictures at that point. I will try to post some each week the earlier part of their development so you can see how they grow.
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