A guy near here was selling Buff Orpingtons - 5 weeks old so they don't need a light. I bought five Buff Orpingtons, a breed I am fond of, and 5 Americaunas, because he had some light colored ones. I had a really pretty white and black one awhile back, and I miss her. I am now thinking I should have bought more Buff Orpingtons. They lay lots more eggs than the Americaunas, and they are huge if you should ever want to eat them. It is just that they are not sex linked, and I really didn't want to have a pen full of roosters. Americaunas are sex linked and theoretically you can tell if they are hens or roosters from birth -but that doesn't always hold true. My last 10 pullets had one rooster, for example.
Any way, the 10 I bought are in the large dog kennel in my tack room, until I can figure out a way to separate them in the chicken yard. They can't eat regular layer food yet, too much calcium, so I need a way to keep them separate so they can eat broiler starter instead and til they get to a size where they won't be bullied.
I wouldn't mind some Wyandotte chickens. I also like the guinea fowl he had - and the turkeys were pretty darn cool. I am really tempted to buy some turkey chicks (or whatever they are called) one of these days. They are really big - he had two running around and they really do make a gobble gobble sound.
In four months I will have more eggs than I know what to do with - except I will be able to sell them. That will at least cover the feed for them, and I hope the sheep. Rabbits might be a good addition- their manure doesn't need to be composted; it can go straight on the garden. I don't think I could ever eat a rabbit, but I could sell it to people who do without much compunction. All the books say that after you eat a rabbit you will never eat one of your own chickens again, but I really doubt it. It is just that chickens are a pain in the okole to pluck. I only helped once, years ago, and I don't see being able to do it very quickly on my own.
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