I have a 130lb mastiff that I feed a natural raw diet to. He eats eight eggs a day. Add that with the 2-6 my husband I eat daily and we still need more chickens so we can have more eggs. We were hoping to sell any extras with a roadside stand actually.
The girls are about 5 weeks old now and they outgrew the first brooder.. (I think that’s what it’s called) the big metal water trough(top pic). They are now in a makeshift “dog yard” and have more room. Still in the garage. So much for the chicken lady at Wilco who said that trough would be big enough to last them a few months! CLUELESS!
They are happy (for now)
I'm a newbie too. We had chickens when I was a kid (I'm soon going to be 69) so it has been a while! We bought 6 a week ago today and six more on Saturday. I was surprised the difference a few days make! They are all for eggs, we didn't get any meat birds.View attachment 1312527
I honestly can’t tell you how many brooder upgrades I’ve made along the way. Started originally with an xl dog crate in my dining room. It wasn’t long before the whole dining room was their brooder. Saying they grow fast is a huge understatement. I’m sure your little ones are loving the extra room they’re now getting!
Hence the reason I skip all that stuff and put them in one large wire pen outside in the run from day one. They start in the same enclosure they’ll be in until they don’t need it anymore. I’m not scrambling to find one bigger brooder after another, not setting up and tearing down just to set up and tear down again. Don’t have to find a bigger space to put up a bigger brooder. They aren’t disrupted, either. Ah, relaxed chick raising...I love it!
Newbie here! I decided that I wanted 4 Speckled Sussex. I ordered from Cackle and didn't really expect a call for a couple weeks, but I went out and bought what I needed to make a brooder and ordered a heat plate. I also decided that 6 would be better than 4 right? I mean... what if one ends up being a Roo? and what if one died in shipping... So I emailed them asking to add on a couple Easter Eggers. That was on a Sunday. 2/25. My phone rang the next day... They had an over hatch and were ready to send out my Sussex chicks! Ack! Sure I'm ready!! And they will only send a min of 3 per breed so now I was expecting 7 chickens, and they threw in two extra Easter Eggers... So yeah... Orginally I wanted 4 and I ended up with 9. I see how that works. One Sussex did die on it's thrid day though, so we have 8. They just turned 4 weeks old on Monday, and thanks to using the heat plate and living in Western PA in a super cold drafty house they are almost fully feathered already, huge and super cold hardy.
The Easter Eggers have so much personality. They are a trip. My 13 year old had the idea to name them after Raptors and Rappers So we have Blue, Charlie, Delta and Echo, and then Marshall, Tupac, Biggie, Dre and Hen Dogg. Well... Biggie died. RIP. Marshall is the only Rapper Easter Egger...the rest are the Sussex and of course they all look alike so I just call them "The Rappers" --We're nuts... I know this. Anyway... So much fun.
I had a glitch with the coop I ordered so another one is coming. We can't move them out yet anyway... I mean... they'd probably be OK but we still have some low 20-evenings in the forecast. I'll probably move them outside when they are 6 weeks old.
Here is a photo of one of the Rappers and Marshall. And one of Echo. The photos are 12 days old so I need to take some new ones because they are double this size now and into a bigger brooder box already. I was in this for the eggs but I had no idea I'd love them so much!
I have a 130lb mastiff that I feed a natural raw diet to. He eats eight eggs a day. Add that with the 2-6 my husband I eat daily and we still need more chickens so we can have more eggs. We were hoping to sell any extras with a roadside stand actually.
With two German Shepherd’s and two of us in the house. We still have six dozen at any given time! I’ve been giving them away, but I’m thinking word of mouth and selling them. We should be able to get $4 a dozen here. Non-gmo feed only and I see everyone with signs for $4 a doz!
Hence the reason I skip all that stuff and put them in one large wire pen outside in the run from day one. They start in the same enclosure they’ll be in until they don’t need it anymore. I’m not scrambling to find one bigger brooder after another, not setting up and tearing down just to set up and tear down again. Don’t have to find a bigger space to put up a bigger brooder. They aren’t disrupted, either. Ah, relaxed chick raising...I love it!
I was glad to see this! We've had ours outside in a Brooder in our make do run since we brought them home. Then I read how everyone has them inside and thought maybe we were doing it wrong! Lol. Now they're in their coop and doing great. Everyone is growing and feathering nicely.
And they will only send a min of 3 per breed so now I was expecting 7 chickens, and they threw in two extra Easter Eggers... So yeah... Orginally I wanted 4 and I ended up with 9. I see how that works. 
So we have Blue, Charlie, Delta and Echo, and then Marshall, Tupac, Biggie, Dre and Hen Dogg. Well... Biggie died. RIP. Marshall is the only Rapper Easter Egger...the rest are the Sussex and of course they all look alike so I just call them "The Rappers" --We're nuts... I know this. Anyway... So much fun.
