The first animals we added to our homestead here in America were chickens. Actually, we added the chickens before we even had the homestead. Yes, that is correct. We built a chicken tractor, bought 50 day old chicks and started growing our laying flock while still renting and looking for our farm. A little crazy perhaps but then we have always been willing to bite off a little bit too much in pursuit of a dream. Our 9 and 10 year old boys were super keen to start an egg business and I was tired of enduring the insipid store bought eggs in my kitchen… so we dove right in!
We had owned chickens before. In Australia we kept a flock of about 15 Lowman Brown Laying Hens. However this was the first time we had raised them from little chicks. The boys wanted to invest their savings so that they could call the business their own. They bought a heat lamp, bedding, waterers and feeders and paid for 25 of the 50 chicks.
Building the Infrastructure for Chickens
We bought the other 25 and furnished them with a chicken tractor and poultry fence. Of course, this meant having to build both the brooder (to house the chicks when they were little) and the chicken tractor. Neither my husband nor I, come to this with building skills. However we were determined not to let this stop us. So we researched and decided on the John Suscovitch design, ordered his inexpensive book with the plans in it and began.
Really it was my husband and our teenage boys that did the bulk of the work, with the younger children chipping in whenever they were needed. It was slow going as they learnt how to follow the design and taught themselves basic woodworking skills by trying and trying again.
At the end of the day, we had a sturdy functional chicken tractor for our little flock. I was so proud of my menfolk for challenging themselves and pushing through the difficulties to make this build. The day it was ready was a very exciting day!
Which Breed to Choose?
There are so many chicken breeds to choose from. When we started investigating the possibility of laying hens and searching out our options, we soon discovered that there are a large number of breeds to choose from. Basically it came down to two broader categories. We could choose chickens bred purely for egg laying or a dual purpose breed.
Egg Laying Breeds
Egg layers are bred for high intensity laying and will lay up to almost 360 days a year. That’s a lot of eggs. The down side of these breeds are that they tend to be skittish and more prone to stress and disease than older breeds of dual purpose birds. They are also not much good for anything once their egg laying days have ended. Egg production declines steeply after two years.
Dual Purpose Breeds
Dual purpose breeds are just that. They are bred for two purposes. Both to lay eggs and provide meat. They are typically older breeds that tend to be stronger and more resilient. Often they are also quieter and more friendly in nature.
We decided to buy three different dual purpose breeds. Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks and Australorps. All are known to handle the heat (especially Australorps with a nod to our homeland). The main reason for our decision was to maximize the life of each chicken. Not only would these birds lay well and provide us an abundance of eggs, but we could eat them when they stopped laying well. The trade off for the slightly lower egg count was a bird we could butcher and put in the freezer after they declined in production.
Another reason was that in the long term, we would like to breed our own chickens to replace the flock. It is my understanding that heritage breeds such as the ones listed above, are better mothers and more inclined to go broody (sit on eggs to hatch them).
One observation we have made since having the birds is that the buff orpingtons are very gentle and friendly but not as hardy. They struggle with the heat and they were the ones we lost last year in the heat wave.
Starting Chicks in the Brooder
The first several weeks of their lives, we kept the chicks in the brooder in the garage. The heat lamps kept them warm and the brooder protected them until they started to grow their feathers and could keep themselves a little warmer. The boys checked their feed and water several times through the day. The base of the brooder was filled with pine shavings to keep it hygienic and this was topped up daily.
The first liquid the boys gave them was Magic Water. We had learnt from Justin Rhodes Permaculture Chickens Course that it would give them a head start if we mixed garlic, honey and apple cider vinegar in their water to boost their immune systems.
We had also learnt from a course on The School of Traditional Skills with Harvey Ussery that it would help if the chicks were fed some green grass. The fresh grass and even a bit of soil can help build the gut health of the growing chicks and prevent pasty butt which is a common problem in baby chicks. So every day the boys would go out to the yard and pick handfuls of grass to throw in the brooder. The chicks loved it and gobbled it up. We didn’t have any problems with pasty butt so I guess it worked!
Moving Chicks onto Grass
After a few weeks it was time to move the growing chicks out onto the grass in their new chicken tractor house. It was a very exciting day for the children! They carried them carefully in a borrowed cat box, from the brooder to the tractor. Then sat on the grass with them and watched them explore their new surrounds.
We also decided to buy a solar powered electric poultry net to allow the birds to free range, while keeping them relatively safe from predators. We were yet to discover exactly what the biggest dangers were to our chooks in this new land. In Australia the biggest threat was either foxes, stray dogs or hawks. In America we had been told we would need to be careful of raccoons, possums, coyotes and vultures.
Managing Predators and Other Risks to Chickens
As it turned out, the main predator pressure we faced was from the air. We had to be vigilant watching for vultures and hawks that were keen on an easy meal. Eventually Zac made a little shelter for the birds to hide under when they were out of the pen. It was a basic structure made from scrap materials but it did a great job. We didn’t lose any birds to the air.
We did however suffer some losses. Our two new puppies turned out to be our biggest threat. They never got into the chicken area but we lost several chicks who got out of the net and wandered into the back yard where the puppies lived.
The only other losses we had that summer, was due to the heat. It was one of the hottest summers on record in East Texas with weeks and weeks of 105 – 110 degree Fahrenheit (40 – 43 Celsius) days. We checked the water multiple times a day and would also periodically run a sprinkler over the birds area in the middle of the day. But even so, on one very hot day, when we were out for several hours, we came home to find three dead Buff Orpington birds. There was no sign of interference or predators… they were just lying down in the yard, dead. We believe they had succumbed to the heat.
Waiting for the Eggs
By far the hardest part of raising these laying hens was waiting for them to grow to point of lay. For the boys, feeding them every day, watering them, moving them to fresh grass and waiting, waiting, waiting, was excruciatingly slow work. At first it was exciting. They were young and cute and fluffy. But then the days drew on. Slowly they grew.
Twenty two long weeks passed. Every day in the heat of summer or the bitter cold winds of winter the boys faithfully fed them, watered them, protected them and watched over them, waiting for the day when they would begin laying. Waiting, not always patiently. Waiting, mostly with anticipation but honestly sometimes with frustration at how long this process took. Such a good life experience. Some days they asked me, “Mum will they every lay? What if they never do?”
Finally the day arrived when the first eggs were found lying smooth and warm in the straw nesting boxes. The excitement was palpable.
All their hard work. All of their persistence and diligence was now paying off. The grand plan of these little entrepreneurs was to supply the family with eggs and then sell the rest for profit. We were 100% behind them and excited for their enthusiasm and faithfulness to be paid off.
Read about building a worm farm here.
To watch how to clip chicken wings to stop them escaping click below.
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