Raising Chikens: Different Breeds We Have

[@Venus2590]

great video and beautiful healthy looking birds. Thank you.

[@neilloving5493]

LOVE your videos! We are future hobby farmsteaders and can't wait! You inspire me and thank you!

[@janpenland3686]

Good looking flock! Thanks for the tour.

[@andrearolland5323]

thank you John for all the information you give. with everything that you have to do in a day and you still find the time to provide information. it is greatly appreciated

[@annetterutherford6236]

This is very practical information! Thank you from another non-expert who is gonna give this country thang a try!!!

[@lynnen264]

They are wonderful!! The road island reds are gorgeous

[@radicaljoe4574]

You may not be an expert in all things chicken but you did a fine job explaining about what you have personally. Thanks. Be safe.

[@eyesdatsee]

Thank you for the info. i enjoy seeing your animals..

[@victorbeatty7378]

I appreciate your knowledge, as someone that is getting ready to start, trying to do it maybe next year. Extremely helpful. I thank you

[@2409forus]

One of your hens looks like a Golden Comet. Of my 9, then 7, the Golden Comet started to lay at 15 weeks. An egg a day, many are double yolkers, and one had 3 yolks! Very calm and cuddly birds as well. (One barred rock turned out to be a roo, very tasty indeed)

[@angelsoria7743]

I love your vids. Doing great, so strait and to the point

[@patriots1needed]

Well done, John.

[@countryfreedom657]

awesome video

[@DaybirdAviaries]

Very good information here. Thank you.

[@raist888]

Thank you for your videos, and God bless you and your family. Cant wait to get back to kentucky and start looking for a homestead and first on my list is chickens, 2nd on list is to come see you and bring some of my veg. seeds to add to your collection.

[@jnull0]

raistbun wilson I would look forward to your visit bro...................J

[@buzzsah]

Good video really informative, Thanks John.

[@TJQuirk]

Great vids, I've watched my dad struggle with his chickens for a while and see a lot of mistakes. I'm down in Louisiana and looking to start my own flock. I have a couple friends who I'll be trading eggs with for meat or hunting rights. I love that a southern guy is doing these videos and not some California gal with the perfectly built coop. I'm a resourceful Cajun who loves to use old things. Anyways keep them coming -T.J.

[@Brad1237202]

Thanks for sharing John! You live in a beautiful area. Happy 4th of July to you and the family!!

[@jj01a]

Loved my buffs, they tend to get very broody, which is what you want a some for rasing babies. Love Barred Rocks, super docile, great layers but not as broody. Easter eggers make some cool looking eggs but are not as friendly and can be noisy. buffs and Barred rocks have good body weight and are great dual purpose birds, make great backyard birds(very cold hardy). Love a good rooster, there are some mean roo's out there, that are wonderful in the pot..

[@homesteadinarental]

We love our chickens we have had several kinds just trying out what we want. We buy chickens at auction, but they were so old we joke about running a retirement home for chickens. We have had silkies roosters, RIR, golden, white leghorns, rode star, now we have a speckled rooster, two RIR, a golden, and a RIR mix hen and 4 pigeons. They are not producing at all so we are thinking of sending them all back to auction and buying day olds and raising a new flock of layers. We did meat birds this spring, and plan to do them again this fall. My step dad, and several members of our congregation want to do them with us this fall.

[@carrieashley1954]

jnullo the buff ,the sliver lace are great colder weather

[@HoneyHollowHomestead]

Good info John. I share your experience with the Leghorns. They seem to be better suited for the warmer climates. I do have 2 roosters and it is working out for me. But you really need to have enough hens for them. The 2 I have seem to work out well together, although I have them separated at the moment for controlled breeding.

[@charlesmoore1106]

At the 6:25 mark the hen I think they also call them red stars or comits.awesome bread:)God bless

[@vertisjones7221]

Another great video! I still hope you will change your mind and run for president! This country needs level headed good people in leadership. Which brings to this question. If you were elected, would you have a farm of the White house lawn? Complete with barnyard animals? Lol! It would be something to see! John Null for President! Common Folks Party!

[@jnull0]

Vertis Jones I absolutely would Vertis..lol. I would also offer tax breaks to all folks raise their own food. Thanks brother for you always kind words............................J

[@RalphLedesmaOneMansOpinion]

Another awesome video :D.Always learn something watching...Thanks for sharing.God Bless.

[@raist888]

Jnull is the chicken whisperer

[@joeokie9002]

raistbun wilson No, no, no. He's a chickenarian chickenologist. Dont slight the man.

[@audreya3415]

that chicken male is so handsome and cool.:)!

[@beaverrick9789]

We use to raise the Jersey Giants but went to the Buff Orpingtons. They start laying faster and grow bigger than the Jerseys in less time. Buffs are a very good eating bird also, my wife Beaver has a very good hatching rate and moves about 200 a month.

[@wwsuwannee7993]

An easy waay to tell what kind of eggs your hen will lay is.....white wattles = white eggs, colored wattles (usually red) = colored eggs depending on breed, dark to light brown, speckled, blue etc. Just in case no one knew. I let my chickens out all day and they all go home at night too, but I live in the boondocks off the road with no neighbors, might not be a good idea next to blacktop or in a neighborhood. J....that sow looks like a big baby lol.

[@BittyBooBrown]

Man Sammy is gorgeous.

[@danmcgraw101]

Love the video, agree with Vertis, run for el president! A few questions for anyone. So it is OK to have one rooster to service all breeds of hen? lets say the rooster dies, gets eaten etc. how do you promote the next rooster? where does the next rooster come from? Last one: do you need to regulate breeding? removing the rooster, or do you just let him go to town :)

[@TheNewport2009]

Thanks, I was wondering about how long my chickens would lay for. Yeah I have dominique and road island reds. I like the dominique because they eat a lot of different wild stuff and they seem to have strong sharp beaks to tear up a lot more stuff too it seems. My road island reds lay well but it seems like they are really nice tame chickens too...usushually. Have a good one man. Joe in Tx

[@kyleknoll3528]

TheNewport2009 sometimes chickens will lay for as long as they live I have a 6 year old hen that lays 4 eggs a week!

[@FloppyJedi]

Hey, great videos! Does any of the different types of hens you have get bigger eggs than the others?

[@Tara-sf7uu]

Ive benn thinking of adding some black australorpes to my flock, ty for the info. I also have the black jersey giants, and they did not lay til around 7 months old, but when they did...they became my most dependable. They live with bantam spangeled sussex, white wyandottes, and silver spangled hamburgs. The bantams give me issues, mostly bc they are more like low flying jet planes than chickens...but all in all they are ok.

[@Robot2020ful]

Very nice video just ordered chicks. Was wondering if you could do a meat rabbit update

[@farmlandia997]

great video I have all of your breeds myself but I have a few more breeds as well but the one thing I do different is I raise my pullets and cockerels inside a grow out pen within the layer flock I find that the chickens become more used to each other and its also how I have been avle to keep 9 roosters in the same pen without any fights

[@whitneydees172]

Awesome video!! :)

[@JoshuaSmithHomesteader]

Here a chick, there a chick, everywhere a chick chick. Great variety, I as well have a variety, it is nice to see the different color and personality. If you can find some Maline chickens they are huge meat birds. I am obtaining some crossed with cornish. Cheers!!!

[@chevyforddodge4x4]

Hi john hope you and your family has a Happy 4th of july ! :-) keep up the great videos !

[@moemanda5020]

Hello. I had a question about yolk. I just love a brown egg that has a deep orange yolk. Just tastes so much better to me. My question was, would the color of the yolk have more to do with breed of chicken or what you fed them? Chickens are what I would like to do next and I'm finding that your videos and comments section are giving me a lot of information in a straight forward way. I appreciate that. Thanks.

[@jnull0]

moemanda That is an great question that I unfortunately don't know the answer to..lol. I hope someone in the comment section can help us with that one. Wish I could be more help.........................J

[@king8kong8kock]

Hi, the yolk colour is purely dependent on what you feed your chickens! The more varied the diet, the richer the coloured yolk... However, many chicken feed has additives to make the yolk yellower so you have to be careful on chicken feed choice!

[@moemanda5020]

king8kong8kock Thank you! One more thing to look out for. I suppose I will be learning another "additives" language for animal feed. It's hard enough keeping up with the human one. lol

[@moemanda5020]

jnull0 :). I knew someone on here would be able to help me. Thanks for all you do!!!

[@anitawalters5672]

What do you feed your laying hens? Other than open foraging?

[@lisaalene]

Any thoughts on the Delaware? I heard they mature between 12 and 16 weeks and that they were one of the first broiler chickens

[@sneak6654]

With all the chickens that you have do you sell or trade the eggs that your family doesn't use? Great videos, I always learn something new.

[@jnull0]

Sneak 66 Usually we will share them with the elders up and down the creek if we have extras.....................J

[@mj_preparernamaste4335]

Your rooster is a stately gentleman indeed, very handsome. So evidently having many breeds together doesn't cause friction in the flock. I noticed you don't have a covering over the pen. Do you ever have trouble with chicken hawks? I have a wire roof for my hens and logs all around the edges and no trouble with predators.

[@jnull0]

MJ_Preparer Namaste I don't have too much trouble with any daytime predators. We just make sure the house is closed up tight at night, and if I see signs of night time predators I will start setting live traps to catch them...............J

[@MaruAdventurer]

JNull, you probably have two more months till the Jersey Giant hens lay their first egg. Just my experience with the breed. Nice thing with them is you always get extra large. :)

[@nylapsalms4678]

Good information

[@davidnewhouse23]

What do you do with old hens?

[@bbooth7133]

Buff Orpington are the best mothers and layers. They are also good for eating. I hate to pluck a black chicken! lol

[@mattthenewfie1]

awsome bro! did u find the layers were good to eat cuz i know at the chicken farm i worked at the chickens we pulled ended up in dog food! thanks for answering my question! looked online couldent find a damn thing lol

[@jnull0]

Matt Cl The older birds are a little tough, but any slow cook recipe works great, they have a very good flavor.........................J

[@anAHDAMofYAH]

I'm still very interested in seeing the Dark Cornish Crossed with you Salmon Favoroli Rooster. Has it been long enough now, a Year later to see a picture of the Cross & get some feedback on the cross?

[@katwillny]

How many eggs a day do chickens normally lay?

[@tonybologna123]

pork chop looking big ! :)

[@ronkpaws1]

Do you process your own birds or take them somewhere? This is a good video. Thank you.

[@jnull0]

ronkpaws1 we process our own............J

[@Lind-Holm99]

Just realized, you say completely the same in the intro of every video!! funny!

[@Gayle.M]

Can you use Sam's feathers to tie flies, for fishing?

[@jnull0]

Gayle McArthur I am not sure as I don't know about flies, but I would think so................J

[@Xexsut]

Go Sammy!

[@windblowsprk]

hi, I had a duck, who ended up getting an infection in its foot, got infected and we had to put it to sleep. we are now starting to think about getting chickens. We have a large amt of wood mulch that we had delivered to our house for gardening and landscaping. My thought was that my duck might have gotten a splinter originally. What do you think about chickens and wood chips? Our back yard has a thin top layer, primarily of violets and chickweed, and under is sandy soil.

[@Vintagebeliever]

Sammy is beautiful!

[@nkel6111]

and why did you move the tannish ones to other area. I heard 'hens'...but it was almost inaudible. So whats up there?

[@beckyshell4649]

+N Kel Two of the young birds are hens they are going with the other laying hens when old enough to lay eggs the other chickens are males so they are used for meat.

[@peterk.9994]

Hi, John. You mention that hens lay for roughly four years. Some questions: 1. With all the laying hens together and sharing the coop and barnyard, how can you tell specifically which one(s) has (have) stopped laying? 2. Do you cull the hens that have stopped laying, or do you let them keep on living for "free" in your barnyard? If you do cull the non-layers, how is the meat of a 4-5 year-old chicken compared to the ones you slaughter at a young age that you have raised specifically for meat?

[@jnull0]

Peter K. Hey Peter, yes we will usually cull any hens that have stopped laying. Their meat is pretty tough, but makes good dumplings, or canned chicken. Any slow cook recipe will usually help with the toughness, and they are very flavorful....................J

[@peterk.9994]

jnull0 Thanks for the reply. I'm certainly not trying to pester you, but I'm really interested in an answer to the first question. I have to think that you don't have the time or inclination to follow each individual chicken into the chicken coop every time to verify if she is or is not laying. If a dozen hens go into the coop every night, and you have a half-dozen eggs in the morning, can you tell which of the hens laid the eggs and which did not? Or do you just regularly cull all the hens that are older than ~4 years without verifying specifically which ones are still laying and which ones have stopped?

[@jnull0]

Peter K. I usually do not know exactly who is not laying regularly, if I notice that there are not as many eggs per hen over the course of a few days then i will know some have stopped laying, and the older birds will need to be culled. You will get to know your hens well the longer you have them, and once they hit the 4 year mark, they are usually ready to be culled. You can also tell a little about their age by looking at their legs, they will get very pale in color compared to a young bird, and they will not be as "active" around the pen/yard. No worries about asking questions bro, that is what we are all here for man................................J

[@liboriopsych]

Peter K. When you live with these hens for years, you get to know them, and their eggs too--size, shape, shade, speckles, color density, etc. You just know after a while. Also, the legs are a clue as to who is laying... Just a rule-of-thumb; If the legs are yellow, they are not laying. If the legs are pale, they are laying. This is also a clue as to who is going into a molt, because they will not lay during a molt. My father would say, "The yellow goes into the legs or the yolk." Not both. Hope that helps.

[@peterk.9994]

+jnull0, +Oldtimer Lee, +liboriopsych Thanks very much to all of you for the informative replies.

[@The1BlackKrow]

Hey John, I was wondering about harvesting the roos? How old do you consider they need be in order to get the optimum weight from the bird? I know it probably depends on the breed but is there a ball park estimate for the age?

[@jnull0]

B Krow We usually harvest ours at about 6 months or so. I think that keeps the feed cost per pound reasonable.....................J

[@The1BlackKrow]

jnull0 Thanks :)

[@ppger44]

Because chickens are aggressive with digging the dirt, how often should you move they're coop? It looks like you have them non free ranging.

[@jnull0]

John D I am not sure about that John, I know they scratch and hunt a lot, to help supplement I put scratch grains, and other scraps out for them. Mine are in our barnyard area, which I hope to make bigger soon to give them more room.......................J

[@ppger44]

Okay.

[@wwsuwannee7993]

Oh..Also....yolk color has more to do with feed than breed. I could be wrong but thats just my experience.

[@Octography]

Wes, you're right. It has to do with the amount of beta carotene they get from eating fresh grass and weeds.

[@carrieashley1954]

the first chickens are buff Orpingtons

[@alissastinson2608]

My white rock is 3 months old as he is 9 lbs

[@TheBrokenWing8]

This was really interesting thanks for sharing. I never heard of Faverolles, so I did a bit of research, and they are saying there are very rare in the us, and they are on the American Livestock Breed Conservancy endangered list. I am not sure how outdated this info is, but sounds like you got a rare breed there! I am sure you researched this breed, but I will post a couple links that I was looking at. Take care and God Bless! www.backyardchickens.com/a/faverolles-salmon www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/Faverolles-B47.aspx

[@davidsandlin9686]

Do the goat and pig keep the raccoons and smaller predators out of the chicken runs.

[@jnull0]

david sandlin Yep, for the most part. I have not seen any critters in the pen since we moved in the goats a couple of years ago...................J

[@mariacarrasquillo7929]

beautiful location