Chicken Ordering Time
Most hatcheries plan for big orders at this particular time of the year. As Spring is getting closer each day, it is only natural that baby chicks and other fowl would be available for pre-order.
There are many city dwellers that successfully raise chickens in their backyards. Their main purpose is to provide eggs. The ability to be an urban homesteader depends on your home owners association and/or deed restrictions. Before ordering, please make sure that you can legally have a small flock.
If you are like me and have no restrictions, then the hard part is figuring out which breed to order and how many. Mature hens do not lay an egg a day. On average, hens lay 5 times a week. However, some breeds lay better than others.
Brown Egg Producers (with Excellent Rate of Lay)
Production Reds
Barred Plymouth
Gold Sex Links
Black Sex Links
Rhode Island Reds
Black Australorps
White Egg Layers (with Excellent Rate of Lay)
Ideal 236
White Leghorns
California Whites
Production Blacks
Easter Egg Layers (with Excellent Rate of Lay)
Ameraucanas
I love to gather the eggs from my Ameraucanas. The color of their legs help indicate the tint of their eggshells. The shells can be light green, pale blue, or pastel pink. It brings new meaning to eating green eggs and ham. Who needs to dye eggs with these chickens on your homestead?
I prefer brown eggs to white ones for no other reason than personal preference. I guess I equate white eggs with grocery store eggs, but regardless of the color of the shell, farm eggs are healthier for you and taste better.
I could go on about eggs, but I want to switch gears and briefly discuss chicken breeds known for meat production. After all, eggs are not the only thing chickens are good for. The market for pastured hens is growing.
Best Meat Producers
Cornish X Rocks Mature weight at 8 pounds (fryers in 6-7 weeks)
Dark Cornish Mature weight at 6.5 pounds (known for breast meat)
These Cornish chickens put most of their energy in developing meat. The Cornish X Rocks for example has only a fair rate of lay. It has been bred to grow quickly in order to efficiently produce meat.
Popular Dual Purpose Breeds
Barred Plymouth
Rhode Island Reds
New Hampshire Reds
White Plymouth Rocks
Dominikers
These breeds are the best bang for your buck. They are good at both laying eggs and producing meat. If you have both needs, then I would begin with one or two of these breeds. I personally love raising Dominikers, Production Reds, and Ameraucanas. But, I also like to keep experimenting with other breeds.
This year we are also ordering Cornish X Rocks so that we can fill our freezer with nutritious free-range broiler meat. We go through eggs like crazy so I have to purchase more hens to keep up with our demand.
You can order directly from a hatchery. They ship the baby chicks to your house. Unless you are like us, our local post office will not deliver the chicks to our home. Instead a postal employee notifies us by asking, “Can you please come get your chickens? They are making a lot of noise.”
Check with your local feed store. Sometimes they will have order forms for your to fill out. Other times they order baby chicks in the hopes that you will buy them. Tractor Supply chains also have baby chicks for sale in the spring. Regardless of where you purchase your chicks, it is time to pre-order your flock.
What, no mention of my favorite dual-purpose breed, Buff Orpington?
It’s a great feeling being able to be a part of nature and raising your own animals and growing your own vegetables. With so many preservatives in food these days you never know what you’re really eating!