Karalianne
In the Brooder
- Aug 5, 2020
- 2
- 20
- 31
Hi everyone!
I’m new here and joined so I have more people to talk chickens with. My husband decided we should get chickens and has cared for them before. I’ve never had chickens before but I was willing to give it a go, and here we are!
We got 20 day-old chicks back in April (hatched April 22). Had a bit of a rocky start, losing one to sickness right away and two to pasty butt, and then three more when they ran out of water overnight. Two others were pecked a lot in that last incident, but we were able to quarantine them and get them strong enough to return to the flock. So we currently have 14 chickens.
They’re a mix, and I’m not sure what all of them are, but buff Orpington is in there. They’re cross breeds, though.
I really enjoy their temperaments and getting to know them. Watching them when they’re outside is great fun! My husband hasn’t finished building their coop yet, so they still get carried from the brooder (in the garage, which doesn’t have vehicles in it) out to their pen (fashioned from old guinea pig cage parts). This week I found the sound to make that calms them when I’m carrying them somewhere. I tuck the chicken under my right arm and talk quietly to it, then murmur that “buh buh buh” that’s similar to what mama chickens say to their chicks all the time. Today I noted that one of the brown cockerels actually leaned his head towards me when I did it, and yesterday was the first time I saw it work to calm the brown pullet who usually freaks out when you catch her. She still looks scared, but she isn’t as wild as she was. (I named a bunch of them, but not all. I’m happy to introduce them!)
I also enjoy creating art, crocheting and knitting, and writing. I also play clarinet.
I also have 4 guinea pigs and we have a 29-gallon aquarium and a cat, plus a huge garden and a 5-year old child. We live on 40 acres about half an hour away from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. My husband is a Controller at the synchrotron in Saskatoon, and I am a freelance copy editor and fiction writer.
I found you via the app, which I located during a search for pet care-related apps. It sounded like a great place to learn more about chickens, so here I am!
I’m new here and joined so I have more people to talk chickens with. My husband decided we should get chickens and has cared for them before. I’ve never had chickens before but I was willing to give it a go, and here we are!
We got 20 day-old chicks back in April (hatched April 22). Had a bit of a rocky start, losing one to sickness right away and two to pasty butt, and then three more when they ran out of water overnight. Two others were pecked a lot in that last incident, but we were able to quarantine them and get them strong enough to return to the flock. So we currently have 14 chickens.
They’re a mix, and I’m not sure what all of them are, but buff Orpington is in there. They’re cross breeds, though.
I really enjoy their temperaments and getting to know them. Watching them when they’re outside is great fun! My husband hasn’t finished building their coop yet, so they still get carried from the brooder (in the garage, which doesn’t have vehicles in it) out to their pen (fashioned from old guinea pig cage parts). This week I found the sound to make that calms them when I’m carrying them somewhere. I tuck the chicken under my right arm and talk quietly to it, then murmur that “buh buh buh” that’s similar to what mama chickens say to their chicks all the time. Today I noted that one of the brown cockerels actually leaned his head towards me when I did it, and yesterday was the first time I saw it work to calm the brown pullet who usually freaks out when you catch her. She still looks scared, but she isn’t as wild as she was. (I named a bunch of them, but not all. I’m happy to introduce them!)
I also enjoy creating art, crocheting and knitting, and writing. I also play clarinet.
I also have 4 guinea pigs and we have a 29-gallon aquarium and a cat, plus a huge garden and a 5-year old child. We live on 40 acres about half an hour away from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. My husband is a Controller at the synchrotron in Saskatoon, and I am a freelance copy editor and fiction writer.
I found you via the app, which I located during a search for pet care-related apps. It sounded like a great place to learn more about chickens, so here I am!
