our 5 year old made us do it! (and we're a better family for it)

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FrankiesFamFarm

FrankiesFamFarm

Chirping
5 Years
Apr 21, 2017
26
20
89
New Jersey
Hi all -

Our 4 (almost 5) year old son Frankie came home from school and wanted "chicks". Apparently, that day, the local farm brought in a handful of chicks/ducklings and the kids had a blast.

Initially, we said no...but he persisted.

Quite honestly, he has 10 fish that he cares for every day.

We have 2 dogs - old timer and young pup and he is amazing with their care.

Well, why not. We love animals and love providing for ourselves.

We went to the store (Tractor Supply near us) and walked away with 12 "straight run" chicks and 2 ducklings...all, a few days or so old.

I built them a sturdy 48" x 48" by 16" box, put down ample shavings, hung their feeder and waterer and even put in a shallow water hole for the ducklings.

as they say - "let the fun begin"

Who would have know the joy we've been experiencing in the week since they arrived.

Frankie is so responsible and gentle with them and his care has been much more than we actually anticipated. He (we) has developed quite a bond.

We even started an Instagram account to document the growth and daily interaction - frankiesfamilyfarm

Here lies the fundamental issue - Frankie is aware that we are only keeping pullets (I think I have that right - hens? chickens that will lay eggs!) :)

I made an arrangement with a local farmer (who has hundreds of chickens) to take any roosters...once we clearly identify them as such.

Our question - how do we identify the boys from the girls (i'm sure there are jokes stirring about after that comment)

Their feathers are beginning to come in...shocked that is happening so fast. very cool.

does the mere presence of "tail" feathers indicate the chick is a Rooster?

So excited to continue this journey...ANY advice is welcomed!!

Have a great weekend

Frankie and his Family Farm
 
Greetings from Kansas and
welcome-byc.gif
! Pleased you joined us! Ah, the wisdom of children! Glad you are enjoying your poultry adventure! The Learning Center is a place you will likely want to visit - it is a vast archive of articles that will accelerate your poultry learning curve. Here's the link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
And from the Learning Center is a raising chicks article you should start with: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...ks-the-first-60-days-of-raising-baby-chickens
and another: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/raising-your-baby-chicks
I do have a question...what are you plans with the inevitable roosters in the straight batch as well as the farmer's surplus roosters? A good ratio is 8-10 hens per 1 rooster. More rooster means fights and overbreeding of the hens.
And here is a link to the Ducks Forum should you have questions: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/42/ducks
and some great duck articles: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/256233/ducks-sticky-topics-index
Finally, you can visit your state thread in this link and say howdy to some poultry locals:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread
Best wishes and thanks for joining BYC!!!
 
Welcome to BYC! My 4 yr. old granddaughter loves her 3 chickens who are now hens laying eggs. Take lots of pics! Have fun!
No, tail feathers do not mean a chick is a rooster, they all get tail feathers (hopefully). You will probably see faster comb and wattle development in the males ...are the chicks all the same breed? And what breed(s) are they?
 
G’Day from down under FrankiesFamFarm
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Welcome!

Thank you for a lovely, enjoyable introduction .. personally, I think Frankie is a very smart young man and convincing you that you needed chickens was a good move
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While you already have a heap of links to check out, I will give you one more. This is the link to the Breed & Gender Forum where you can post individual pictures of your chicks for opinions on gender: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/15/what-breed-or-gender-is-this

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out
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Welcome to the fun!

What breed did you purchase?
Can you post a picture of you chicks?
 
FrankiesFamFarm said:
Hi all -

Our 4 (almost 5) year old son Frankie came home from school and wanted "chicks". Apparently, that day, the local farm brought in a handful of chicks/ducklings and the kids had a blast.

Initially, we said no...but he persisted.

Quite honestly, he has 10 fish that he cares for every day.

We have 2 dogs - old timer and young pup and he is amazing with their care.

Well, why not. We love animals and love providing for ourselves.

We went to the store (Tractor Supply near us) and walked away with 12 "straight run" chicks and 2 ducklings...all, a few days or so old.

I built them a sturdy 48" x 48" by 16" box, put down ample shavings, hung their feeder and waterer and even put in a shallow water hole for the ducklings.

as they say - "let the fun begin"

Who would have know the joy we've been experiencing in the week since they arrived.

Frankie is so responsible and gentle with them and his care has been much more than we actually anticipated. He (we) has developed quite a bond.

We even started an Instagram account to document the growth and daily interaction - frankiesfamilyfarm

Here lies the fundamental issue - Frankie is aware that we are only keeping pullets (I think I have that right - hens? chickens that will lay eggs!) :)

I made an arrangement with a local farmer (who has hundreds of chickens) to take any roosters...once we clearly identify them as such.

Our question - how do we identify the boys from the girls (i'm sure there are jokes stirring about after that comment)

Their feathers are beginning to come in...shocked that is happening so fast. very cool.

does the mere presence of "tail" feathers indicate the chick is a Rooster?

So excited to continue this journey...ANY advice is welcomed!!

Have a great weekend

Frankie and his Family Farm
Click to expand...
welcome-byc.gif
!!!!! You will want to make sure the ducklings do not drown in the dish. Also if you end up with a drake* (or 2) they can potentially harm the chickens when they are older.
Otherwise enjoy BYC!

*Drake-a male duck.
 

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