A limited number of pullets is still available for purchase the first week of April

We still have some pullets available for sale in early April, but we have orders for most of them. We have a very good supply of Silver Laced Wyandottes, and we also have a good many Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds. We have more coming of various breeds that will be ready the last week of May also.

More chicks have arrived- delivering to Raleigh on 4-4

We will be delivering chicks to Raleigh on April 4. We have Buff Orpington, Barred Rock, Rhode Island Red, Black Australorp, and White Leghorn pullets available. The price will be 5 dollars each plus a 10 dollar delivery fee. At this age, the chickens will not need heat or any special care.

Ducks Coming this Summer in Addition to our Spring Broilers

In addition to our broiler chickens for meat, we are raising a limited quantity of ducks for meat this spring. This is something new for us and we are doing it as an experiment to see what the demand will be. If it is successful, we will continue to raise them. They will be available live or dressed. As with the broilers, we are taking advance orders, and we have already had some folks order broilers and ducks.

Feb. 28 delivery postponed

Due to predator problems causing a lot of our birds to pile up and smother, we will have to postpone the Feb. 28 delivery until the first week of April, but we should have about 300 pullets of various breeds available, so if you are interested, please contact us. On a more positive note, we will be planting corn in a few weeks and this year we are switching to an heirloom open-pollinated variety called Boone County White. It dates to the mid 19th century and grows very tall, so it should yield a lot of silage. Our small herd is now up to 10 beeves, and they are looking great.

Twin Creeks on facebook

Twin Creeks is now on facebook. If you are on facebook, please visit our page there, become a fan, spread the news, and drop us a line. To visit us via facebook, please click on the link in the beginning of this post, and we look forward to connecting with you there as well.

Our Recommendations for Feeding Chickens

We have had a lot of questions about what our customers should feed their laying hens after they purchase pullets from us, and here are our recommendations. We use a good quality starter feed of approximately 20% protein until chickens reach about 16-18 weeks of age and switch them to a layer ration with oyster shells offered free choice. There are many quality brands available, and the brand you choose will probably depend on which feed dealer is most convenient. Since starter/grower and layer feeds are complete rations which are scientifically formulated to meet the dietary requirements of poultry, we advise against the use of scratch feed, as it effectively "dilutes" the nutrients present in a complete feed. Nutritional deficiencies can manifest themselves in many ways, often with very detrimental results.

Questions have also arisen about the feeding of vegetable scraps, and we have found this to be a good practice. When birds are free-ranged, we recommend offering feed, especially to laying hens. In an area with plenty of natural forage, it is quite possible for chickens to perform very well without supplemental feed, but if there is any doubt about whether or not your chickens can obtain enough nutrition from nature, feed should be offered. Regular feeding in the same place also keeps chickens roosting there and makes management much easier.

Delivering Chickens to Raleigh Feb. 28

We will be delivering 5 week old pullets and cockerels to Raleigh on Feb. 28. We still have a few available for the 21st, but the chickens for that trip are almost all spoken for. We have a variety of breeds available, and no deposit is required. Please contact us with any questions you may have or to place an order.