There are some great dual-purpose breeds, meaning that they lay eggs well, and taste good on the dinner table. You could buy some dual-purpose chicks and use half of them for meat, and raise the other half as layers. No matter which breed you choose, raising baby chicks is a great activity for kids. A cardboard box with an incandescent lamp and thermometer is all you need to house your chicks. Make sure the box stays at the optimal temperature. When you buy your chicks, ask what
temperature to keep
the "brood box" at.
Chicks can be mail-
ordered from a hatch-
ery, or bought at your
local feed store in the
springtime. Most mail
order companies have a
minimum order of birds,
and this number varies
depending on hatchery
and breed, but if you
just want one or two
birds, buying them from a feed store, friend, or breeder is the best option.
"Bantam" is the term used for a variety of small breeds of chickens, the average weight being 28-35 ounces. Bantam eggs are very small, but perfectly edible. Due to the small eggs and meat, bantams are not very practical for food production. However,
Bantams make great pets for children and adults, and you can try your hand at hatching your own chicks; you can sell your surplus birds to other bantam enthusiasts to help pay for that chicken feed.
17 Southwest Highways & Fields
Another part of the chicken world is showing. There are many poultry shows around the country where a seasoned judge will compare your birds with others of the same breed. Shows are fun, and are a great place to meet other chicken people. Some shows include the backyard class, which is intended for people raising backyard birds, not professional breeders. Entering a few of your birds in backyard or even open class
is a great way to learn more about chick-
== ens, and who knows,
==== you may even win a
==== prize!
I= Choosing a Breed
== Deciding which of the
many breeds (there are
= over 175) is right for
- you can be a diffucult
== task. First, decide what
= you want your chickens
= for, then look online for
descriptions of the br-
eeds. There are prolific
egg layers, docile pets, large meat birds, and beautiful show chick-ens. There is a 4-H club in Texas called Fancy Feathers with many knowlegable young people that can answer your quest-ions about raising chickens. You can contact them through their website at
www.fancyfeatherstx.org
If you find a breed you're interested in, then decide if you want to order chicks from a hatchery, or buy older birds from a breeder.
Mail-ordering them from a hatchery is the easiest way to aquire your new chickens, but you must have a "brood box" set up
Chick beginning to grow in feathers
-Khloe Leblanc