Backyard Birds Growing trend in Elmore County to raise chickens at home Story by Amy Passaretti Photos by Suellen Young
E
This Crevecoeur chicken lives at the Elmore County Extension Office
lmore County is abundant with rural areas and farms, and there is a growing trend of raising backyard chickens for both fun and consumption. Last month at the Elmore County Extension Office, Extension Specialist Ken Macklin, a professor of poultry science at Auburn University, went through some basics of managing a flock either for fresh eggs or for meat – sometimes even just as pets. “The breed of chicken depends on why you are raising chickens to begin with,” said Macklin. While he mentioned commercial egg layers, commercial meat chickens and birds for show, the majority of local chicken farmers would not be focused on those specific breeds. “I would highly recommend dual-purpose breeds, which produce brown eggs and grow a bit slower,” said Macklin. “These birds are easy to manage and are disease-resistant.” These breeds would include Rhode Island Red, Plymouth Rocks, New Hampshire and others. “They are the best all around and would be best for those who consider their chickens as ‘pets,’” he added. Another group to consider are backyard egg layers,
26
which would include Leghorns, Ancona, Auracanas, Golden Comets, Red Sex Linked and Andalusian – to name a few. They tend to be smaller in size but are good to prolific egg layers. “These are not good meat birds, but you will get about 200 eggs per year out of them,” explained Macklin. “These eggs could range in color from brown, blue, green, pink, white.” Backyard meat birds include Cornish, Jersey Giants, Cochins, Brahma and more. These are much larger birds where the females grow to up to 7 pounds and males could weigh up to 10 pounds. It typically takes about five to six months to grow to that size. “They are considered so-so egg layers, and they are not as tolerant to environmental stress,” said Macklin. After choosing the desired breed, there is the option to acquire eggs and hatch the birds or buy chicks. Chicks could be bought from feed stores, the internet, catalogs, newspapers, poultry shows, etc., but sellers should be reputable National Poultry Improvement Planparticipating suppliers. “Hatching can be really fun, especially with kids,” said Macklin. When hatching eggs, there are several incubation techniques: capacity, forced air and automatic turners, but
ELMORE COUNTY LIVING
