4 "Hopefully not" meat chickens in my apartment near Lancaster Pa. need loving homes asap any help w

I originally asked one of the admins her for help and he pointed me here. I do hope I've done this correctly .... An update is below the original post......

Good Morning..... Or at least it was morning when I started writing this as I'm confused on so many levels right now I don't even know where to begin.... Still I'll try to make this as short as possible. I'm very lost here and can't find where to post for help with this. I've read all the newbie stuff but I still feel very blind here.

Anyway, I came into possession of four little peeps { long story, if you'd like to hear it just let me know but for now I'll just get try to stay on track here...} I figured I could at least give them a good, loving life until I had to take them to a farm when they got older. I had no choice. But Spending time with them I see what wonderful animals they are and I want to find them a home to live out their lives... to not be eaten.. Is this possible or am I just thinking silly ? I know they're not fancy, or very pretty, { except to me } but they're very sweet and really smart. There's three hens, one rooster and they were three weeks old on May 19th. I'm still feeding them baby food and spring water and kinda rationing their food so it won't stress their legs too much as they grow. { Watching videos but just keeping up with the feeding watering exercise and chicken poo is exhausting. }

I'm a bit handicapped from two car accidents 52 years old and live in a one bedroom 2nd floor apartment and it's been a bit rough. My 10 year old chihuahua has been a big help but apparently these peeps are what they call "meat" chickens and grow incredibly fast. It seems they're bigger every morning. We go to the park and to the woods, but they're getting faster, even faster then my chihuahua and time may be running out...And I do hope this doesn't sound as absolutely crazy as I feel writing it... Any advice at all would be appreciated... Thank you sooo much, Gabi Mount Joy Pa .

Update... As of today they are 4 weeks old today. Am I aware I'm repeating myself ? Yes, I am. It's gotten that crazy. I've raised five children and yet I haven't seen this much poo in all my life.... I've put some oats in with the chicken baby feed. They also seem to like Cheerios w/ protein. They're almost all feathers now . I'm working on recent pics but lol....We'll see. They're so fast and definitely not peeps anymore so that's been a bit difficult. My chihuahua is no longer the helping mama but has been added to the "pecking order" as shes apparently developed a taste for the chicken feed which causing constant yet amusing squabbles between them as she tries to nose her way into their food dish. This must sound crazy to all the seasoned chicken owners out there and I can assure you, it has been... but there's also been a lot of love and I'm hoping to be able to find them a loving home before I have to take them to a place where they'll be killed. It may be a silly thought, but I had to try. Thank you all for reading my post and good luck n love to you and your chickens...

p.s. if I get pics ill post them to my profile

5/28/2015 mini update,,, My lil boy who still spends a great deal of time by my side as he refuses to stay put and comes looking for me. He loves being petted and having his belly rubbed, pecked me in my right eye when we were looking at each other today. I've been rinsing it and resting it but it hurts a lot. Calling the doctor tomorrow. Hoping it doesn't get infected. They like shiny things....Figured that one out...lol.

Welcome! Have you checked in at the Penn. thread? Find someone closer to where you live, and good luck! Mary

Still trying to figure out the difference between a thread and a post. I'm actually pretty computer literate . But I'm having much trouble navigating this site. Don't do much of this type of thing... Thanks for your reply though. It's nice to feel welcome during such a tiring situation.

Here is the Pennsylvania thread. Add your post here. Just click on the link.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/248345/pennsylvania-unite/52500

curious chickee said:

Here is the Pennsylvania thread. Add your post here. Just click on the link.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/248345/pennsylvania-unite/52500

Click to expand...

thank you so much....been on the computer all night in between feedings and finding out im not supposed to be giving them a bed time because theyre meat chickins. Im supposed to feed them round the clock and never turn the lights off because they grow so fast. I disagree. They need rest. And so do I . Thanks again ...

Hey GabiGirl

I do not know how much help I can be, if any … I know very little about meat birds except they eat heaps, grow fast and do not live very long.

As your research has probably shown you, they are bred for meat and normally ‘harvested’ before they are mature, anywhere from 8 to 14 weeks of age. Some may be lucky enough to be kept for breeding purposes and get to stay a bit longer but sadly even those that do find a loving home in a backyard flock will not live long. Their hearts and bones cannot handle the strain of all the weight they put on quickly.

Unfortunately, I have to be a realist here and mention that finding them a home where they will not be eaten might be a little difficult. Especially with the rooster; finding homes for roosters is hard enough, without adding the fact that he is not going to live long. I may have even read somewhere on BYC where someone was able to keep their weight down by not feeding them constantly but do not quote me on that.

Having said that, I totally understand and commend what you are doing and would probably do the same thing myself.

Living in Aus, I am not sure about Pennsylvania, but we do have places which will take in ‘rescue’ chickens; I am not sure about meat birds, but you might be able to find somewhere in your area that will give them a loving home until their demise.

As I said, probably not much I can offer in the way of assistance but I do work in IT Support so if I can do anything to help you with formatting, or advertising or anything that will help you find them a home, please do not hesitate to ask.

I can help with the difference between a thread and a post … what I have typed here is a Post and that Post is part of the Thread which is the conversation you started.

The link curious chickee gave you is to a Thread in which you will see lots of posts and where you can copy and paste your original comments [above].

To post a picture:
After you have selected reply and have your comment box open; select the ‘Insert Image’ option:



Then select ‘Upload Files’:



Browse to where your images are located on your computer, select the images you want to include and then select ‘Open’:




Next you will be prompted to pick a size. Select the size you want and then select Submit:




If the size you pick is too big or small you can delete them from the comments and try again.

You can also repost images using the ‘My Recent Photos’ option.

GabiGirl said:

thank you so much....been on the computer all night in between feedings and finding out im not supposed to be giving them a bed time because theyre meat chickins. Im supposed to feed them round the clock and never turn the lights off because they grow so fast. I disagree. They need rest. And so do I . Thanks again ...

Click to expand...

Many switch to a restricted feed schedule by now. 12 hours with food, 12 hours no food.

Do you know what type of chickens they are? I'm close to your area and might be interested!

Not sure where to put this so I'm just gonna put it here. Thanks everyone who gave advice...I finally found a home for my babies. A 50 acre farm. Really beautiful. So I put down some sheets on my patio and we had a little party with green beans and carrots and corn and I just kinda let um go nuts...We played for a while then as you can see in the last picture, everybody got a good bath and we took them to their new home where they can wander free in the sunshine and fresh air. It's about the best I could have hoped for.....

I'm glad you found I home for them. I'm in your town, but really didnt have the space to give that type of bird a home. I have more than my share of chickens and chicks at the moment.

I hope they will be happy.