Spring 2017 first timers post!

[LadyVictorian]

Almost 4 weeks old







I have about a million pictures of Sora, they love to show off for the camera xD

 

[lynly444]

Count me in this will be my first time raisings my own from start and I am so excited getting funds SO I can get start my coop already got brooder and water, feeder and misc items but my husband raise Free range Chickens now but they are not Pets they stay far away as possible from us they roost IN the Barn they keep their own schedule raise their own Young they have made it clear they only want scratch crumble treat from us they are closer to the cats then me anyway this is my project and they are mine so yes count me in

 

[Rwood5093]

My first batch of chicks arrived on Friday from Ideal Poultry. We ordered the Plymouth rock mix, and ended up with 12 barred rocks and 3 white rocks. One of the supposed white rocks has feathered legs, so I don't know if it's really a white rock with feathered legs, or if it's a surprise. It will be fun to watch. My guess is it's a Buff Brahma. I think I can safely guess two are roosters for sure.


My intent was to brood them outside. They're in a large dog kennel, with paper towels for the first 2 nights and pine shavings on day 3. we're using the heating pad and a towel covered cave instead of a heat lamp. we got quite a bit of thunder, rain and wind, so we brought them inside. they seem much happier! I want to get them back outside, but it's going to get cold this weekend, so we'll see how that goes. Once we get a roof on the coop, they can be moved out there, as we have an outlet nearby. Once they outgrow the dog crate, they'll be in the 54"x 52" urban coop run extension.


We have lost 2 - really no idea why. the first one died Saturday and my favorite (the only one I named) died the Sunday morning. One was found outside the cave, and the other was on the inside of the cave, at the back. No acting weird beforehand, no signs of injury, no pasty butt and they had been acting normal previous. I'm wondering if they could have gotten trampled? The heating pad keeps the cave around 90 on medium. on high, it's way too hot - like 104-108.

Their behavior is interesting/slightly shocking to me. I swear it's like they're in a wrestling match. one drinks from this waterer, then they all crowd around and want water. one eats, then they all run over there and eat. they jump all over each other - even from the little roost (like 1 inch high), like a WWE move. on a positive note, it's really nice how they put themselves to bed and they do great with the nipple waterer. They're really fun to watch and seem to be enjoying the perch, mirror and bowl of dirt I added last evening.

Speaking of pasty butt, is slightly crusty butt the same as pasty butt? Several of them here and there have had a little crust, but it's nothing really like the pasty butt pics. it doesn't seem to be affecting their ability to do poop, but I clean it anyways. Am I overdoing it?

Our dog is fascinated with them. she checks on them almost constantly, and loves to give them a sniff and a kiss (taste?) when I'm holding one. Hopefully her sisterly instincts will overtake her hunting instincts and she will not eat them.

 

[LadyVictorian]

Might want to consider making a lid for the brooder or putting them someplace your dog can't go. Unsupervised dogs are famous for killing chickens. Lost a total of 5 to our old dog.

 

[Rwood5093]

The cage is fully enclosed. This pic she was resting her head on the gazing at them thru the door of the brooder. We keep the box close by as a temporary holding area when the brooder is getting cleaned. We are trying to train her to leave them alone, but she will probably never even see them once they are grown. They're outside the fence in the backyard and the dog always stays in the fenced front yard.

 

[Kiki]

My first batch of chicks arrived on Friday from Ideal Poultry. We ordered the Plymouth rock mix, and ended up with 12 barred rocks and 3 white rocks. One of the supposed white rocks has feathered legs, so I don't know if it's really a white rock with feathered legs, or if it's a surprise. It will be fun to watch. My guess is it's a Buff Brahma. I think I can safely guess two are roosters for sure.


My intent was to brood them outside. They're in a large dog kennel, with paper towels for the first 2 nights and pine shavings on day 3. we're using the heating pad and a towel covered cave instead of a heat lamp. we got quite a bit of thunder, rain and wind, so we brought them inside. they seem much happier! I want to get them back outside, but it's going to get cold this weekend, so we'll see how that goes. Once we get a roof on the coop, they can be moved out there, as we have an outlet nearby. Once they outgrow the dog crate, they'll be in the 54"x 52" urban coop run extension.


We have lost 2 - really no idea why. the first one died Saturday and my favorite (the only one I named) died the Sunday morning. One was found outside the cave, and the other was on the inside of the cave, at the back. No acting weird beforehand, no signs of injury, no pasty butt and they had been acting normal previous. I'm wondering if they could have gotten trampled? The heating pad keeps the cave around 90 on medium. on high, it's way too hot - like 104-108.

Their behavior is interesting/slightly shocking to me. I swear it's like they're in a wrestling match. one drinks from this waterer, then they all crowd around and want water. one eats, then they all run over there and eat. they jump all over each other - even from the little roost (like 1 inch high), like a WWE move. on a positive note, it's really nice how they put themselves to bed and they do great with the nipple waterer. They're really fun to watch and seem to be enjoying the perch, mirror and bowl of dirt I added last evening.

Speaking of pasty butt, is slightly crusty butt the same as pasty butt? Several of them here and there have had a little crust, but it's nothing really like the pasty butt pics. it doesn't seem to be affecting their ability to do poop, but I clean it anyways. Am I overdoing it?

Our dog is fascinated with them. she checks on them almost constantly, and loves to give them a sniff and a kiss (taste?) when I'm holding one. Hopefully her sisterly instincts will overtake her hunting instincts and she will not eat them.

Have you tried putting some apple cider vinegar with the mother in their water?

 

[Nksg75]

Speaking of dogs, and killing chickens...
I have to brag just a bit.
I have 2 Aussies that are trained herding dogs.
I originally thought, that they need to watched very carefully around chickens, because of that instinct!!
That turned out to not be true at all, quite the opposite!!
Well funny story, our first chick that we ever hatched had no fear, and would run up to the dogs and peck them really hard on the nose.
If that wasn't enough for them to stay away from those vicious chicks, we had a silkie who had just hatched her first brood, and decided the (sleeping) dog must be a threat to her baby as they walked past.
I wish I would have had it on video!
That silkie kicked some butt!! I actually felt sorry for the dog!!
She was just laying in the sun slipping, when put of nowhere gets beaten up by a fuzzy little chicken!!

Anyway, just thought I would share that.

I have 1 more week to wait, till my chicks ship from MPC!!!!

 

[ApexChix]

Looking forward to being a part of the flock! Just joined! This is my first post!

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Looking forward to being a part of the flock! Just joined! This is my first post!

Welcome to our thread and welcome to BYC!

Gary from Idyllwild Ca here

 

[Lamaremybabies]

Looking forward to being a part of the flock! Just joined! This is my first post!

WELCOME TO BYC!!!!!!