First Time Chick Parents, Spring 2016

Staff017 said:

Hi!
I'm so excited to finally start our chicken family! We have a coop on order. I've never raises chicks before, and I'm not sure we're doing it right. The winters get cold here, so we're ordering a well-built draft free coop with electrical access. I figure better safe than sorry!
We have a three and a half year old and an almost two year old, who are very excited to help with this process. We are mostly in it for the eggs and the social aspect. Any recommendations on breeds? We are looking to get 6 to 8 layers. I'm not sure if we should get extra chicks assuming some attrition.

I'm very interested in using the coop from the start, or very soon after. We can move it around with the tractor and we have an extra spot in the garage at the moment. Would it be totally crazy to start the coop off in the garage, and then move it outside once the chicks are a little bigger? Or just totally unnecessary?

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Hi congratulations on getting chickens! There are so many simply wonderful breeds available! just to get a very good example of breeds and their characters I suggest going online to Meyer hatchery. They have actual photos of LOTS AN LOTS of breeds! also they give reviews and explain personality. If you are looking for a EXCELLENT layer and beautiful bird I suggest the Barred plymouth Rock be added to your flock! They give large brown eggs and are smart friendly and docile. If you also want a colorful egg basket you might consider getting a Easter Egger. If you want a dark "chocolate" egg you might consider a Maran. all mentioned above are cold hardy. why don't you take a look at Meyer hatchery online and see the many breeds. it also shows the chick and eggs from that specific breed.This will give you a good chance to view the brown egg layers, white egg layers, Rare breeds, and Bantams (smaller version of the larger birds) I suggest this website because it has great pictures and some of the best online representations of different breeds. I hope this helps! which coop are you getting?? How many chicks are you wanting? Your going to love having chickens!♡♡♡ it's so much fun!!

This is what we ordered, and I just ordered 4 new Hampshire reds! I think we then want 4 others that would be mixed up. Some of the fluffy ones, maybe a barred Plymouth rock or two.

Could I get the 4 and start them, even though the for New Hampshire Reds won't be here till April 20th? It seems like it would be a good idea to stagger them as long as they were kept warm enough.

silky guy said:

hi there I'm silky guy we have silkes and if you need any advice come to me heres 1 of them

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OMG TOO CUTE! Are you selling them?

Bit of a night, but it has turned out okay. Went into the brooder room for evening observation last night around 11pm. Saw one of my smallest newest banties seemingly having trouble swallowing by the waterer. Picked her up, thick phelgm in the mouth. Wiped it out. Felt crop--empty, but when pressed some more phelgm bubbled out of the mouth. So, milked out all the phelgm, then made a solution of electrolytes (to correct the dehydration) with a bit of ACV (to acidify the crop) and syringed a bit to her. Started doing the laundry...each time the dryer dinged, syringed a bit more solution to the chick, so about every hour or so. At the 4am mark, felt just a bit of food in the crop--yippee! Syringed once more and went to bed. Doing well this morning. A little less active than the other "identical" bantie, but so much better than before!

I feel like I dodged a bullet with this one. They are just so tiny!

Hi! We just got 9 chicks at a specialty urban farm shop and at the regular farm stores over the last two weeks. I think they're about three weeks old now. They are at a very funny looking stage with both fuzz and feathers. The butt feathers are especially cute.

We have 3 each buff orps (we call them Borps), barred rocks, and Easter Eggers labeled ameraucana.

Today we're moving them to a shed and building a big temporary tween-bird brooder. They are looking cramped in our bathtub-sized


storage bin.

Jensownzoo said:

Bit of a night, but it has turned out okay. Went into the brooder room for evening observation last night around 11pm. Saw one of my smallest newest banties seemingly having trouble swallowing by the waterer. Picked her up, thick phelgm in the mouth. Wiped it out. Felt crop--empty, but when pressed some more phelgm bubbled out of the mouth. So, milked out all the phelgm, then made a solution of electrolytes (to correct the dehydration) with a bit of ACV (to acidify the crop) and syringed a bit to her. Started doing the laundry...each time the dryer dinged, syringed a bit more solution to the chick, so about every hour or so. At the 4am mark, felt just a bit of food in the crop--yippee! Syringed once more and went to bed. Doing well this morning. A little less active than the other "identical" bantie, but so much better than before!

I feel like I dodged a bullet with this one. They are just so tiny!

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Stuff like this makes me so nervous! I hope I don't mess it up.

We are new to this as well. We bought 6 leghorn pullets from tractor supply. So far, all is well.

I know you posted this a while back, but I thought Id chime in. I'm a first time Chick owner too and when I was ordering my chicks the man at the hatchery told me to cover my pine shavings for the first 1-2 days with a sheet or towel. He said the chicks like to eat the shavings right away and this can kill them.

Crystalcyc1 said:

I know you posted this a while back, but I thought Id chime in. I'm a first time Chick owner too and when I was ordering my chicks the man at the hatchery told me to cover my pine shavings for the first 1-2 days with a sheet or towel. He said the chicks like to eat the shavings right away and this can kill them.

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Nobody told me to do this or I probably would have just to be safe. But I put my day old chicks right on top of the pine shavings and they didn't ever try to eat them. Not saying they wouldn't. Probably still better safe than sorry, but mine didn't. The pine shavings were way too big anyways. I did not get the sawdust type material though, so maybe that is what they are referring to, because I can see the chicks trying to taste that since it kind of looks like their crumbles.

ChickityChina said:

Nobody told me to do this or I probably would have just to be safe. But I put my day old chicks right on top of the pine shavings and they didn't ever try to eat them. Not saying they wouldn't. Probably still better safe than sorry, but mine didn't. The pine shavings were way too big anyways. I did not get the sawdust type material though, so maybe that is what they are referring to, because I can see the chicks trying to taste that since it kind of looks like their crumbles.

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I put mine on pine shavings and had no problem but they do love to scratch in it to find things. So I will toss in meal worms just s few to let them seek and destroy