Posted on 07/27/2009 3:14:41 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Dear Martha: I'd like to raise chickens. Which breed of chicken is best for egg production, and do you have any tips?
A: It's not so much about the breed of chicken as it is about how you're going to keep them. You absolutely must have a well-fenced yard, so raccoons and other animals don't get the chickens; the fence should extend 12 to 14 inches into the ground. The coop will need electricity to run a light and keep their water from freezing in winter; you can also get a heated water dispenser. I let my chickens out every day, no matter the weather.
All the feed is organic, and I give them scraps that I would otherwise compost, such as apple cores and carrot peelings. We also hang cabbages on wires throughout their yard and in their houses. It gives them something healthful to eat, and they peck the cabbages, not each other. If they are well-fed, they will lay. I've had good luck, and the eggs are utterly delicious.
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Buffs are the best, I concur having had several breeds. They lay well on less feed than some meatier breeds Ive had; and the roosters are not aggressive. They also tend to be broody, which I like. Watching a mother hen raise a clutch of chicks is a lot of fun.
Right now I have Gold Stars which I'm not too fond of: need a lot of high protein food, tend to molt, and the rooster is mean.
Black chickens are less “obvious” to predators. Chickens who are multi colored are much less so. White chickens might as well have a light beacon to predators. Black ones who roost in trees do not get picked off by owls like white ones.
Turkens are great chickens. Not too pretty, but huge chickens and they lay thru the winter. They get pretty broody too. The older heavy breeds are ones who will do their own “grocery shopping”.
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