I would go back to the barred rocks myself... I loved my rocks for eating.. So maybe you killed and cooked too fast? for tender chicken, kill the day before clean and refrigerate... 2 or 3 days is even better. Fresh killed meat needs time to tenderize...

When I kill a deer or a steer, I hang the meat 5 or more days before cutting and wrapping. chickens 2 days...

You do realize all meat other than fish is aged before cooking right?

Ludi, that looks like a good selection.

It's been a while since I looked at a McMurray catalog---prices have doubled!

A real problem with McMurray (and perhaps other mail-order sources) is that you have to buy a minimum of 25 birds, which in my case is about 10 or 15 beyond what I'd want for egg production for our needs.

So, if I did chickens again, I'd probably have to use a local source (greatly limiting my breed choices).

I got some chicks from Murray Mc Murry last week, so far they are doing GREAT. Ordered 32 but they gave me some free ones so wound up with 39, most are Red Star Hens, but some Wyandots, some Sultans, only 4 or 5 are roosters, but since I live in a restricted subdivision I am not so sure I would be allowed to have chickens if anyone complained. I sure do not need that many layers either, hahaha so many of these will wind up in the freezer, but I may want to keep at least 2 roosters if they are not too noisy, anyone have any suggestions on how to keep them quiet?

We've not had any problems due to cold with our chickens--we live not far from Wisconsin Cur, so we get minus 30 or colder, too. We have a breed that is well adapted to cold (Black Astralorps), and we bought a heater that the metal waterer sits on to keep the water from freezing. In past years (acually past decades) we took them fresh water every morning and evening in the winter, in a rubber bowl. The supposed ideal length of lighted day for chickens is 16 hours, and we try to extend their day in the morning, so they can go to roost in the evening by natural light. We have a couple of CFLs on a timer for lighting and I am checking into replacing or supplementing the CFLs wit LED lighting, probably will try some red LED bulbs and see what that does. We have had chickens since 1977 except for a couple of years in the 80s when we moved.

McMurrray is the Martha Stewart of hatcheries.

Cheap feed store chicks, like any first try, might be best. I've bought from the feed store and McMurray and there is no difference in survival - only bragging rights. I had as much luck with a stray banty and mutt rooster.

As well, a less ambitious plan for a little coop and little little yard to start might be better to wet your feet.

But I've done it and wish you luck.

We bought our flock from McMurray, but the reason was it was the only place we could find the Specks.

As it turns out the Buffs are just as good setters and Moms and readily available (if they are as good as those we got from MM) and much cheaper.

The Specks (Speckled Sussex) make pretty good roosters though, mean and protective as heck. I'm pretty happy with our mixed-up bunch.

If food gets tight again, and grain prices go up significantly, will people change the way they feed their chickens? Will they prefer one breed over the other? Stick with dual purpose or focus on specific breeds for meat vs. eggs? Has anyone tried game cocks?

The question boils down to; which hardy chickens provide the best output from a mostly free range diet, with little (or no) grain, whether truly free range or in a chicken tractor?

I chose a breed that are good foragers so even in a dirt yard they do a good job picking up after the rabbits and getting a lot of bugs in the summer.

What I would do is put more effort into getting the birds more weeds through the summer and they would have to get by on more grass hay through the winter.

Next year I am planning on using a couple of beds to grow rutabeggas for winter feed, so they would get some roots (beggas produce an amazing amount of seed I replanted three last spring and filled a busisness size envelope..

We would eat more food from scratch (maybe 50% right now) so there would be more scraps.

I would also cull the flock so the food available would go farther. I would, conversely, have fewer eggs in the summer but we provide about about 6 families with eggs currently... all but one of them could build a small coop and run and keep their own chickens in the city, feeding them with their own scraps... we would be more than happy to supply them with their own birds if they were willing to raise their own eggs and build the coop/run.

We have some dual purpose birds and also some leghorns just for eggs. My leghorns are all old ladies now, though, and are well past their peak egg laying abilities. That being said, if you want the chickens just for eggs, they are the best in terms of food. They eat very little and are prolific producers of eggs year round. They are smaller, lightweight birds, though, so they aren't great for meat. My birds free range, and so during the warmer part of the year, they get fed only once a day, and very little. This time of year, though, they do eat a lot more grain.

One thing that is very easy to grow and will provide food for the birds (and for us) is grain sorghum. The seeds are the little round seeds you get in a scratch grain mix. I've seriously considered growing it for them (the seed heads) and us, but I haven't yet figured out a way to cook down the molasses. Of course, the goats love the stalks, too, so we could always grow it for them... just thinking out loud here.

As for bug-catchers, I have heard that guineas are much better suited to gardens than chickens. I don't have any though. They prefer to roost very high in trees, and we live in a former hayfield. Our tallest tree close to the house is probably 20 feet tall. They'd all end up across the road at my neighbor's house and I doubt he'd like that. They can be pretty noisy "watch-birds."
K

McMurray can be a problem if you want pureblood chicks. I know they have bred barred rock into their Cuckoo Marans, for example. I suggest looking for local breeders and asking them what they are breeding for (eggs, meat, show). You can find breeders by searching for the breed association and asking them, they are usually very happy to have people interested. One thing that works well for a home flock is to get a few good breeding animals from a breeder and use them to "breed up" birds from a hatchery. Currently I have Dorkings, Red Sussex, and one Jaerhon.

For information on breeding I suggest "The Mating and Breeding of Poultry" it is a wealth of knowledge on how to select for different traits and different methods of maintaining the genetics of a flock. The terms are somewhat outdated and they didn't understand what was happening on a genetic level but they knew how to get what they wanted. Also, at the time it was assumed that the goal was "improved" breeds.

RE: Dried poop on chicks. Locally called "the dabs" (?) I was told long ago to grease their butts with mineral/baby oil and a cotton ball, straight out of the box when they arrive. Then, poke his nose in the water tray so he can find it. (They aren't too bright.) Put them on newspaper for a few days, and feed on the paper, changing it daily, because they will eat whatever is on the paper....

If one is caked up, wash it off soaking with warm water, let him dry, then grease him too. don't expect them to get rid of it by themselves. It blocks their vent so they will die if they can't poop. I think it is only freshly hatched chicks that have the problem, possibly some sort of first digestive clearing that is really gummy.

After the oil treatment, no problems at all, and a high survival rate. I'm sure cooking oil would be fine, too.

My final analysis of cornish roasters is... dont buy them. I wrote about the chicks I bought on page 3 of this thread. In the end I finally gave up on eating them. (would have hardly gotten a nugget out of the bunch)
Out of 53 that I bought only 5 made it to adulthood, though I'm not sure I'd call 3 of them adults. Those 3 are runts about half the size of the other 2. I now let them freerange in the yard and use them as possum bait to keep the more valuble lay hens safer.
It was a sad waste of money but a good learning experience.

some hatcheries don't sell true Cornish X Rocks. the birds may seem similar but their performance is highly variable. So far our best result has been with Mt.Healthy out of Ohio. I am starting to breed my own birds this year.

Permitted to have up to 6 domestic animals in the zoned area where I live. (It is suburban bordering rural...) Any more and you need a license of some sort, like a kennel license...

Am thinking of a small chicken coup with a fenced in area, with lots of stuff like fat hen & millet growing, for them to eat... when my property is eventually hemmed in by my dense cypress trees, etc I may let them range out more when I am around (weekends, days off)

About crows potentially annoying the neighbors...? Thoughts on keeping quiet? Soundproofing chicken coop?