I want to buy chickens how much are they?

Question

do the chickens lay eggs or only hens?

and how do i care for them in winter

also what do i feed them?

Answer 1

Craigslist.org sells them under farm and garden.  They're a few dollers where I live.

Answer 2

here are 2 links that will give you excellent advice and answer all your questions

http://www.gomestic.com/Pets/Unusual-Pet...

http://www.gomestic.com/Pets/Pet-Chicken...

The first link is on care.. the second talks about which breeds are better for pets..

hens can lay eggs without a rooster..

the cost will depend where you live and what you buy.. old.. young.. who from..

I often buy at auctions and some times (especially in fall) you can get them $1 a bird!!!  ask your local livestock feed store - they either sell day old chicks.. or will know if your area has these types of auctions..

Answer 3

chicken prices vary.

here's a rough guide

chicks will sell for about €3-6

pullets and hybrids (take the isa brown) go for around €7-10

But if you want adult pure-bread stock for showing or exhibition you can expect to pay out allot of money

(example a pair of exhibition quality silkies would go CHEAPLY at €30)

normally around €15-20 for show quality birds each.

I Have even heard of a trio of RIRS (Rhode island reds) going for €90

and even one bird (exhibition quality) going for a whopping €200

But if you just want a few hens just for eggs

a few hybrids will do and you'll expect to pay around €6-7 each but it all depends.

i don't really get your question

do the chickens lay eggs or only hens?

that makes no sense

so here is what really goes.

only a female chicken (known as a hen) will lay an egg.

roosters (male chickens don't)

and you don't need a rooster for a hen to lay eggs.

hens lay automatically. know matter if there is a rooster or not

You only need a rooster if you wich to hatch eggs from your hens.

In the winter care wise is really no different to the rest of the year.

just make sure their living quarters are clean, draught free and have lots of fresh bedding to keep things cosy (example straw)

a hint . .  make sure their water containor doesn't freeze over form the cold weather. if it does put it into warm water.

also chickens tend to eat a bit more in the winter to keep their body temperature up and regurlar

if you think they are far too cold

Install a heating system or even put in a infra -red heat lamp on the really cold night.

But generally speaking they will keep themselves warm

(that's why they have feathers)

food wise it depends on the age of the chicken

chicks (baby chickens) eat chick-crumbs up until the age of 6 weeks

Then chickens 6 weeks up to the age of about 3 or 4 months eat grower pellets

then from then on (when they are nearing adulthood) move them onto layers pellets

it is easy anough to get at any good food store, creamery or feed barn place

also supplemebt their diet with fresh greens and fruit and organic yoghourt (now and again) mine love it!!

they will also need grit once they start to lay and crushed oystershells.

Hope i helped you!

Jessica <3

Answer 4

you feed them layer pelets or layer grain only hens lay eggs. The best layers are white pearl leghorns. and they are between $1 and $1.20 when day old. when they are ready to lay which means when u get them they are all ready th lay. they are $10. They lay on little amounts of grain. These birds are my favorite chickens .

Answer 5

not much, about 10- 20 dollars for a grown up, less for a chick

only hens, you dnt need rossters to lay eggs

just give them a more healthier diet of protein as there are not as many bugs in winter, u cxan also give them warming food for better egg production like cracked corn

in summer they feed themselves but they also need things like pellets so they have all the nutritional needs like protein and calcium

Answer 6

if you are buying for eggs then you just want hens [females]

If you want to hatch chicks then you will need a cockerel [male]

They are fairly easy to keep although the cockerels can produce one heck of a lot of noise and start roaring their heads off as soon as it is light [sometimes 4am in the summer so you need to think about your neighbours reaction to this].

The need a secure coop with roosting bars so that they can be locked in and kept safe from predators at night...this should also have a nesting box where they will naturally go to lay their eggs.

You feed them growers pellets [or mash]  when they are young and layers pellets when they are old enough to produce eggs and they love grass, all sorts of fruit and vegetables and seed, porridge, peanuts etc.

The pellets contain everything they need to be fit and healthy and the other food should be given as treats.

They also need a constant supply of fresh clean drinking water and a pen for them to run around in.

In Winter, depending on where you live...I'm in England so it doesn't generally get uber cold here I put extra straw down for bedding and protect them from damp and draughts with plastic sheeting on the roof and sides of the pen to keep the wind out.

There are some ready made coops and pens you can buy like the EGLU, if you Google that you will get quite a bit of info but these are expensive [although will last forever and are easy to maintain] but making a coop from timber is fairly easy too.

If you live somewhere where the temperature drops drastically in Winter then you may need to have extra heat and light to keep them warm

Hope this helps, it is brilliant keeping your own hens, the eggs are absolutely delicious...far, far better than anything you can buy in the shops

Good luck!

Answer 7

There are a varieties of chickens to choose from. There are brown egg layers, white egg layers,colored egg layers, the breeds are different as well. Brown egg layers Buff Orpington,Black Australorp,Rhoda Island REds, White Rocks,Barred Rocks, New Hampshire, Black s*x link,Golden Comet the list goes on. White egg layers White Leg Horns, Brown leg Horns,California White

To feed chickens is easy if you get peeps (baby) you will need a feed called growing mash this has all a tiny chicken needs for the first 4-5 months of life plus clean fresh water and a water dispenser so peeps wont drown can get all this at local feed store or a tractor supply store . After that you will need a bag of scratch feed and laying pellets and either grit or oyster shell for all birds same as above can buy at tractor supply or feed store.

The care in winter is tricky they will need a coop that will keep all weather out such as rain snow wind and a heat lamp or two to keep heat in the coop when cold because they can get cold too. for food you can either place outside and let chickens eat or place a food tray inside the coop always make sure the water is not frozen since chickens do drink alot of water all year long no matter what weather is. You can let birds out in the winter but most times if cold they will stay in the coop huddled together to conserve heat You can also give them table food as well.They will need hay to rest in and lay eggs in a nest box or two also on floor this keeps them from harming legs when they jump down from a roost also need some roost to sit on at night and rest need to keep in coop till at leas 5 months and hopefully they will return at night for you, after 5 months you can release to roam free and this is best since birds need to have room to strech and run around.And to scratch and peck.Will need nest boxes for hens to lay eggs in when they start plus a nest for sitting when that times comes as well if you have a roo (rooster).Be sure to ck your eggs for little ones since a hen can't tell us she has babies, some hens will leave the eggs to feed and drink and streach then if you dont know you will pick up the babies but if you watch your birds you will know and will leave this clutch alone some birds will not leave the nest this is a good clue she is sitting.

If you have a roo you wont know till around 4-5 months then he begins to crow and will from then on.

On your coop make sure the door can be latched or chained at night to keep critters out once a critter finds chickens they will try to get them since chickens are easy meals for fox, ratcoons, weales, skunks stray cats and some dogs.Chickens are blind at night so they make easy meals for others and chickens really dont have any defence from other animals that are stronger the only way you will know is if the birds start to make ALOT of noise time to take a look and see whats the reason.I've had ratcoons in my yard not coop.Have trapped and set free a distance away they will travel back if set loose to close to pen again.(at least 20 miles).

The price depends alot on the breed you want and how many you wish to have and if you want hens (pullets) or roos (cockerels).Most hatcherys wont sell just one they sell by 5 or more.

You can get a straight run = whatever comes this is in the range of 8.50 $ to10.00$ for 5 depends on breed.

Pullets of 5  10.50$ to 12.00$ depending on breeds.

Cockereles of 5  for 5.00$ to 8.00$ depending on breed. Best to get hatchery #s and see what all they offer or can do the same on line and get all the info you could need. type in poultry hatchery and list of states and hatchery's pop up. Prices, breeds egg colors, and what they have now when to order and how many.