Your (almost) Complete Guide to Chickens
Why is this an "almost complete guide"? Part of the reason is that we are in the final stages of finalizing our chicken resources page where you can find all of our best tips, tricks, and even a helpful list to help guide what birds will be available at each North 40 location. We suppose the other part is because though we think of ourselves as experts in the chicken game, that also means we are humble enough to say we don't know everything. Seems like for every breed specific tip we can find and put out, there are two more "farm house remedies" we still need to learn- We still know our stuff though when it comes to little known chicken facts and help guides. Check out this awesome infographic we put together last year for "Tips to Sick Farm/Ranch Birds"-
We are always looking to learn the latest (or the oldest) tips in the chicken game, and we hope you will share them with us on here or one of our social platforms so we can get the word out to our customer base- but now for the REAL question-
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What type of birds are we getting in this year at your local North 40 Outfitters?
The crowd favorite, the Ameraucana, will make its regularly scheduled appearance, and for good reason.
Ameraucana Facts:
This bird was bred in Chile and is rumored to be the only chicken breed native to the Americas- means it was here prior to Old World, Cortez/Columbus/Eriksson contact.
These birds are fabulous egg layers and when you pair them with a solid layer feed (you can't beat our prices on the feeds here) you will have gorgeous hues of eggs; from turquoise to speckled brown and everything in between, the Ameraucana is a star player in the chicken line-up for North 40 Outfitters.
What's a good number for a great looking laying flock? Somewhere around 10-20 should get it done for a family of 2-5- plus you'll have eggs to share around the neighborhood, or sell at our next Farmstock event.
Is this year your first shot at getting into the chicken game? If so, check out our chicken gear here or if you need some new heated waterer or feeder supplies.
Another chicken on the arrival sheet? The White Leghorn, also called the Foghorn Leghorn if you are veteran chicken monger, then you understand that that Leghorn is pronounced, "Leggern" rather than two distinct syllables. Why do we like this breed at North 40 Outfitters?
White Leghorn Facts:
While not generally a myriad colored egg producer, the Leghorn is a solid producer of great looking, uniform eggs. In fact, we've heard that these birds sometimes lay one egg a day- on the regular.
These birds also have one of the best, "feed-to-egg" production rates which means you will have to buy less food to keep your layers in the yellow.
Another reason why we always opt for the White Leghorn: they are one of the hardiest breeds for the Northwest region and can continue laying up to 3 months (12 weeks!) after normal layers have made their retirement for the winter.
We like our protein at North 40 Outfitters, and we like our Speckled Sussex just for this reason. These will also be on order at your local North 40 Outfitters this chicken season.
The Speckled Sussex: A good layer and a good meat bird?
The Speckled Susses has been around for over 100 years and comes to the Americas directly from the Old World where it was bred for its pinkish white skin and body shape (long and deep) which is ideal for fattening.
The hens will set if given the chance, and they are among the friendliest birds you can imagine. Some people have said they will sit on your lap and let you carry them around.
Another reason? The Sussex is good for growing "fryers" dual purpose roosters, great for butchering at 17-18 weeks old, right about when they start to crow.
And these are but a few of the highlights. There will be many other chicken varieties, from layer, to meat, to exotic, as well as an amazing line up of game birds as well.
Stay tuned for more info and get ready for the chicken season- we are.