2018 Newbie Chat!

[Cbarr00]

Momma and her chicks minus one black sex link hiding behind Cricket.

This black sex link has a lot RIR showing through. I wonder if she will have red adult feathers after this molt.

 

[Geranium]

@Cbarr00 they're darling!!

 

[llombardo]

Proud moment for me. I went home and found all of them pretty close together--peacefully. Prince right in the middle of all his girls

I also found that they actually do stand under the umbrella when it's raining.

 

[llombardo]

Oh and I got a third egg yesterday. No clue who. All three are pretty close in color.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Momma and her chicks minus one black sex link hiding behind Cricket.
View attachment 1552333
This black sex link has a lot RIR showing through. I wonder if she will have red adult feathers after this molt.
View attachment 1552340
View attachment 1552341

Awwww they are beautiful

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Proud moment for me. I went home and found all of them pretty close together--peacefully. Prince right in the middle of all his girls

I also found that they actually do stand under the umbrella when it's raining.

View attachment 1552447

brilliant news!

 

[No More Empty Nest]

I’m a newbie as well ahaha.. I hatched Trader Joe’s eggs this year for science fair and ended up with a beautiful little white leghorn who I adore VERY much. I have been dealing with some problems though... She has curled toes and sprawled legs. She doesn’t really eat and she can only drink th through a syringe. *sigh* It’s still worth it .

They don't need to eat very much the first couple days but she should start eating soon. Be careful with a syringe, don't squirt the water in her mouth, she could get it in her lungs easily. Let a drop hang from the syringe and let her take it off to drink.
I'm not sure about splayed legs and curled toes, maybe ask in the Emergencies and illness forum. They can help you there. I do know you have to tape them somehow.
Is she the only chick you have?

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Oh that’s too bad!
I hope you didn’t spend too much money on it.
There’s a lot of unscrupulous people out there trying to take advantage of the explosion of backyard chicken keepers.
Aren’t there any people out your way that are handy with tools and know how to build things?
What do the people who raise livestock use?
Do they have sheds in the UK?
Sheds can be expensive here in the US but they’re a good option because they offer predator protection and lots of space.
You may have to think outside the box on this one.
What types of building materials are readily available over there?

There are very few coop sellers around here at all and the ones that do sell coops, sell rubbish like that which I got online.
A lot of breeders use arks, barns, sheds or adapted dog kennels, some use pallets put together and cover them in tarpaulin and I've seen a few who have their chickens in runs covered in tarpaulin and no coop or house at all! There are many breeders who give their flocks very little space, especially the ones who use the arks but I don't want to use an ark as they are so small.
A lot of backyard chicken owners use rabbit hutches or make their own.
There are many many which are sold as being suitable for chickens, ducks or rabbits, they just say to "leave out the roosts is wanted for rabbits or ducks". - The majority around here are mass produced flat packs, and most sell online.
Decent sheds are quite expensive here, its a case of you get what you pay for and our price range wouldn't buy us much. I have a garden shed but it is very old and run down, its fine for keeping our bikes and my grandsons garden toys in but that's about it (and there's always mice getting in there).
However, we had a massive blessing today, I found the address of a farm about 40 minutes drive from us who have kept chickens for over 30 years and they hand make and sell their own coops, they are massively expensive, about four or five times what we'd pay online but I decided to give them a call, thinking there's no harm in asking. I spoke to a lovely woman, told her about my circumstances and asked if she could give me a quote so we could save for one of their hand built coops, would take us about 6 to 7 months to save enough for their prices - but to my surprise she said we can pay monthly installments interest free and with no extra cost! She said they can adapt their designs to suit us, if there's anything we want changed of the design they'll happily change it at no extra cost, or we can tell them what we want and they will design and build a coop to suit or requirements and needs, so I told her I want it to fit in my run and that I'd really like one which has its own run under it, so I can separate the chickens and ducks, despite them being in the same run. I told her the size of our run and that we cannot extend because of the covenant, and that we shouldn't even have a run at all as they are not permitted, she said they will design it so it will fit in our run, will have plenty enough space to meet the hens needs but still leave adequate space for the ducks. I couldn't believe my ears, I am so excited about this - now we are just have to find someone to drive us out there as neither I or my daughter drive but we know a few people we can ask so I'm sure we get to go there soon.

 

[Chickenupho]

They don't need to eat very much the first couple days but she should start eating soon. Be careful with a syringe, don't squirt the water in her mouth, she could get it in her lungs easily. Let a drop hang from the syringe and let her take it off to drink.
I'm not sure about splayed legs and curled toes, maybe ask in the Emergencies and illness forum. They can help you there. I do know you have to tape them somehow.
Is she the only chick you have?

Yep the only one. About the syringe- don’t worry I squeeze have a drop and let her take it.

 

[llombardo]

They are really sticking together. This is after work. Something spooked them. They all ran to Prince as he almost herded them to one spot.. They were making noises and in a frenzy. Never saw it to this degree. Have no clue what set it off.