Buying Chickens: Which Breed Is Right For Your Family Land
It’s March-
That means the time to purchase chickens is almost here. There is a well of information out there on breeds and best practices and you may be left wondering which one is best for your family. Choosing the right breed doesn’t have to be complicated and can really be as simple as evaluating your families’ preferences in food!
When running land for self-sufficiency, you're going to want to take a look at what you consume the most of and could also do some research into the market in your area to see what fetches a nice price. Meat? Eggs? This can help you not only earn money with your land, but at the very least replace the income spent on feed!
Here is a list of breeds and their primary uses to help you decide what will be the best fit for you familie’s needs.
FIRST A FEW THINGS
.01 W H E N T O B U Y C H I C K S
Most commonly the ideal time to buy chicks is between spring and early / mid summer. The reasons for that are
It’s beginning to warm up and the threat of rains + winds are minimal. This means weather will be warm when it is time to move the chicks out of the brooder and into their outside area (4-6 weeks of age)
It takes hens 4-7 months to reach full maturity, so the earlier in the year they are raised, you receive eggs before the season ends
You are not locked into this time frame, you can order chicks at any time. Just keep in mind that that raising them in harsh cold / harsh weather can lead to some health complications and they may not thrive as they would in optimal conditions. They also run a higher risk of freezing during transit and contracting sickness.
.02 W H A T Y O U ‘ L L N E E D
B r o o d e r B o x : A brooder box is essentially a cage built from wood (we made ours out of pallets and plywood which seems to be our theme until we move.) framed with wire meshing and a lid as a roof that opens and closes. The lid roof can be half or full depending on preference. My husband created a half lid and I hated it. I’ll be remodeling it. A couple mistakes he made was not making it tall enough. I have scoliosis so, the constant bending and reaching in to clean was killing me. I would suggest adding taller legs to yours or purchasing one that is not sitting on the floor!
If you’re raising meat birds, you can house them in a variety of different ways depending on how many you purchased. It can be a dog run with a roof, aluminum frame cages or arch cages and even something of a cross by making it yourself. Ideally you’ll want it to be somewhat mobile so you can provide grazing for the birds.
LARGE wood chips for bedding (do not use fine! baby chicks can inhale it and cause raspatory issues). You can also use Hay or Straw, though its not as absorbent and gets a bit messy.
WATER FEEDER - If you’ve ordered babies via mail, they will be extremely thirsty. Be sure to have fresh, clean water available to them in the brooder. As you remove each chick from the shipping box, dip their beak into the water a few times to ensure they drink. Doing this helps get water in their system right away and lets them know where their water is.
HEAT LAMP - If it’s still pretty cool in your area especially at night fall, providing them with a heat lamp secured above at the proper distance will bring them comfort and keep them healthy. Chicks require a temperature of between 85-90 degrees for the first few weeks of life and can then be reduced by 5 degrees each week until you no longer need the lamp. The most important thing is to make sure their floor isn’t cold.
MEDICATED CHICK STARTER - Any feed store will have medicated chick starter. You can also find some great brands online. Follow feeding directions. * Note: if you’re attempting to keep ducklings and chicks together DO NOT FEED the medicated starter to your ducks. Ducklings consume more food that chicks and the medication in the starter is toxic at high amounts. It’s best practice to raise ducklings separately.
RESEARCH - the hatchery you’re purchasing from. This may seem like a common notion but, for a lot of people who are over the moon about finally getting started raising animals, it can slip the mind to do a good review. You’re going to want to look for complaints about poor health and chick deformities.
M E A T B I R D S, M E A T C H I C K E N S O R D U A L P U R P O S E ?
COMMON LINGO TO LEARN
BROILERS: There are two ways you can raise birds for meat. Some are chickens’ and some are not, such as turkeys. Broiler crosses are hybrid birds crossing and combining multiple breeds to create something ideal for weight. They mature very quickly (often between 12-16 weeks) therefore costing less to feed. The major downside to purchasing crosses (like the Cornish Cross) is that the you are dependent on hatcheries for return purchasing. Breeding them isn’t recommended due to them being so large by the time they reach sexual maturity. This means that you will need to purchase new chicks each year, and often times their eggs are infertile.
M E A T B I R D
Domestic turkey
DUAL PURPOSE
Dual purpose chickens are large enough for meat (though they tend to be leaner) and also lay eggs. Some seem to have an issue with keeping dual purpose birds, complaining that they do neither job efficiently. I have only ever raised dual purpose chickens and I have loved them. They have given us gorgeous meat and we revel in the number of eggs we get. This year I will be introducing chickens specifically for meat and will continue to have dual purpose.
W H A T I ’ M R A I S I N G
Currently I have Blackstar’s and Easter Eggers.
The Blackstar chicken is a prolific egg layer comming in at 250 - 300 eggs a year! In my opinion, they are perfect for a dual purpose breed as they are on the heavier and larger side of the scale. Economically, they won’t compare to broilers but then again, nothing else will with how fast broilers grow. Easter Eggers are a decent egg laying breed and they create beautiful colored eggs that change from week to week (hence the name easter egger). I added them into the mix for beautiful egg bouquets for my customers.
Ill be adding White Jersey Giants this year to our land. The con of having them as a meat producer is they do take more time to grow than traditional broilers but, the pro is they are the largest. Males top in at 13 lbs at 20 weeks. Do you have to wait the 20 weeks? No. I don’t plan on it and honestly that doesn’t bother me. I’m not in desperate need of a 13 lb chicken. What I like about having a non cross broiler on the property is that I can raise it. With traditional broilers having a pour survival rate and iffy results, as mentioned before, I’d be stuck to returning to the hatchery. The Giants are too large to raise their own often times due to their size but, incubation is fine.
B R O I L E R S + M A T U R I T Y
Rangers (13-16 weeks)
Cornish Roaster (12-14 weeks)
Cornish Cross (6-8 weeks)
Bresse (16-20 weeks)
Cornish (20-22 weeks)
Cochin (20 weeks)
Orpington (20-22 weeks)
Big Red Broiler (12 weeks)
Turken (20 weeks)
M Y T H O U G H T S
While broilers obviously take less to feed with how quickly they grow, there are a few reasons I won’t be buying them.
In my mind and in my life, I try to operate my homestead on the thought of “what if one day I can’t access that?” I want to be able to take a hold of the reigns and get it done myself. That means though I may spend more in feed (In theory anyway. I pasture raise and so supplement with feed) for slower growing chickens, I can also raise and hatch them myself without being tied down to purchasing from hatcheries that may one day not be there. It may seem drastic but, that’s just me!
With how quickly some of the broilers grow, they spend less time out to pasture which means less natural and nutritious diets. Having a chicken graze on their natural diets sends vitamins to the meat that you ultimately end up consuming. The health of your animal = you health.
I hope this article was helpful in clearing some of the confusion when choosing the right type of chicken / bird for your homestead.
Have questions? Leave them in the comment section or message me direct!
xoxo Deandra
