| Author | Content |
CountryGardens
Lewisville, MN (Zone 4a)
February 16, 2012 5:55 PM Post #9009304
| They arrived this morning. 300+ Gold Star Layers. 
Click an image for an enlarged view.
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porkpal
Richmond, TX
February 16, 2012 8:23 PM Post #9009460
| A mob of fluff! |
DonnaB
Vancleave, MS (Zone 8b)
February 16, 2012 9:04 PM Post #9009491
| wow that's a lot of chicks |
Jnette
Northeast, WA (Zone 5a)
February 16, 2012 9:55 PM Post #9009508
| Wow, hope you have a nice warm place to house them. That's a lot of babes. What are Gold Star? For meat, eggs, or?? |
CountryGardens
Lewisville, MN (Zone 4a)
February 17, 2012 5:57 AM Post #9009643
| Brown eggs. About 270 eggs per hen per year. |
Imagesoart
Los Gatos, CA
February 17, 2012 11:31 AM Post #9010015
| WOW! I don't think I could think of three hundred names! ;) |
porkpal
Richmond, TX
February 17, 2012 12:36 PM Post #9010080
| I think you've told us before, but at what age do Gold Stars start to lay? |
green04735
Bridgewater, ME
February 17, 2012 12:51 PM Post #9010097
| I think they are like my golden comets that I had and they start early,I want to say four or five months |
CountryGardens
Lewisville, MN (Zone 4a)
February 17, 2012 1:36 PM Post #9010156
| About right. We are looking at late June, about the time Farmers Market gets going good. I am selling about 180 dozen a month this winter. Doing a CSA. Extras go to the local food shelf. |
titaniumRX8
Mint Hill, NC (Zone 7b)
February 17, 2012 2:39 PM Post #9010263
| Wow that is a lot of babies! Very cute! |
kosk0025
Salem, OR (Zone 8b)
February 17, 2012 3:10 PM Post #9010296
| Wow, that's amazing!!! Do you buy your food in bulk? I feel like my Layena for 7 chickens is so expensive, that I can't imagine for 300. I'm curious how/where you buy the feed for a chicken farm rather than a hobbyist. |
CountryGardens
Lewisville, MN (Zone 4a)
February 17, 2012 3:23 PM Post #9010311
| A co-op feed mill. Chick starter is $13.50 for 50 lbs. Layer feed is around 19¢ a pound. |
catmad
Pelzer, SC (Zone 7b)
February 18, 2012 8:55 AM Post #9011019
| Guess I'm doing better than I thought. Starter here is $10.09 for 50#s, as is 20% Layer. |
kosk0025
Salem, OR (Zone 8b)
February 18, 2012 9:01 AM Post #9011028
| Everything here is around $13.00 for a 50 pound bag, starter or layer. With the 7 chickens I go through one 50 pound bag about every 10 days, I think. It seems expensive.
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porkpal
Richmond, TX
February 18, 2012 9:34 AM Post #9011061
| Those are some greedy chickens! Of course mine free range, but mine eat about 1/3 that much. |
CountryGardens
Lewisville, MN (Zone 4a)
February 18, 2012 11:10 AM Post #9011144
| The 200+ hens eat about a bag a day. Produce $36 a day in eggs, so not bad. |
kosk0025
Salem, OR (Zone 8b)
February 18, 2012 11:14 AM Post #9011146
| Yeah, I haven't been able to let mine free range as much...I know that affects food intake. We have a hungry owl around here. 2 fatalities in the fall. I do wish they would eat less. I'm going to try an make a larger fenced area for them this summer that has a wire "roof" so they can go out more but stay safe from the owl and/or hawks around here. Switching to pelleted food from crumble helped some, with less waste. They just seem to eat a lot. wondering if their age affects food intake? Prime egg laying age...almost 1 year old, so I wonder if they also eat more at this age? Kind of like teenagers??? |
porkpal
Richmond, TX
February 18, 2012 1:15 PM Post #9011227
| It would make sense that high production be accompanied by high feed intake.
I used to lose an occasional hen to owls. I have always had to let mine out early in the morning when owls are still a threat, so I started throwing some corn chops into the coop area when I opened the doors hoping they will stay under cover until the owls have quit for the day. So far it seems to be working. |
catmad
Pelzer, SC (Zone 7b)
February 19, 2012 4:29 AM Post #9011742
| I found that I seemed to have more losses when I let them out early. Now they have to wait until _I_ think they're safe(er). I also ran a fence between the main coops and the "woods". It won't stop anything determined, but does prevent what I think of as a running attack. Usually dogs that just come in and start killing. Of course, my most vulnerable chickens insist on foraging in the cow field, and into said woods. I'm considering a donkey... |
Imagesoart
Los Gatos, CA
February 19, 2012 8:31 AM Post #9011975
| We have a chicken group here, and someone said that he runs string across his chicken "run" and it prevents the hawks from diving down and getting his chickens. I know this wouldn't work everywhere, like when you let them out. But in runs it could work.
I myself can't let my chickens out, due to my own dogs. I have two dogs, and one loves the chickens. She sits there and stares at them, or runs around the coops. The other one is purely interested in the wild life, like rodents, squirrels... he is never at the coops. Funny hun? |
terri_emory
Alba, TX (Zone 8a)
February 29, 2012 2:31 PM Post #9024897
| Very nice, CountryGardens. I'm assuming they are all future pullets? |
CountryGardens
Lewisville, MN (Zone 4a)
February 29, 2012 3:16 PM Post #9024951
| They should be laying eggs by July 1. Just in time for the busy Farmers Market season. They will be added to our flock of 200 hens that are in production now. |
