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I'm in the chicken business now, I reckon...

Got like 10 Golden sex link pullets. They should be laying in a month's time.

I have a 10x10 chain link pen that I covered with a metal roof. Built a henhouse/laying box for them., but notice they go into the old dog house I had in there when I brought them home.

Any advice on egg production, care, or maintenance?

First time chicken guy here. I've had barn chickens before, but not really serious about it.

Thanks!

Barry

It sounds as you are a step ahead of the chicken varmints Barry.

You should he at least one rooster.

gnats are a problem around here. Plenty of clean water and dry straw are important as well as oyster shells added to their feed

I'm feeding them a 17% protein mash now.

That's kinda hard to find. Most places just carry the 16% crumbles now.

I'll ask about the oyster shell stuff too. Thanks.

Richard, I have my live trap set again tonight. Got plenty of bug coons here, but I put a pretty good dent in them.

Lime is fed as well as oyster shell.

My wife has had chickens for years and has raised chicks for other people who were less than successful in previous attempts. If you notice your chickens pecking each other they might not have enough room. 10' x10' seems a little small for 10 chickens but just keep an eye on them. It's called cannabilizing and you can spray the bloody area with blue kote or a similar product until they heal.

If they are not laying yet you can feed a starter/grower until they start laying. Then switch to a layer feed. Crumbles or pellets or mash whichever you prefer. Mix the two when you switch over for a few days to help with the transition. Most layer feeds are 16% protein. If you notice their vent (a$$ hole) is dirty that is from too much protein. They can actually get impacted and will die from too much protein. Had a friend who read on the internet to feed her chickens starter feed when they molted. Protein was too high for adult chickens and several died.

Your chickens will lay for a while and then quit. That is when they molt. Basically a rest period for their bodies to catch up. Egg production will drop off after the second molt and that is when some people turn them into chicken dinner. My wife likes her chickens and some of them are old enough to collect social security.

My wife uses pieces of astroturf in her nest boxes. Makes them easy to clean out and provides a cushion for the eggs. With ten chickens they will probably only use three or four nest boxes no matter how many you provide. You can feed oyster shell free choice if you notice the egg shells are thin. Also they will eat almost all your table scraps, vegetables, meat, fruit. They love watermelon rinds.

These are some things she has learned over the years. Others may or may not agree. IDGAS. Hope this helps. Good luck with the girls and hope you get lots of cackleberries. Oh, you dont need a rooster to get eggs. Fertilized eggs will sometimes have a bloody sreak in them.

Gold sex links should be strong producers. They are not the typical farmyard type of breed. Be prepared for them to produce strongly and to fall off quickly when they are finished with laying. Modern sex linked chickens are bred to give their "lifetime" supply of eggs over the shortest possible time period. That is called efficiency and helps egg producers attain profitability. This means they aren't being fed for 7 days/week and only lay 3 or 4 eggs/week as hens. They can be very precocious and lay early, earlier than the rest of their body is prepared for. This can produce egg laying tract physical failure called blow-outs in the vernacular. It is important to restrict available bright light intensity as they are maturing pullets. Available light influences egg laying, including (too) early laying development.
Modern sex linked chickens are also bred to be socially compatible when in loose pens and large open and cage free environments to meet "ethical farming standards." Having said that, it is still important to give them plenty of floor space or room. Crowding causes social tension and leads ultimately to possibility of cannibalism. The bottom of the pecking order, or sick, injured, etc. need to have space away from aggressive birds. Birds may show no aggression until they see the weak or they see the bloody bottom of a hen who laid a large egg. Refer back to the comments about laying at too young an age. You should have a number of nest boxes in a darkened area of your coop and have roosting bars for them to sit on at night. They want the box to be clean and they want a choice of box to use.

I speak with some personal experience and fair amount of investigation and research, having produced organic eggs for a high price market and did well at it. We chose to use "Golden Comets," a sexlink from a different hatchery, most likely than that which produced your chicks. We ran 5 flocks of 50 birds, used lighted coops in winter, and did an age rotation so that we had a relatively uniform rolling age, production and sales rate.

You have a good variety of hen. Good luck with your venture.

Marv

Thanks guys!

Lots of good info here!

I've had chickens for a number of years, and my grandfather had about a 100, that he sold eggs from. Not an expert, but do know a little about them. I think you need more room than that for 10 of them. That's not much, although the caged layers in the big houses don't have that much room. I have 9 hens, and a pen of at least a 1000 square feet for them. I did let them have the run of my acre horse lot, but when one would get out, my Aussie would catch it........and that would be the end of a chicken getting out.

Plenty of water, good feed, and green stuff......chickens like green stuff......oyster shells, as they need those for the egg shells, or else they will peck the eggs they lay, to eat the shells. Also, chickens like to roost off the ground, so make sure your chicken house has roost poles.

When they do start laying,start checking their vents( butts). If it is yellow, they are not laying. If it is bluish ,you have yourself a producer.After a while you can cull those poor produces .I always preferred plymouth barred rocks.

Caught this big coon last night.

Well, shake him out and let the dogs have some fun......

My old dog that died last fall, a Great Pyrenees, would make short work of a coon. My present dog, an Australian Shepherd, pretty much avoids contact with them. Me thinks I need another dog.

You know me...

Get you a Cur

Yeah, the Aus Shep that we have is smart as all git out but doesn't have much grit. She loves getting to work goats. Had a 1/2 Aus shep 1/2 heeler that was smart, gritty, and obedient....probably the best farm dog I've had. I'd love another like her. We have a cur now along with the AS. Cur is tough and gritty (will jump on or chase anything) but no where near as smart and certainly not as obedient as the AS or AS/heeler mix.

A Cur can hold it's own with a coyote, very important around here

Are chicken snakes going to be a problem? I live in the piney woods, they gave me fits.

I started killing rat snakes/chicken snakes when I moved to the ranch here over 5 years ago.

Don't know how many I've killed, but a bunch of them...

I think last year I only killed one. Putting a dent in them.