We had a bunch of spare lumber laying around, so my husband decided to build a chicken coop. While he was planning and building, I was researching i.e. getting the Raising Chickens for Dummies book. We both read the book cover to cover and still decided to buy some birds. We decided on Silver Laced Wynedots based on the traits we read on the BYC website, we wanted both eggs and meat.
We ordered 25 chicks and I think they shipped 30. We lost 3 the first weekend, but none since, so we now have 27, 7 week old "chicks". We were joking about the names we were going to use, Fried, Broiled, BBQ, Dinner, etc., but it comes out as they are getting older and we can start to tell them apart they are getting different names. We have a cute blonde gal (we think it's a hen) now named La Gordita Blanca, and my husband has a rooster that he can pet he named Rooster Cogburn. We do have one rooster that likes to bite both us and the other chicks, he's named Fryer. We are calling the ones that are showing combs roosters and the ones not hens, we are probably in for a rude awakening in about 8-10 weeks when a rooster lays an egg and a hen crows!
We started letting them out into their run a week ago but are still having to round them up at night and put them in the coop. Fryer helps by biting me or the chick in my hands or both of us. I've got to line up some treats and start working with them some more, we did set up some lights in the coop on a timer. We figure it will just take some more time.
We ordered 25 chicks and I think they shipped 30. We lost 3 the first weekend, but none since, so we now have 27, 7 week old "chicks". We were joking about the names we were going to use, Fried, Broiled, BBQ, Dinner, etc., but it comes out as they are getting older and we can start to tell them apart they are getting different names. We have a cute blonde gal (we think it's a hen) now named La Gordita Blanca, and my husband has a rooster that he can pet he named Rooster Cogburn. We do have one rooster that likes to bite both us and the other chicks, he's named Fryer. We are calling the ones that are showing combs roosters and the ones not hens, we are probably in for a rude awakening in about 8-10 weeks when a rooster lays an egg and a hen crows!
We started letting them out into their run a week ago but are still having to round them up at night and put them in the coop. Fryer helps by biting me or the chick in my hands or both of us. I've got to line up some treats and start working with them some more, we did set up some lights in the coop on a timer. We figure it will just take some more time.