A new comer to backyard chickens? – wardle feed & pet supply

Considering raising backyard chickens? You have started to the best place! Wardle Feed & Pet Supply, Denver’s Earliest Feed Store, provides all you need, all-in-one place… baby chicks, feeders, waterers, coops and feed. We even offer classes on raising chickens at our monthly chicken swap, that is basically a buy sell and trade meet up. Held every third Saturday from 8 am to two pm, maqui berry farmers throughout come across then sell creatures for example baby and adult chickens, goats, ducks, pigs, turkeys, other poultry. On top of that, admission for consumers is free of charge!

If you’re a new comer to backyard chickens, you might be wondering if raising chickens fits your needs. Here are a few solutions to faq’s which will let you decide.

1. Must I raise backyard chickens?

The recognition of backyard chicken raising the Denver metro area is unparalleled within our generation. Everything appeared to begin a couple of years back once the town of Denver altered its rules and started allowing as much as eight hens (female chickens) per household. A number of other metropolitan areas soon adopted and eliminated their bans on owning any chickens in areas. Now, city dwellers everywhere have grown to be very wondering how you can become more self-sustaining and also to produce more that belongs to them food at home whenever you can. The best reasons, to boost your personal chickens is you will get the freshest possible eggs every single day, your kids will learn to take proper care of farm creatures, and you’ll be in a position to enjoy another kind of animal which has only been permitted on farms previously. Additionally, you will be in charge of food your chickens have eaten, how they’ve been treated, and could be sure that they’re not full of unhealthy hormones or antibiotics.

2. Is raising chickens very hard?

No! You might be amazed to understand that chickens might be one of the easiest and finest creatures you’ll ever own. When compared with other pets, for example cats and dogs, they’re most likely way simpler. Chickens generally don’t make much noise, don’t bite children (although should you place your finger close, they might peck in internet marketing), try to escape, munch things, or fight. When you get them when they’re babies and hold them, they’ll most likely like to go wherever you go and spend time along with you.

3. Could it be legal that i can have chickens?

The majority of the metropolitan areas within the Denver metro area are now allowing a particular most of chickens. Before you purchase, call your city (or county if you reside in an unincorporated area) or check its municipal or zoning code online to ensure that you could own chickens and what’s the utmost quantity of chickens permitted. No metropolitan areas are allowing roosters (male chickens) unless of course you’re zone properly. Also, remember to determine the rules if you’re in a homeowner’s association or perhaps your housing community has restrictive covenants.

4. Must I buy baby chicks or adult chickens?

There’s no right response to this but here are a few items to consider. When you get babies, you will have to have them warm and inside for around twelve days, or at best until they’ve their down. If both you and your children carefully hold them regularly, they’ll most likely learn to be really social and friendly. They’ll still create a pecking order but will likely all get on perfectly with one another. If you purchase adults, or you add youthful chickens along with established adult flocks, they might not get on well. The older chickens will establish their pecking order and from time to time won’t permit the more youthful ones to consume or they’ll bully and attack them. You might be able to avoid these complaints by putting the more youthful ones in to the coop the very first time during the night at nighttime once the older ones are nesting. Hopefully everyone will awaken each morning and obtain along well. It is sometimes a good idea to quarantine they for approximately per month before adding these to a current flock to make certain that they aren’t sick out on another spread disease.

5. When must i buy my chickens?

Wardle Feed sells baby chicks from Feb to Labor Day. Bear in mind you need to have them inside until they obtain down and are adequately sized to become outdoors, that is about 12 days approximately. The earlier you receive began, the earlier you’ll begin farm fresh eggs and beautiful wild birds.

6. Where must i buy my chickens?

BABY CHICKS: Based on the season, there are lots of places to purchase baby chickens. Wardle Feed sells top quality baby chicks (“pullets”) from Feb to Labor Day. A few of the major stores sell them until Easter time. Could also be catalog shopping companies that will ship them straight to you. You may also manage to find some on Craigslist.org. What matters is you buy healthy chickens which will probably survive. Wardle Feed buys their baby chicks solely from Fulenwider Farms in Hudson, Colorado. Fulenwider includes a local, large, well stored, and condition from the art chicken farm. They practice humane management of all of their creatures. They’re fanatics about protecting their flocks from disease so you won’t be capable of taking an excursion of the chicken facility since you could accidently track in certain germs which may sicken or kill their wild birds. Wardle Feed provides you with an exchange or money-back guarantee in your pullets for 3 days and barely ever has any returns due to the very high excellence of the Fulenwider Farm wild birds.

ADULT CHICKENS: There are many places to possibly buy adult wild birds. For instance, Wardle Feed holds a chicken swap every third Saturday from Feb to October (weather permitting), from 8 am to two pm. It is really an animal and normally, many people appear with lounging hens to market. Admission is free of charge for consumers. You may also check out Craigslist.org watching for other chicken swaps out and about at other feed stores.

7. What breed must i buy?

There are numerous breeds and colours to select from. The majority are very good egg layers. Decide first if you’re buying your chickens for eggs or meat, then pick your breed accordingly. Wardle Feed sells a variety of kinds of baby chicks however their availability depends upon what’s hatched every day in the Fulenwider Farms’ incubators. Baby chicks sell very rapidly so stay in or call ahead anytime to discover what breeds have been in stock. It may seem fun to obtain a couple of various kinds of chickens so you’ll have a number of egg colors, for example pink, eco-friendly, brown, cream or white-colored. Before you purchase, inquire about mixing breeds and whether they’ll be ok together. This is a chart with a few of the breeds as well as their characteristics:

8. When and the number of eggs am i going to get?

After they start lounging (usually at approximately 19 to 24 days old), you need to get around 5 eggs per chicken each week. However, you will find occasions your chickens will lay less eggs, mainly in the cold of winter or during occasions of stress. They’ll also eventually “molt”, that is once they stop lounging for some time and also be new down. Once their molt is finished, they’ll start lounging eggs again. Chickens will molt about once annually which takes 4 to 6 days.

9. Will I require a rooster to obtain eggs?

No, a rooster is just needed if you are planning to get fertilized eggs to hatch your personal chicks. Hens happen to be bred to put eggs and really should achieve this not less than 2 yrs before their egg production begins to fall off.

10. How about predators?

Foxes, coyotes, eagles and raccoons like to eat chickens. Same goes with dogs, including yours. Therefore, you need to take safeguards to maintain your chickens protected, especially during the night, since predators might be everywhere within the city nowadays. As your chickens will roost during the night, for those who have a safe and secure coop, you can just close-up the coop to help keep the predators out.

11. What equipment will i need and just how much does it cost?

You’ll be amazed at how little it is to obtain began together with your new chickens. For instance, if you choose to buy five baby chicks and also you make use of an old storage tub or card board box at home, but don’t have any other equipment or supplies, the different options are less than about $50 to obtain setup.

When your chickens have down, you will have to place them outdoors and begin thinking just a little bigger. They’ll require a bigger waterer and feeder without a doubt. These vary from $15 to $35 each. They’ll also require a safe destination (“chicken coop”) and in their coop, a location to nest once they lay eggs (“nesting box”) in addition to a spot to roost during the night. You may either build or purchase a chicken house, no matter which you want. Wardle Feed sells and delivers both top quality pre-built coops and finish, build-it-yourself coops inside a box. You will find websites which sell chicken house plans if you choose to build one yourself and wish some guidance. Should you choose decide to purchase a chicken house, you need to budget $299 to $599 for any coop which will easily support five chickens and can last a long time. Intend on spending a bit more than this if you’re raising bigger flocks of chickens.

12. How about winter season?

Chickens tend to be more comfortable when it’s cooler, for example around 40° to 45° F. They’ll stay close together when they’re roosting however it if this will get cold during the cold months, you should think about either closing the doorway for their roosting area and/or departing on the 100 watt bulb on to ensure that they’re just a little warmer. Opt for purchasing a hot water heater so you don’t need to bother about their water freezing (do that early prior to being offered out for that winter).

13. Just how much does it cost to carry on to give my flock after they are lounging eggs?

It is best to use a high quality feed. There are lots of choices for example commercial feed blends and niche organic blends. If you are using a typical commercial feed, for example Egg Maker® from MannaPro®, you might spend about $2.50 monthly per chicken. If you purchase probably the most costly organic feed, for example Ranch-Way Feeds® Easy Feed Organic Layer you might spend about $6.00 monthly per bird. Also, you may want to from time to time mi x in certain oyster shells to make certain your flock’s eggs do not have soft shells. A 5 lb. bag of oyster shells is all about $5.49, and really should continue for several several weeks or even more with five chickens. And, chickens like to nibble on some Scratch, that is a combination of milo, cracked corn, and wheat, like a special treat every day. A bag of hen scratch is all about $12.99 and really should latter several weeks or even more with five chickens. Chickens love household food scraps, for example any vegetable matter. Avoid providing them with food garlic clove or any other spicy foods or their eggs will get that flavor. Also, avoid hard squashes for example pumpkin, acorn, or Hubbard, because they may bind your birds’ intestinal tracks.

14. How do you find out more about raising backyard chickens?

Wardle Feed regularly provides a class known as, Chicken Keeping 101. The category is trained with a local chicken expert from Fulenwider Farms so they cover all you need to learn about raising chickens, together with a question and answer session. Or, give us a call at Wardle Feed anytime and our friendly, well-trained staff will answer the questions you have. To keep your books and videos online or rent them from check your local library.

Have more questions? Ask us the following!

Resourse: http://wardlefeed.com/how-to-get-began-with-backyard-chickens/

TRACTOR SUPPLY HAUL & 3 MONTH CHICKEN UPDATE!

Video COMMENTS:

Scott G. Gessner: I mainly [Plan  Details Here⇒⇒⇒https://plus.google.com/u/0/115886167078032783384/posts/9n7qbgTYK71 ] bought this plan as to try something new. I am very interested in raising my own flock of chickens and especially raise them and make sure they are healthy, to produce only the best quality eggs. Also builds character in raising and breeding chickens. This plan teaches you the 2 main things that your coops need to have for a chicken’s happy life. This plan had a lot of useful tips, Building with strong material so your coop last all year round.

Homebirth Homeschool Homestead: I always have food scraps I wish I could throw to some chickens instead of throwing it out!

Jaime Case: Thanks for sharing all your info, really helps. we have alot of the same interests and family goals! Keep it up cant wait for more video to catch up on 😉 God bless <3

Jenny Hackenberg: 2 years ago I got my first set of chickens and I love it. I too give them fermented feed. they love it. I get wheat and oat grains for fermented food. it is cheap. I pay .30 to .35 cents a pound. if you have a local feed store check them out for grains. I also give mine meal worms they love them. I give them a couple of handfuls in the morning. I have ten chickens of my own and I love them. never regretted getting them. have fun and also try growing fodder in the winter for them. I do that here in PA. just some ideas to help you out. enjoy

KC Heirlooms & Organics: I love what you're doing, doing the same at my place :)

PJHVols: Do all 4 chickens fit comfortably in that coop? I was looking at it at tractor supply (for about 3 chickens) but couldn't tell if there was enough room for them since I would t have an extra area outside like you do…they would mainly stay in the coop or roam the yard for a few minutes

Andrea Anderson: Wow you put a lot of grit in. The brand I use is 1lb. grit to 40 lb. feed. Nice video.

Eat Pray Crunch: Awesome! Our goal is to get chickens in a few years once our kids are a bit older. This will be very informative!

Jylane MamaTakeTwo: I want chickens so bad! I just need to wait till we get into a house! Soon hopefully!

Homebirth Homeschool Homestead: That fermented feed is beautiful. It reminds me of my sourdough starter. I'd like to see more about that, how you make it, what it is. 🙂 I'm also excited for you getting eggs in a couple months!

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