- Apr 24, 2015
- 7
- 2
- 67
Howdy,
I and my family are new to raising chickens. We are excited to be starting, what I call the Chicken Experience.
Currently we have 16 chicks: 4 Bantam Silkies, 3 Golden Comets, 3 Golden Laced Wyandotte, 3 Speckled Sussex and 3 Black Australorp. So, 12 laying hens and 4 "Pretty to look at" Silkies ; )
I found Backyard Chickens by a Google search. I have found this website VERY helpful. I love the examples of coops and the write ups on breeds.
My husband has wanted to get chickens for some time now to hold down the bug population on our property. I thought it would be nice to have hens because we do go through a lot of eggs. I just wasn't convinced we had the time to take care of them. This spring I caved in. We have two daughters 12 and 15. The youngest has been interested in getting chickens for some time as well, so we decided to do it. The youngest wants to join the local 4H poultry club to show one of the chickens and the oldest said she didn't want to have anything to do with chickens (they sort of scare her).
A week ago we went to our local farm supply store and picked up 3 Golden Comets (pullets) and 4 Bantam Silkies (not sure if they are pullets or cockerels). Our youngest wants to show a Silkie, I wanted the Comets. Of course we had to name all of them. The Comets are Halley, Bopp and Tuttle (you'll have to Google comets to find out why). My youngest named the Silkies after characters in a Manga book series she and her sister have read (Julius, Ace, Nightmare and Pierce). After bringing them home our oldest daughter couldn't help herself; she got some of them out and let them walk on her (two fell asleep on her). She now goes in to play with them. So much for not having anything to do with them. They have been fun to watch.
Yesterday we brought home an additional 9 (3 Golden Laced Wyandotte, 3 Speckled Sussex and 3 Black Australorp). At this point the Speckled Sussex are my favorite, besides my Golden Comets. The Speckled Sussex remind me of chipmunks. So they will be named Simone, Theodora and Alvena. My daughters named the other 6 chicks. This batch of chicks seem to be a little more calm than the first batch.
Currently, we have them in brooders in our laundry room. I think we may move the older ones into the garage next week, just not sure because of the outside temperature.
Older chicks on the right in the cardboard box and younger ones in the plastic container on the left.
About my family: My husband works in the IT field and is a closet Mad Scientist. My oldest daughter is a Sophomore in high school, is an artist and loves to write stories. My youngest daughter is in 6th grade, plays the French Horn and is looking forward to joining 4 H. We have a dog; Maggie. She is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and she is very interested in the chicks...
Other interests and hobbies: genealogy, crafting, scrapbooking, hauling kids to various events : ) and building a chicken coop (we're converting the old playground and fort swing set into the chicken coop and run).
I and my family are new to raising chickens. We are excited to be starting, what I call the Chicken Experience.
Currently we have 16 chicks: 4 Bantam Silkies, 3 Golden Comets, 3 Golden Laced Wyandotte, 3 Speckled Sussex and 3 Black Australorp. So, 12 laying hens and 4 "Pretty to look at" Silkies ; )
I found Backyard Chickens by a Google search. I have found this website VERY helpful. I love the examples of coops and the write ups on breeds.
My husband has wanted to get chickens for some time now to hold down the bug population on our property. I thought it would be nice to have hens because we do go through a lot of eggs. I just wasn't convinced we had the time to take care of them. This spring I caved in. We have two daughters 12 and 15. The youngest has been interested in getting chickens for some time as well, so we decided to do it. The youngest wants to join the local 4H poultry club to show one of the chickens and the oldest said she didn't want to have anything to do with chickens (they sort of scare her).
A week ago we went to our local farm supply store and picked up 3 Golden Comets (pullets) and 4 Bantam Silkies (not sure if they are pullets or cockerels). Our youngest wants to show a Silkie, I wanted the Comets. Of course we had to name all of them. The Comets are Halley, Bopp and Tuttle (you'll have to Google comets to find out why). My youngest named the Silkies after characters in a Manga book series she and her sister have read (Julius, Ace, Nightmare and Pierce). After bringing them home our oldest daughter couldn't help herself; she got some of them out and let them walk on her (two fell asleep on her). She now goes in to play with them. So much for not having anything to do with them. They have been fun to watch.
Yesterday we brought home an additional 9 (3 Golden Laced Wyandotte, 3 Speckled Sussex and 3 Black Australorp). At this point the Speckled Sussex are my favorite, besides my Golden Comets. The Speckled Sussex remind me of chipmunks. So they will be named Simone, Theodora and Alvena. My daughters named the other 6 chicks. This batch of chicks seem to be a little more calm than the first batch.
Currently, we have them in brooders in our laundry room. I think we may move the older ones into the garage next week, just not sure because of the outside temperature.
Older chicks on the right in the cardboard box and younger ones in the plastic container on the left.
About my family: My husband works in the IT field and is a closet Mad Scientist. My oldest daughter is a Sophomore in high school, is an artist and loves to write stories. My youngest daughter is in 6th grade, plays the French Horn and is looking forward to joining 4 H. We have a dog; Maggie. She is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and she is very interested in the chicks...
Other interests and hobbies: genealogy, crafting, scrapbooking, hauling kids to various events : ) and building a chicken coop (we're converting the old playground and fort swing set into the chicken coop and run).
and Welcome To BYC!
