Need advice on keeping chickens

rabbit assassin

Hey all,

I have the chance of getting some fertilised chicken eggs, Id love to start a new project and keep a few. I have an incubator and a very large run for them as I used to rear pheasant.

I have a choice between Double laced Barnvelder, cuckoo maran, light sussex and barred plymouth rock.

I am not looking to raise them for meat but I wouldnt mind the odd one for the table. I mainly just want them for eggs. Can anyone tell me which breed is the best layer? and also would they get along together if I get a few of each breed or is that a bad idea?

Thanks for any help

CJhaughey

Best layers are the Hybrids. Hy-line, etc.
They lay over 300 per year which is way above what you'll get from rare breeds like the Maran etc, they also don't get broody and stop laying.
It depends on what you want, if you are looking for a regular supply of eggs then keep hybrids.
If you want pretty birds that lay occassionally and you can eat the odd one then Marans etc are more suitable.
You can of course keep both as we do but the Maran's are a pain to be honest, once they get broody they sit on eggs and are so heavy they break them, we'd be lucky to get more than 80-100 per yr from our one.
We won't be replacing her with the same!
The price of feed is a killer if you aren't getting regular eggs, no matter how good they are.

rabbit assassin

Pardon my ignorance cjhaughey but are any of the breeds I mentioned hybrid ? I dont know anything at all about chickens. I just want them for a regular supply of eggs. Is the food for them very expensive? I get game pellets for €11 per 25kg bag for the pheasants but that would hardly do would it ?

Thanks

CJhaughey

No, the breeds you are talking about are enthusiasts chickens.
Hybrids would generally be brought as point of lay pullets I think they are around 7 each last time I got them.
If the eggs are for your own use I would go Organic, I buy Smallholder brand which is made by Allen and Page.
They get scraps as well but generally most of their diet is feed + grass.
I think a 20kg bag is 13 or so.
By the time you have hatched and raised them to POL it'll be next year before they produce in earnest.
I'd get a few hybrids for eggs and raise some Marans as meat birds

bertie1

Layer pellets are Euro9 a bag at the co-op . I also give them a bit of steam cooked maize ( mix with warm water its like corn flakes and swells up) about 10 Euro a bag at the coop. All vegtable peelings & left over cooked vegtable also go to the hens . There is a plentiful supply of turnips nearme , they go though a raw turnip a day ( local farmers drops off a bag every so often with the leaves on) . I give him honey & eggs in return.

If you have a cock in your batch of eggs ( mine always seem to be more cocks than hens) one always goes broody so you end up with a plentiful supply of fresh new birds

Definately go for a meatier bird than your standard brown hen there is no meat on them for table birds you will have to cull the young cocks. It will take up to 26 weeks for your day old chick to mature to laying depending on the breed.

frankie2shoes

I just bought POL hybrid birds today 9 euro. I have kept these hybrids for a couple of years now. Highly recommended. you'll always have eggs with a few of these around
as an aside, my neighbours dog got into my garden and killed two of my birds!
I could have bleedin killed 'em !!!!:mad: my neighbour that is, I've warned him before about his dogs getting coming on my land (small though it is!!)

CJhaughey

frankie2shoes wrote: »

I just bought POL hybrid birds today 9 euro. I have kept these hybrids for a couple of years now. Highly recommended. you'll always have eggs with a few of these around
as an aside, my neighbours dog got into my garden and killed two of my birds!
I could have bleedin killed 'em !!!!:mad: my neighbour that is, I've warned him before about his dogs getting coming on my land (small though it is!!)

An electric fence run around the chickens enclosure will educate a dog rapido;)
I highly recommend the electrified netting as a great way of controlling animals around the chickens.

Markcheese

Prob a bit late for original OP, we got four light Sussex at Christmas...2 point of lay and 2 two year olds. Getting over 2 dozen eggs a week ..... Was told by the lady I got them from that hybrids would give more eggs in year 1 and then f all after that. The pure bred light Sussex keep going... So far so good... But there is no meat on them... Def not a dual purpose bird...might get a marran or heavy Sussex to compare but assume the egg count will be crap.....

Markcheese

Prob a bit late for original OP, we got four light Sussex at Christmas...2 point of lay and 2 two year olds. Getting over 2 dozen eggs a week ..... Was told by the lady I got them from that hybrids would give more eggs in year 1 and then f all after that. The pure bred light Sussex keep going... So far so good... But there is no meat on them... Def not a dual purpose bird...might get a marran or heavy Sussex to compare but assume the egg count will be crap.....