Raising Chicks part 1, choosing the breed and sex

Lucas, at 8 months, with my niece's chicken.

I knew I wanted chickens from the start.  I read all the books and spoke with people who had chickens.  I bought my little hen house kit and put it together one hot day when my daughter was home sick.  Then I ordered my 6 chicks and prepared a cardboard brooder box for their arrival.  I had no idea how much I had to learn.  For those of you who are planning your own flock, I thought I would let you know some of the things I learned.

The first thing you should know is that chickens are addictive!  You will find yourself watching the chickens all day long, talking to your friends about chickens, and subscribing to poultry magazines.  You will find others who love chickens and make Facebook friends in the poultry world when you need advice.

I purchased 6 different breeds that are known to be good layers and do well in the weather of Virginia.  Even before they were out of the brooder, I knew that 6 was not enough.  I learned about the fancier breeds like Silkies and Polish, and hunted them down on Craigslist.  When planning your flock, I know you want eggs, but include some fun pet type breeds!  They are friendly and cute, and friends will not mind seeing the multiple pictures on your phone and FB of your chickens if they are adorable.  Research all the breeds and make your decision carefully (be sure to Google "frizzled" chickens - over the top cute!)

You may hear the term "bantam" - this is a small chicken, which lays very small eggs. Some breeds come in standard or "large fowl" (full sized) and bantam (small sized), while others come in only standard or only bantam.

"Easter Egger" chickens lay blue eggs. The Easter Egger
is a mixed breed - "Ameraucana" is pure bred.  (Occassionally
you will get one that lays olive colored or brown eggs.) 

The sex of chicks:

Pullet means female.  If you are ordering from a hatchery, you can order all pullets, but keep in mind that sexing is only 90% accurate.  In my first batch of 6, two ended up being males.

Straight run:  Unsexed chicks, meaning you are likely to get quite a few males. Some feel buying straight run, and planning to cook and eat the males, is the most humane thing, since it gives the males a chance at having a good (yet short) life.  Although I understand the logic, I just couldn't.

Males or "Roos" (young males) also called cockerels or roosters:  Roosters can be difficult to  find a home for, so start thinking about what you will do with the roo now.  Some thoughts: In certain breeds, roosters can turn aggressive, no matter how much you have handled and loved on them as babies. Having a rooster go into a pot (yours or someone else's) can be hard to come to grips with, but realizing that he has had a much better life than those brought up in commercial facilities makes it easier.  When trying to get rid of a rooster, once it is over a year it is less suitable for eating, so making the decision sooner rather than later is to your best advantage. 

Stanley was supposed to be Stella. He was very aggressive
and, after attacking my son, helped me come to grips with
the idea of eating a chick that I hand raised.  I could not do
the deed, but gave him to a nice Italian woman for the pot.

More about Roosters:

You don't need a rooster to have eggs.  You only need to have a rooster if you want the egg to turn into a chick.  

You can eat eggs that have been fertilized by a rooster.  The fertilization takes place by sex, with the rooster hopping on top of the hen.  As long as a hen has not been incubating the egg, it will not turn into a chick.  Hens usually lay a few eggs before sitting on them, so as long as you collect your eggs at least once a day (twice a day if you have a hen that is broody or wants to sit on them), your eggs should be fine. More about eggs in a future blog.

You can keep multiple roos together, especially if they have grown up together, and most will figure out how to get along.  Some may fight - certain breeds are more aggressive than others.

Wow is this blog getting long - I will write more about the brooder in my next post!