I thought you weren't ready for quail? Or are you talking about chicken eggs?Awesome!!!
Mine should hopefully be here today or tomorrow.
I haven’t hatched any yet or own any but I do want them eventually.
These aren’t quail though.
I’m not yet. These are chicken eggs. Sorry for the confusion. I should have said that to begin with.
I ordered 12 assorted hatching eggs from Meyer Hatchery. They shipped yesterday so they should be here tomorrow I think. I thought they’d be here today since both chick orders I’ve gotten from them have been next day but maybe they do faster shipping for chicks or something. The tracking info says tomorrow. I just checked it.
But yeah. I’ve never hatched anything before so this will be my first hatch. And they apparently included an extra egg according to the shipping confirmation they sent. I’m pretty excited.
Although tbh it was kind of a bit of a spontaneous thing.
Not really ready for more chickens either but I’m going to be building a separate coop. Already have a plan for it, just need to buy the materials.
Thanks for posting the link!
Yeah, these are chickens. I made a thread for the hatch which is what Elk just linked too.
I can’t wait to see what breeds I might get. Although I’ve heard the assortment is less in the winter but I don’t mind.
Quail are next though but probably not until after the New Year.
Have to figure out something for my fish now too.
@KDOGG331 where will you keep baby chicken throughout the winter?
Probably either in our garage or in the coop with a heat source. I might just keep them in the garage until they are off heat just because the area I’m planning on putting the new coop is pretty far from the house so we’d have to run a lot of extension cords up there which I don’t really want to do. There is enough room in the garage for them to stay for a while. Hopefully by that point I might be able to sex them too and get rid of the roosters.
That said though, the past few years our winters have been relatively mild for our area for some reason but this winter I believe will be a real winter again. We are due for one and it is already very cold.
But even so, I’m prepared and the chicks will be warm.
I am asking as I have chicken that just hatched 2 days ago and I am still thinking where to keep them. Here people keep them at warm until the are 5-6 weeks old and them put outside, but if it is the winter need to wait until they are 2-3 months old, especially if it is cold. I am able to recognize males from females now, my other batch of chicks are 2 weeks today but the cockerels need to be at least 4 months before they are good to cull and eat. Too small before that..
Ah okay. Sorry if my reply seemed at all rude or aggressive or anything, didn’t mean for it to be at all but probably came across that way. I figured you were just wondering but just wanted to clarify anyway haha sorry
Anyway, my first chicks were hatched the end of October and I kept them in the house for 3 weeks and then in the garage for another 4 but brought them outside to a run during the day and back in at night during that time. I didn’t feel the pen was secure enough for nighttime so waited till we had a more secure one. The last batch hatched in April and were inside for a week then brooded outside and integrated earlier.
I like that much better so trying to figure out how to raise them in the garage or outside full time without keeping them inside. But may end up keeping them inside the first night or two at least until everyone finishes hatching. I’ve never hatched anything before (the others I ordered from a hatchery) so I’ll probably want to watch them haha
I think most people here say it takes 8 weeks for them to be fully feathered but if you brood them outside or garage and/or use a method other than a heat lamp (I use the Mama Heating Pad method) then they feather out much faster and can be outside sooner. I’m planning on doing that again with this batch so they can start getting used to the cold earlier and not be shocked or die.
And thanks! That makes sense! Not sure if I’m going to eat them yet or what. Depends what breeds I get I guess. If I get some cool and/or rare breeds or something I may try to sell or at least giveaway the roosters to maybe someone that wants a flock rooster or something. Or if they want to eat them that’s fine too. But there’s always tons of roosters available around here so might be hard to get rid of them. In which case I’ll consider eating them so we don’t bother the neighbors (or ourselves) with a million roosters crowing ha
But it also depends because I think my mother may be adamantly against eating them so hopefully I can find them homes.
You didn't sound rude, I didn't even think about that. So in Bulgaria it is a common knowledge (which I just found out a month agoAh okay. Sorry if my reply seemed at all rude or aggressive or anything, didn’t mean for it to be at all but probably came across that way. I figured you were just wondering but just wanted to clarify anyway haha sorry
Anyway, my first chicks were hatched the end of October and I kept them in the house for 3 weeks and then in the garage for another 4 but brought them outside to a run during the day and back in at night during that time. I didn’t feel the pen was secure enough for nighttime so waited till we had a more secure one. The last batch hatched in April and were inside for a week then brooded outside and integrated earlier.
I like that much better so trying to figure out how to raise them in the garage or outside full time without keeping them inside. But may end up keeping them inside the first night or two at least until everyone finishes hatching. I’ve never hatched anything before (the others I ordered from a hatchery) so I’ll probably want to watch them haha
I think most people here say it takes 8 weeks for them to be fully feathered but if you brood them outside or garage and/or use a method other than a heat lamp (I use the Mama Heating Pad method) then they feather out much faster and can be outside sooner. I’m planning on doing that again with this batch so they can start getting used to the cold earlier and not be shocked or die.
And thanks! That makes sense! Not sure if I’m going to eat them yet or what. Depends what breeds I get I guess. If I get some cool and/or rare breeds or something I may try to sell or at least giveaway the roosters to maybe someone that wants a flock rooster or something. Or if they want to eat them that’s fine too. But there’s always tons of roosters available around here so might be hard to get rid of them. In which case I’ll consider eating them so we don’t bother the neighbors (or ourselves) with a million roosters crowing ha.
) that the BEST chicken soup is from a cockerel who's about to start (but not yet) crowing. It is very interesting, if you want to buy a cockerel, the price almost triples when they are 4-5 months old and as soon as they start crowing the price drops down. So people here make some good money from selling these 4-5 months old cockerels. Now, are you sure that they feather out faster if they are not on a light bulb? What's the logic? I just made my first heating pad today and the chicks love it, but I've been using light bulbs. I've ordered ceramic heating bulbs, they are real cheap, but haven't arrived yet.
You didn't sound rude, I didn't even think about that. So in Bulgaria it is a common knowledge (which I just found out a month ago
Now, are you sure that they feather out faster if they are not on a light bulb? What's the logic? I just made my first heating pad today and the chicks love it, but I've been using light bulbs. I've ordered ceramic heating bulbs, they are real cheap, but haven't arrived yet.
Oh okay good! Glad I didn’t.
And wow that is very interesting!! I’ve never heard of that but it makes sense. They probably get tougher as they get older and maybe a more gamey or stronger taste from the testosterone once they mature??
I wonder if I could sell the young cockerels easier than I could older ones.
And I’m not 100% sure but I know my first chicks that were kept inside longer took forever to feather out whereas the ones outside feathered out far faster. I was using the heating pad for both of them but the house is very warm.
I think the logic is that it’s more natural/like a mother hen where they run under her to get warm but otherwise explore the cooler brooder and therefore feather faster to stay warm. Whereas with the heat lamp it heats the entire brooder or at least a large portion of it so they stay more consistently warm and take longer to feather out.
Or at least that’s the theory and seems to be true for the people that have tried both.
There is a thread on here somewhere about it. I think it’s called Mama Heating Pad or MHP or something like that. I’m sure they could probably explain the logic better than I can but it seems to be true.
I think when the brooder is kept colder they are forced to acclimate to the cooler temps faster - therefore growing feathers faster cause it’s colder and they need them I guess.
Similar threads
New posts New threads Active threads
-
Threads with more replies in the last 15 days
-
-
-
New to backyard chickens! I need help!
- Started by Rharrison7
- Replies: 72
-
-
Ended Official BYC Poultry Caption Contest 05-30-25 Pic by I Miss u Loaf- Started by TwoCrows
- Replies: 55
-
