what are your prepping goals for the next year (or two)?

[hlrive]

Haven't tried them yet. Got 2 more yesterday (5 so far now). So, will see how many we end up with for this weekend, then make breakfast!

I don't get excited any more about eggs. I bring in between 180 and 300 eggs a day depends on the ladies moods if they want to lay or not. I sold another dozen+ eggs yesterday and sent them out today. Another $35 + postage in my pocket. I so love it when I can make that type of cash and stock up on chicken feed.

I also have had my eye on one of my older gals, she has not laid an egg now in over 3 months. Looks to be time to cull her and add her to the freezer. I wont be feeding her all winter for no reason. Next year I will be having another 40+ hens laying.

 

[Gazrok]

Wow! Completely my first time with it all though, so just feels good seeing the effort pay off of building the coup, caring for the chickens, etc.

 

[hlrive]

Wow! Completely my first time with it all though, so just feels good seeing the effort pay off of building the coup, caring for the chickens, etc.

Wait until you start having your favorite chickens. Right now I have 1 favorite Naked neck and then I have one favorite Buff that was injured by a hawk, she is still going, and it will take months for her to be normal, but she is one of my favorites. I guess because I have to spend about 3 hours a day helping her eat and walk.

 

[Gazrok]

The ladies of the house can name each chicken...me? I would have a hard time telling them apart. We just have 8 chickens right now, and no real plans for more than that. We have to keep them in a coup, as just too many predators around here (hawks, snakes, dogs, cats, you name it). I am going to expand and make a run for them though...but the coup is pretty big (6' wide, 6' high, and 14' long). I have about a 15'x15' area I can additionally fence in for them, to have a little runaround time, while one of us is out there doing chores.

 

[hlrive]

The ladies of the house can name each chicken...me? I would have a hard time telling them apart. We just have 8 chickens right now, and no real plans for more than that. We have to keep them in a coup, as just too many predators around here (hawks, snakes, dogs, cats, you name it). I am going to expand and make a run for them though...but the coup is pretty big (6' wide, 6' high, and 14' long). I have about a 15'x15' area I can additionally fence in for them, to have a little runaround time, while one of us is out there doing chores.

Yeah at first we had them named, but now with all the chickens that I have I can't name them all so instead I just name the ones that are in the the front yard daily. Them ones I have only a few that are named, and usually it's the ones that have a tendency to be more friendly and want to be held. Many of the older ones we hatched out ourselves. Peaches and Buffy both were under a brood, but mom left them so we became their adopted parents. Buffy has 2 chicks that are going on 3 months old now, and only the little cockerel will come to me. However his coloring is not at all what I wanted but he is enjoying being a pest lately. Follows me right out of his cage in the morning.

My favorite so far is my little game rooster that we hatched out in the incubator. He still comes in every so often. Smart as can be to. However I am not happy that the man I bought the eggs from lied to me. Speed is a little tiny game rooster not the large size game roosters. He also is not duckwing like he told me he would be. Oh well another $120 wasted on one rooster, however he is my sweet heart, and a baby still or so he thinks. I put him in with 3 Delaware pullets, they each make about 4 of him. But he gets free rides on their backs all the time.

I had ordered a leg horn rooster through cackle this past spring. I wanted to see how big he would get up side of my Legacy and to show folks the differences, they sent me a bantam leghorn not full sized one. However he is still fun to have around, wild though, you can't touch him at all. But he follows me every wheres around the yard. I want to get a new coop up just for him this winter, and maybe add him a few GLW hens. I have no rooster for them so they might do good with him.

 

[Gazrok]

I haven't added a rooster yet, as I'm not looking into getting into chick production yet...just eggs. Your little guy sounds adorable, hehe. I think it's just one of the girls (who they call "Big Mamma") who is producing now....but she's at least a couple weeks older than the rest (as when we got the hens as pullets, she was the only one of the older set at the feed store). So, the rest should start laying more soon.

 

[jontte]

let's see,if I make it to school,next 1 1/2 yr hard studies and I will be a paramedic,then it will be;leaving this city and move rural,those jobs can be found there too, so I must simply re-write the script for my future...
and that small town is far more gun owner friendly than my present place

 

[hlrive]

I haven't added a rooster yet, as I'm not looking into getting into chick production yet...just eggs. Your little guy sounds adorable, hehe. I think it's just one of the girls (who they call "Big Mamma") who is producing now....but she's at least a couple weeks older than the rest (as when we got the hens as pullets, she was the only one of the older set at the feed store). So, the rest should start laying more soon.

It also depends on breeds my Legacy breed doesn't start laying until they are 9 months to a year old. However the produce eggs for a longer period of time. Life expectancy is about 7 to 10 years for a hen where store bought breeds only live about 4 years. My oldest rooster right now is 8 years old, and he is still middle aged. Where as his dad died at the age of 19. I have a RIR that is 3 years old now and not even laying any more. She is done out as far as egg laying is concerned. This is why brooding is so important when raising chickens. I have 2 GLW's that are about 2 years old so I need to replace them as time goes on, or find a new breed to start using.

Little speed is about as cute as can be, he comes in the house still a few times a week, and yes he is house trained. He knows how to turn the kids game system on so he does that second when he comes in, and then stands in front of the TV waiting for the kids to play it. If they turn the game system off because they don't want to play he goes back over and turns it right back on again. He always comes straight to me when he first comes in and has to get his loving done. Then peck my nose. When he has his fill of games, and loving he perches on the back of the couch and crows. Which sounds pretty horrid right now because it's still that juvenile crow. But smart as can be, if he knows the dogs dish is empty he goes and stands at the dog food bag trying to tell me I need to feed the dog. Same thing with the water dish. He makes a nest to sleep in on our laps we use to have a towel when he was tiny, and now he drags it over knowing it is suppose to be in our lap.

 

[jimLE]

here lately.i've been looking into different types of shelves for different types of storage items..and i've seen some good ideas on pinterest..i figured that i better start planning ahead on them,for when i have the money for the needed materials...

 

[Gazrok]

I have a RIR that is 3 years old now and not even laying any more

All 8 of mine are RIR's. (Rhode Island Reds). I suspect we'll be in for more eggs after this cold snap. I still think it will be a cold, cold winter.

i've been looking into different types of shelves for different types of storage items

Best advice...know WHAT you are going to store, before building/getting the shelves to hold it.

 

[jimLE]

exactly..always know what your building for.before you start buying..this way,what gets built,gets built for what its needed for.

 

[hlrive]

I want hubby to get the back porch finished off so we can close it in and add a wood stove out there. So far I don't have a wood stove. However I do have gas heaters for back up the little wall units. I like them and 1 last year heated the whole place. Cheaper then running the furnace as well. But I still like wood stoves. I can heat water on a wood stove all day long and have a cup of coffee if I want it, or even put food on the top of it to simmer away for the whole day.

 

[Gazrok]

Yeah, I'd love to get a wood stove too. Just have no idea where I'd put it. Probably the back porch area, like you mentioned....but more in the area off the master bedroom.

 

[rcmckibbin]

Fresh eggs taste so much better. We get between 5&7 a day with 7 hens. We had 9 hens but the neighbors dog got them. Our eggs are really yellow as well. Not sure if thats because we free range them?

 

[rcmckibbin]

Wood stove, ammo, garden. Maybe a steer or hog.

 

[realisticdude]

Two years ago the wife said " I want to double the size of my herb / vegetable raised garden..........two years and two days later.................................

 

[realisticdude]

My plan for the next two years and the next...God willing .

 

[psalm 7]

There's still a few 69 Dodge Chargers around .

 

[DrHenley]

There's still a few 69 Dodge Chargers around .

Bet there's not many with hemis still around though.

 

[hlrive]

Fresh eggs taste so much better. We get between 5&7 a day with 7 hens. We had 9 hens but the neighbors dog got them. Our eggs are really yellow as well. Not sure if thats because we free range them?

Farm raised eggs are very dark. In fact I have had some that were so dark they were almost a red orange in the middle. The reason is they get to eat so much good foods while out free ranging. Store bought eggs are the pale yellow I do not care for that at all because they are fed so many different chemicals and other things, this is why they are pale. Now when culling you will see a big difference in meat as well. And the chicken should sit in the fridge for 24 hours before packing and putting it in the freezer.

We feed our chickens field corn. We have a neighbor that grows it and sells it for deer corn. They love it, and it's cheap but in the winter months that is all they eat. We still get the dark yellow yolks though. $8 for a 50 pound bag isn't bad at all. They still get to free range in the winter, but there isn't much to eat and just for our regular hens here in the front yard we use about 100 pounds a month for them in the winter.

I actually have found an easier way to cull ours and get the meat off, however we don't waste anything because the dogs get the left overs. We just skin them out and cut all the breast meat off after culling. The rest gets boiled up outside, and of course the feathers come off in the big pot those get thrown in a pile, but the whole chicken that is left goes to the dogs. I even freeze some of it for them later on in the winter. The feathers get used to make pillows and down blankets.