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I have 6 chicks, 4 are a little over 2 weeks old and 2 and just over 1 week old. The 1 week olds are significantly smaller than the big girls, but they do seem to be eating and drinking enough. They all seem to get severely stressed when I change their bedding or try to hold them. It makes me...

My brooder is in our garage and I have a 250 watt heatlamp. The bulb in the heatlamp is sort of clear in the middle and red around the edges. Should I be turning off the light for a time each day, so that they have some darkness? As far as heat goes we have been in the 50's during the day and...

I picked up 2 Black Australorp chicks last Friday, so they are about 8 to 11 days old. Speedy and Rocket, my son named them. Speedy has impressive wing and tail feathers already, and her comb is dark colored. Rocket has wing feathers but not as many as Speedy, and Rocket's tail feathers are...

I have 4 chicks that are somewhere between 7 and 10 days old. They have been in a brooder with pine shavings and I have fed medicated starter. 2 days ago I gave them a clump of grass and dirt/rocks/sand from the yard which they pulled several worms out of. Only just today was I able to get...

I have 4 chicks a few days old now, 2 Australorps and 2 EE's. We are trying to do this on the lowest budget possible. We will build a run if truly needed but what we would like to do is give the hens free range of our yard. We have slightly under 1/4 acre lot that is fully fenced with 4ft...

I am getting a coop delivered tomorrow second hand from a friend. Her chickens were healthy, but Im sure I should still clean/sanitize before I put my birds in there. How should I do this? I have several weeks as my birds are only 2 and 3 days old at the moment. Thanks! Here's my girls! 2...

I am getting my chicks tomorrow, 2 Australorps and 2 Buckeyes. We have decided to use our sons Pack n Play as a brooder since its old and he climbs out of it anyway. Any advice for what to line the bottom with? We have the piece that it comes with to place in the bottom, should I just use...

My husband and I will be building our coop in the next couple weeks, we get our chicks march 11. My husband and my father both think that for our coop (which will be a 4x4 cube style with a slanted, corrugated roof) we should use tar paper or felt roofing type material on the inside walls. We...

I have been researching, deliberating, and changing my mind a few hundred times since October. This is my first time as an adult having my own chickens. Had em growing up. Anyway, our house is on 1/4 acre just outside of city limits. We will be getting 4 hens in February. Initially I wanted...

I'm wondering if you experienced peeps can help with this... If I am planning to get 4 or 5 chicks (1 day old, standard sized like Plymouth rocks or buckeyes) and I plan to buy a 20lb bag of medicated chick feed, how long do you suppose this bag would last before I need to buy more, or would it...

I think I am having too much fun in the planning process here. I keep changing my mind about which coop to build which leads to changes about which birds to get. Last week DH and I thought we had decided on The Garden Coop and getting about 4 or 5 standard sized chicks. Now after more careful...

I'm wondering how common the buff color is amongst breeds other than the Orpingtons? I LOVE the color but I don't think I want an Orpington in my flock. Which other breeds commonly have buff colored birds available?

I will be getting my first flock started in February. I plan to get 5 chicks, probably a mix of breeds. How do you know which chicken laid which egg? I see people all the time saying "oh my Buff Orpington is such a good layer" etc... Well short of going out and looking in the nesting box...

Alrighty. After receiving some reclaimed building supplies for free from my father, my husband and I have decided we will build The Garden Coop. http://www.thegardencoop.com/chicken-coop-plans.html We plan to get 5 chicks in the spring. I would like heritage, dual purpose breeds. I'm wanting...

I am looking at some coops that are I guess you could say prefab... Its a kit actually, they're made locally and seem to be pretty good quality. My question though is about square foot per bird. I have read that you will want 2 sq ft per bird. Is that inside the hen house only or also...

I only plan on getting 3 or 4 chicks my first go round. will a 22 gallon Rubbermaid be sufficient for the entire brooding process or will I need to upgrade to a larger container before transitioning to the coop?

I'm coming from a 4H background (although I showed horses not chickens). Record keeping was always a big part of it. I would like to keep records of my flock once I get started this spring. I want to track feed expenses and shelter expenses, egg laying for each bird, any notes on behavior and...

I have convinced my husband to let me get a very small flock of backyard chickens this coming spring. We have 1/4 acre lot, im only wanting to get maximum of 4 chickens and only hens. What I need in our flock: good to excellent egg producers(my husband only agreed to them because they "serve a...

I have been reading through the forums for a week or so. Always had chickens growing up, and my cousin runs a small poultry farm. I live pretty close to town but have 1/4 acre and we plan to get 3-4 hens this spring. I can't wait to teach our boys (5 and 2) about caring for animals and about...