Breeding and Raising and Hatching of Barnyard Chickens!!!!!!!!!!

[AmyLynn2374]

I came into chickens by accident - my rooster just showed up on my grandparents' front porch about mid-October. We couldn't find his owner so I decided to take care of him. Before him, I had zero idea that chickens came in so many varieties! The colours, sizes, feather type, it all surprised me. In the rural area I grew up/live in, everyone just had the standard white chickens. The past couple of months have been a huge learning experience.

My sister and her man started raising chickens 6 years ago. They have on average 100 birds, both mix and pure. I used to get so sick of hearing her talk about chickens...lol I just didn't get it. i mean, they are chickens.... lol
I homeschool my son. He's in 1st grade this year and our first science unit we planned was on oviparous animals. My sister offered me the use of her incubator and a couple dozen eggs from her barnyard mix. She agreed any chicks that hatched they would take back. After all it was just for a learning experience. (Hahaha).
Our hatch went awful. Day 21 came and went and no chicks. I didn't understand since I was on top of everything and had 17 live chicks go to lockdown. Day 24 one finally hatched and one was pipping. The next day the second hatched, but was too weak and didn't make it. So here I was with one lone chick who wanted attention 24/7. First two nights I had to sleep on the floor by the brooder to keep him quiet. Needless to say, I fell in love...lol
I hadn't planned to do another hatch. I felt awful about the first one. Found out my brand new thermometer I had bought was between 6-7 degrees off, so the bator was cooler than the readings. Finally we talked about giving it a second try and keeping a few birds for the eggs. We have a couple sheds that the landlord is more than happy to let me do what I want with. One is 12x12 and real high, the other is 9x4 1/2 but only about 5 1/2 feet high. So we are going to start with the smaller one since it will be easier to convert and get them out of the house and then we will probley look at transforming the bigger shed if this is truely what I want to do.
My sister brought me more eggs and I bought three thermometers....lol We had 13 hatch but one little turken passed just over a week old. So we ended up with 12, but I think at least half are roos...lol. Plan is to keep two roos for the coop and the rest are going back to my sister...lol
I do understand my sister better now. All I want to talk about is my chickens....lol

 

[poult]

Lol that's funny (not the deaths)

 

[uzisuzuki]

My sister and her man started raising chickens 6 years ago. They have on average 100 birds, both mix and pure. I used to get so sick of hearing her talk about chickens...lol I just didn't get it. i mean, they are chickens.... lol
I homeschool my son. He's in 1st grade this year and our first science unit we planned was on oviparous animals. My sister offered me the use of her incubator and a couple dozen eggs from her barnyard mix. She agreed any chicks that hatched they would take back. After all it was just for a learning experience. (Hahaha).
Our hatch went awful. Day 21 came and went and no chicks. I didn't understand since I was on top of everything and had 17 live chicks go to lockdown. Day 24 one finally hatched and one was pipping. The next day the second hatched, but was too weak and didn't make it. So here I was with one lone chick who wanted attention 24/7. First two nights I had to sleep on the floor by the brooder to keep him quiet. Needless to say, I fell in love...lol
I hadn't planned to do another hatch. I felt awful about the first one. Found out my brand new thermometer I had bought was between 6-7 degrees off, so the bator was cooler than the readings. Finally we talked about giving it a second try and keeping a few birds for the eggs. We have a couple sheds that the landlord is more than happy to let me do what I want with. One is 12x12 and real high, the other is 9x4 1/2 but only about 5 1/2 feet high. So we are going to start with the smaller one since it will be easier to convert and get them out of the house and then we will probley look at transforming the bigger shed if this is truely what I want to do.
My sister brought me more eggs and I bought three thermometers....lol We had 13 hatch but one little turken passed just over a week old. So we ended up with 12, but I think at least half are roos...lol. Plan is to keep two roos for the coop and the rest are going back to my sister...lol
I do understand my sister better now. All I want to talk about is my chickens....lol

That's all I talk about too! LOL My poor dogs aren't very happy about the new additions, that's for sure. They're used to having all my attention and don't like sharing it very much with walking nuggets.

I'm hoping to make a 10x10 coop/storage in the spring and extend the run I already have them in since I'm getting an order of 8 chicks in May and now that I've decided to try hatching out. They are definitely a great project to have, and one that was well timed for me. I was in a pretty severe car accident at the end of July and had just started walking again the week before my roo showed up. They give me something to focus on as far as figuring out the whole coop/run thing (even though the brain trauma I got still gives me a hard time when it comes to numbers and dimensions), and give me a lot of walking to do on top of what my dogs have me doing. They definitely showed up in my life at just the right time. It's been nice to learn all this new stuff and talk to all the great people here!

 

[poult]

Lol I so understand my cats follow me to the coop and look at me like "seriously" when I'm petting all my biddies :lol

I'm so sorry that's terrible I'm glad to hear your able to walk again though but still I'm so sorry ;(

 

[uzisuzuki]

My bigger dog was still irritated that I brought home my smaller dog... 4 years ago. He has mastered that look of disgust.

Thanks! It was bad and kinda scary, but it could have been much worse. I have amnesia from the hit to the head, so I don't remember anything. I was told I should have died or ended up not walking and talking. I still have bad days where things are really frustrating (like not being physically able to build the coop now because I still can't walk very well or all the stuff that the brain trauma is causing), but in the end I really can't complain. I'm alive and the concussion seems to have reset my brain and gotten rid of a number of lifelong health issues. I'll take these bad days over the ones I used to have before the accident! Plus, who knows, if I hadn't gotten in the accident I might not have ended up with a tiny little spitfire of a rooster and four fabulous hens.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

That's all I talk about too! LOL My poor dogs aren't very happy about the new additions, that's for sure. They're used to having all my attention and don't like sharing it very much with walking nuggets.

I'm hoping to make a 10x10 coop/storage in the spring and extend the run I already have them in since I'm getting an order of 8 chicks in May and now that I've decided to try hatching out. They are definitely a great project to have, and one that was well timed for me. I was in a pretty severe car accident at the end of July and had just started walking again the week before my roo showed up. They give me something to focus on as far as figuring out the whole coop/run thing (even though the brain trauma I got still gives me a hard time when it comes to numbers and dimensions), and give me a lot of walking to do on top of what my dogs have me doing. They definitely showed up in my life at just the right time. It's been nice to learn all this new stuff and talk to all the great people here!

Animals can be so theraputic. Or they can stress you the heck out...lol Seriously though, I firmly believe mindset is a maker or breaker when it comes to health and survival and when you have animals that show you unbiased affection and depend on your nuturing it can improve your mindset therefore improving your overall wellness/survival. Glad that you are on the road to recovery.

 

[uzisuzuki]

Completely agree. I got my bigger dog to help with my bipolar disorder and he worked wonders. For about a month after I got out of hospital, both dogs would lay in bed with me and growl at anyone who tried coming into the room to visit me. Very protective. I had my mom helping me check the bandages on one of my ankles (both were broken in the accident), the big dog laid himself over my shins, growled at her, and when that didn't make her leave he kept putting his paw on her face and would push her away.

Animals are the best.

I am enjoying the heck out of watching the chickens grow into their personalities and I really don't mind that only one of them is laying eggs right now. They entertain me and are slowly, very slowly, being accepted by the dogs. I'm glad that this site is around and that everyone is so willing to offer help. I need it!

 

[poult]

My bigger dog was still irritated that I brought home my smaller dog... 4 years ago. He has mastered that look of disgust.

Thanks! It was bad and kinda scary, but it could have been much worse. I have amnesia from the hit to the head, so I don't remember anything. I was told I should have died or ended up not walking and talking. I still have bad days where things are really frustrating (like not being physically able to build the coop now because I still can't walk very well or all the stuff that the brain trauma is causing), but in the end I really can't complain. I'm alive and the concussion seems to have reset my brain and gotten rid of a number of lifelong health issues. I'll take these bad days over the ones I used to have before the accident! Plus, who knows, if I hadn't gotten in the accident I might not have ended up with a tiny little spitfire of a rooster and four fabulous hens.

Lol

You know it's truly amazing what a positive attitude you have people like you that have gone through serious problems and keep a positive attitude are truly amazing bravo!

 

[ChickenLady2014]

So a I am looking at images of the two to try to get an idea of what the combo together might look like, and found this and thought it was funny. (I am a big Labyrinth fan as well...lol)

Lol just too funny!

 

[poult]

Yeah lol welcome to the backyard chicken thread!!!!!