RhondaWW
Songster
Hello All,
I am writing from Ontario, Canada and have a new distraction with 6 Bantam Cochin chicks. They are about 3 weeks old and have already wriggled their way into our hearts with their sass and chatter. This is not our first attempt at keeping chickens primarily as pets, but we are much more prepared (I hope), than last time.
Our first chicken adventure was unplanned and happened when my husband, who was teaching a kindergarten class, brought home 2 freshly hatched chicks that had been gifted to his class for the weekend. One had a gibbled leg and my daughter immediately doctored it up with some homemade splints, and from that moment on there was no way we were letting them go. So, with no knowlegde, prep or fencing savvy, we clumsily soldiered on with Stewy and Stella for well over a year, until a racoon forced its way into our poorly constructed hen house, and left behind some very sad hen handlers.
Well, fast forward 3 years later, and I feel we are better prepared. The hen house is insulated, vented and locked up like Fort Knox (we hope), and we are now waiting for the hardware mesh to arrive so we can fence in their run. Hardware mesh has been next to impossible to locate throughout Central Ontario as apparently, the entire province is into backyard chickens, and every hardware/farming store is out of stock!!!! So, wait we will while chicks smell up our living room by night and play in their outdoor "tractor" by day.
I am hoping this time to connect with more experienced folk such as yourselves, who can steer us in the right direction and warn us when we misstep so that we can avoid the horror chick-flick of years gone by. So, I thank you all in advance for sharing your stories and insights so that I might learn from them.
I am writing from Ontario, Canada and have a new distraction with 6 Bantam Cochin chicks. They are about 3 weeks old and have already wriggled their way into our hearts with their sass and chatter. This is not our first attempt at keeping chickens primarily as pets, but we are much more prepared (I hope), than last time.
Our first chicken adventure was unplanned and happened when my husband, who was teaching a kindergarten class, brought home 2 freshly hatched chicks that had been gifted to his class for the weekend. One had a gibbled leg and my daughter immediately doctored it up with some homemade splints, and from that moment on there was no way we were letting them go. So, with no knowlegde, prep or fencing savvy, we clumsily soldiered on with Stewy and Stella for well over a year, until a racoon forced its way into our poorly constructed hen house, and left behind some very sad hen handlers.
Well, fast forward 3 years later, and I feel we are better prepared. The hen house is insulated, vented and locked up like Fort Knox (we hope), and we are now waiting for the hardware mesh to arrive so we can fence in their run. Hardware mesh has been next to impossible to locate throughout Central Ontario as apparently, the entire province is into backyard chickens, and every hardware/farming store is out of stock!!!! So, wait we will while chicks smell up our living room by night and play in their outdoor "tractor" by day.
I am hoping this time to connect with more experienced folk such as yourselves, who can steer us in the right direction and warn us when we misstep so that we can avoid the horror chick-flick of years gone by. So, I thank you all in advance for sharing your stories and insights so that I might learn from them.
Glad you joined.
