Chook Me!

should i raise pheasents,geese,or turkey for eggs.?

we have 14 chickens in our horse stall that was converted into a coop including an outdoor part(cant completly free range after attempting to but had fisher cat kill 4 hens. i do let them out everyday while watching them for 15-20 min.) we have another stall that is partially made into a coop. it has bedding and wire on the top part of stall so nothing flies out or climbs in. i was wanting to raise another breed of bird in that stall. we may build another smaller outdoor part but i was wondering what is the next best egg producing bird(dad wont keep any animal unless it produces somthing and i dont want meat birds.)that lays ok sized eggs. i was wanting ring neck pheasents but they need a lot of space. what bird should i get? any tips or ideas other than chickens and guinea hens.

Public Comments

1. If your Dad insists the birds earn their keep I am afraid you are stuck with chickens as nothing else will produce enough. Have you thought about bantam chickens? . They come in many varieties and make great pets. They are very pretty and can become very attached to you. We raised pheasants years ago. They didn't need a huge amount of space. As long as they can get outdoors in a pen big enough to move freely and scratch the ground etc. they should be okay. You can't crowd them though. They don't lay that many eggs either. How about an emu? One egg is enough. LOL---Just teasing. Couldn't resist.
2. turkey
3. There are breeds of ducks that lay as many eggs as some chickens. Two I know are indian runner and khaki campbell. Indian runners are interesting birds. They stand upright and will run. Goose eggs are good for baking but not so good over easy. They are too rubbery to eat for breakfast. Turkeys don't lay enough eggs to keep for that unless you want to sell hatching eggs or incubate them to sell to people who want to raise them for meat.