Chicks In Winter

[canesisters]

Lots of folks get meat birds this time of year. They do better in the cool weather.

 

[Nyboy]

Mary at country house my friends are moving into White Plains house Nov 1. I dont cook so chickens are really for bug control entertainment. Maybe about 6 hens a member posted a photo of their hens I think they where beautiful white feathers edged in black.

 

[Nyboy]

I placed all the duckling but 2 . They will be much easier with the pond. I use a cement try for there water with 4 ducks it has to be changes 2x a day. I would like to get more of a friendlier breed.

 

[seedcorn]

You might want to consider bantams then. Eat much less feed. Eat bugs like a standard and their eggs aren’t all that much smaller. They come in most breeds. I had partridge Wyandotte. Rooster refuses to die.....

 

[Nyboy]

I think silver wyandotte might be the breed I like. I love mini anything so bantams might be way to go. The farmer who sold me my golden comets bad mouth bantams

 

[Nyboy]

Seed I just looked up wyandotte thats the breed I want,they come in bantams ?. Now to find a good breeder

 

[seedcorn]

The ones I had were not flighty. They don’t wander a lot but will forage for food. If you can’t find a breeder, several hatcheries have them. Probably TSC can order them for you. They will be straight run so expect 60% roosters.

 

[Ridgerunner]

From what you said you want them for, I think Seed nailed it. Eye candy and bugs. Bantam sure seem the way to go.

One issue as Seed sort of mentioned is that most hatcheries do not sex bantams so you can expect several to be male. In my experience it is seldom a 50-50 split, you are more likely to get 2/3 or even 3/4 of one sex or the other with straight run. My Pet Chicken does sex their bantams. You still get an oops occasionally but at least they try.

https://www.mypetchicken.com/

I have not looked at what breeds they offer in bantam, but it sounds like Silver Laced Wyandotte is what you are looking for. Some people really like a flock where they are all identical, those can be striking. I personally prefer a mixed flock where you can tell the different individuals apart. Do as you will (and you should do as you wish) but if it were me I'd look at what bantams they offer and get a mix. Not just different colors/patterns but look at different decorative breeds like Polish or Silkies.

Another option is to try to find Point of Lay (POL) pullets. Those should be about 4 months old so you can tell male from female and you don't have to raise chicks. You can still train them to be friendly with food, you should be a good animal trainer, but it's easier if you raise them as chicks, provided you dedicate the time to fool with them.

Good luck with it.

 

[digitS']

Very pretty birds, Wyandottes, that is about all I know.

And, coops: I like the idea of the elevated, tractor types. The coop provides shade for the flock. The coop need not be moved even if that is an option.

Some drawbacks that I can imagine begins with the limited size, since they are meant to be portable. You should determine the requirements for bantams. Then, the all-around exposure to the elements.

Chickens may have down coats but they can only take so much cold. I have found that at much below zero F temperatures, they become very lethargic.

It's not just things like frostbite. I wanted economical egg production and even with a relatively small coop, fully insulated and closed thru nights and frigid days, I came to realize that food consumption went up just about 50% during the coldest weeks of winter. Eggs can freeze ...

Steve

 

[canesisters]

Mary at country house my friends are moving into White Plains house Nov 1. I dont cook so chickens are really for bug control entertainment. Maybe about 6 hens a member posted a photo of their hens I think they where beautiful white feathers edged in black.

I think that's the 'Columbian' pattern - several breeds come with that coloring.

Or did you mean silver laced??