Best advice for a newbie

[pfenning_pfarm]

Hello all!
I am about to embark on my very first chicken adventure! I am very excited, I have done tons of research, but I was wondering what is the best advice you would give to a first timer. We will be getting new chicks on the 26th. 6 of them to be exact. I was just hoping for some input from some seasoned folk.

 

[Morgan7782]

what breeds are you getting? Congrats on the new babies on their way!

 

[newchicksnducks]

Follow some simple directions for young chicks,(look in the sticky section) and you should be fine! Relax, and enjoy!!

 

[pfenning_pfarm]

We are getting 2 Silver laced wyandottes, 2 gold laced wyandottes and 2 delawares. We are super excited!

 

[LarryPQ]

My advice: make sure you have room for more. Better to be prepared than not when the chicken-fever hits you.

 

[CaliBlueChicken]

Yay! Enjoy your chicken adventure. We had chickens when I was little, but I just fed them my parents did the rest. My husband and I decided to get our own chickens last year, we raised them from chicks. My best advice, have fun with it... read posts on BYC. There are many good links, pages and seasoned chicken folk on here. When my roo got attacked by a opossum (he was about 2 1/2 months) I posted for help on here and the responses were fast from the other members and I saved my chicken

Have a good day!

 

[gryeyes]

Get/make yourself a nipple waterer for the chicks, and to use when the chickens are older. NO poop in their water, no bedding in the water, and no spills!

Make your run plenty large, and put a plastic chair in it for you to sit and watch the chickens. It's better than TV. And so calming, relaxing, and just fun. My chickens crack me up all the time.

Do not use a self-latching, -locking people door to your coop. Unless you have a wire or cord on the inside to release it if you find yourself locked inside your coop. DO lock the door, however, when you are not in the coop, or at least at night-time.

Put pavers down if the ground in your run is slippery when wet. I finally did that when I fell backwards and landed on my rear and back, and the chickens came running to see what was going on. One walked right up onto my chest and peered into my face, curious about the glasses sitting diagonally across my face. If I hadn't hurt so much, I'd have laughed. Good thing I feed 'em well, or I'd have been their lunch. (Chickens are obviously descended from velociraptors.)

Develop some sort of (reasonable) "call" for your chickens. Many folks use "Chick, chick, chick!" I, however, was so thrilled I had chickens, that's what I said every time I went out the back door and walked to the run gate. "Chickens! I have CHICKENS!" They got used to that call, and I still use it; they will come running from wherever they are in the run, or from anyplace in the back yard when they're free ranging. However, I bet my neighbors are darned tired of hearing every day that I have chickens, fergawdsake.

Some folks use a can in which they put treats (like sunflower seed, or scratch), and shake it when using the chicken call. They'll know what that means pretty fast.

Fence your garden. Sure, let them till the soil and go for bugs and grubs and stuff BEFORE you plant anything, and after everything you wish to harvest has been harvested, but fence your garden. Yes, it's adorable to watch chickens dust bathe, but they can sure destroy planting beds, planters, and potted plants!

Get a nice camera with a fast lens, so you can take LOTS of shots of moving chicks/chickens. Or those that stay still long enough.

Buy the "Dummies" book here on BYC; it's invaluable. Plus it's a fun read.

Other folks can give you more advice on other important things. I just thought I'd throw out MY suggestions.

 

[Morgan7782]

Best advice = make room and prepare for MORE! I have two pullets now, and assumed I would be happy at that. Nope! We are talking about getting a bigger coop and expanding the run to fir 2-3 MORE lol!

 

[mdulik]

Quote:

 

[MotherJean]

I think the best advice is to remember that chicks are babies and we shouldn't be in a big hurry for them to grow up. I've seen way too many posts here about chicks sick, dying, or dead where (I believe) the cause can be traced right back to very young chicks being given treats and/or grit way too soon. Medicated chick starter (crumbles) and clean tepid water is all any chick really needs until they are feathered out and ready to go outside to forage. If a person feels compelled to give these babies treats, yogurt and scrambled eggs seem to be about the only safe bets (because they don't require grit to digest).