Sorta OT-small scale farming

I would suggest you consider market gardening. Check out local farmers' markets to see what opportunities there are. Some are hard to get into, but it is a good way to get a handle on what sells and what doesn't. My wife and I have done most of our sales through a farmers' market and some through my weekday job, and some roadside. We grossed over $12,000 this past season on just over 1/3 of an acre. With your acreage you could start small to get a feel of it and expand as you get into it.

I've got a few ducks for 'fun'.. but don't enjoy their eggs.. too strong. Sort of like a goose egg. ( or turkey ) however if I lived in an area that needed duck eggs.. I'd be set.. my ducks pop out eggs like no tomorrow.

As for the chickens, I started with 2 hens about 3 years ago, and thru breeding and trading now have 5 laying hens with two more birds in the juve stage that I havn't figured out what they are. Twice now I have had animal attack problems that has decimated my flock. I now have constucted much heavier and better protected pens, including electric wire on the outsides to discourage the fox/raccoons that raided my chix and turkey pens in the previous years. . Along with that I have a few rooster pens. I keep the biggest, or best looking, or most virile roosters for breeding. Currently that is a big RR for the medium-large chix pen, and a banty in the small-medium pen. I have a nice leghorn and game cock also set aside for future useage.

I get an egg a day per hen. I get a variety from very large to small.. everything from dark brown to light greens and beigh, and one drops an almond color. Small eggs are great for halfing recipies that require one egg..

As soon as i get a few more hens up and running.. I would have enough to do a decent side egg business. Right now neighbors and family are using my eggs, as well as some giveaways here and there. So far, I'm not at a break even stage for the birds as a whole, as the turkies and ducks are not income producers yet.. all they do is eat. The chix by themselves more than pay for their feed, if you counted it seperately.

The bigger the pens.. the happier the animals will be. Provide protection from digging animals, and from animals that are strong enough to go thru light fencing. I found chicken wire was not possible if you have preditors. I went with big chain link dog kennels with my later pens.. and some earlier ones are made from 16'x5' heavy welded horse panels ( 2x4 spacing ) stuf has to be cut with bolt cutters, and is rigid, and tough enough to contain horses, hogs, dogs, and other pests.

I cover the tops with sun shade or geotechnical webbing similar to what averies use.. has 1"x1" holes.. but keeps birds of prey out.

The larger tall pens also have some built in safety and comfort. Chickens like to roost off ground. With a stand up sized pen, you can put a couple of different spaced roosts that the chix can fly or 'ladder' to, and if a predator does get in.. the average fox or raccon won't be able to get any roosted birds that are roosting 5-6' off the ground, and can just kill setting birds or clean out egg boxes.

Can also do closed coops or chicken houses. And yes.. chickens CAN be tought to go in at night anf come out inthe morning. Just get them used to your feeding habbits. If the area is big enough.. they are great foragers.. cuts donw on the feed bill.. especially in grashopper season.

calcium, corn, scratch grains and feed are the staple. though vegie scraps are appreciated. If you run your operation correctly and don't use hormone laden food, or feed containing animal products, and don't mass medicate the birds to increase production, you can get organic and/or free range certified.

I think running a small animal production would be much easier than say... haying a specialty crop.

I havn't eaten a store bought egg in years.

Chicken are more or less easy to work with.. not like cattle or hog or goats that are hard on the fences, or require very specialized or expensive treatments, vaccinations and attention.

Keep extra empty pens that you can use for isolation for sick or convalescing birds. You'll find it is an art when introducing new birds to existing flocks..

have fun.

This is just my take.. I'm sure you will get a ton of responses for good ideas!

Soundguy

So far brown sexlinks have been our best chickens.. medium to large eggs, good mentality.. not to skittish.. and a medium to large sized bird .. not good setters though when it comes time to expand the flock.

I've got a white cochin that will set anybodies eggs unless you bother her.

Got some rhode isle red and sexlink mix's coming up right now.. not sure if i've got hens or not.

Yep.. mostly our roosters are seperate penned unless we are breeding. Course one pen we keep a rooster in.. but we keep those eggs. small little dot don't bother me at all!

Soundguy

We used to get our eggs from a gal at work here that used to have productive hens. We used to get at least one, and sometimes a couple double yolkers in each dozen. Have you seen this as a common occurrence, or were there some other factors that contribute to this? We rarely if ever see it in the store bought ones we are now buying.

I'd guess it is 'uncommon'.

Soundguy