Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:43:39 -0400
From: trentt
Subject: Re: Chicken Talk
I’ve had chickens for a year and I have 7 hens and 1 rooster. I get usually 5 or 6 eggs a day. You can usually get about 5 eggs per week from 1 hen in good weather. If you can get chickens I’d recommend a “chicken tractor” type of pen. It’s like a 1 room apartment with a screened in porch. You can see images of them on Craigslist in the farm & garden section. They look nice and appealing and are not run down and weathered looking. They usually cost $300 or more if you buy a pre built one but if you build your own I’d expect it would cost much less than half of that.
As for chickens I’d say try whatever you’d like but my only recommendations are getting a breed originating from the Northeast. Something like a Delaware, Rhode Island Red, or New Hampshire Red. All three breeds can be found from hatcheries or feed stores (Pittsboro Feed, Tractor Supply, etc.). They will fare better in cold weather and all 3 breeds lay a brown egg. The only downside of brown eggs are that they sometimes are hard to peel if boiled. Good Luck!
Trent