2018 Newbie Chat!

[CannedMonster]

New chick farmer
Got my coop for Christmas, which was finally built this weekend ...woohooo
We have 7 freedom mix from royal king .. sadly one didnt make it
Four cinnamon queens, which seem to have there own way in the flock
Four California white .. one is a total queen, must say she living up to the name the other seem to be doing just fine them self .
This seems to be a learning curve with raising such difference between birds types .... what are some tips , ideals or ways that others seem to use in raising them ?

Hello and welcome!

With chickens it helps to have adequate space for them.
The general consensus is 4 square feet per bird in the coop with 10-12” of roost space per bird.
10 square feet per bird of run space.
They seem to be happier to me if you can free range them at least for a while each day.

Predator protection is extremely important since just about everything will eat chickens.
Hardware cloth is way better than chicken wire.

Chickens can be challenging and frustrating at times but they’re also extremely fun and rewarding to raise.
I find it very relaxing to sit and watch them.
The BYC site is a tremendous resource and there’s lots of information and help on here.
Good luck and enjoy your birds!

 

[PNW_Peepers]

Been struggling with my Barred Plymouth Rocks still, DH loves them all like pets but I’m beyond fed up with them. My one injured BPR is back in with the flock, I think she will always have a hobble. Luckily integration went without a hitch. With four of them in total I’m only getting a single BPR egg a day (most days it’s the injured bird). While my Ameraucana, Australorp, & Welsummer have been laying every day. I never thought I’d dislike a breed so much.

 

[Chickassan]

Oh lol! The breed is very dramatic and non violent, you will be seeing and hearing those premptive squeals until she is a year old easy. Don't be too upset that is just how they are. She also isn't too smart, none of them are or graceful so if she needs places to get away they can't be too high and they need to be wide their toes don't grip skinny or round stuff good at all.

So integration here is still not great, in fact I don't think it will ever happen. These smaller ones probably cause more issues because they start squealing before they are even touched. The faverolle has not figured out how to go high and she is getting picked on terribly. I feel so bad because she is a very sweet girl. The thing is there has been no feather loss or blood, but alt if running into things. I do not know how to help her.

 

[CannedMonster]

Been struggling with my Barred Plymouth Rocks still, DH loves them all like pets but I’m beyond fed up with them. My one injured BPR is back in with the flock, I think she will always have a hobble. Luckily integration went without a hitch. With four of them in total I’m only getting a single BPR egg a day (most days it’s the injured bird). While my Ameraucana, Australorp, & Welsummer have been laying every day. I never thought I’d dislike a breed so much.

I don’t have BR but I do have PR and SPR chicks.
Where did you get yours?
Maybe a different breeding source would be better?
I feel that way about Wyandottes.

 

[BBZZZZTT]

I don’t have BR but I do have PR and SPR chicks.
Where did you get yours?
Maybe a different breeding source would be better?
I feel that way about Wyandottes.

Where as my SLW is the lowest on the pecking order and sits quietly on my lap.

 

[CannedMonster]

Where as my SLW is the lowest on the pecking order and sits quietly on my lap.

Mine are bullies!
They peck the bantams in the walk-in coop if they don’t go up high out of reach.

 

[llombardo]

Oh lol! The breed is very dramatic and non violent, you will be seeing and hearing those premptive squeals until she is a year old easy. Don't be too upset that is just how they are. She also isn't too smart, none of them are or graceful so if she needs places to get away they can't be too high and they need to be wide their toes don't grip skinny or round stuff good at all.

So she is holding her own. The four smaller ones are figuring out their pecking order. Chest pumps and all, she doesn't back down. I do have wider branches.she does go high, but on occasion she thinks to long and then it's to late. She is the only one that won't go in the coop in her own at night. She stays by herself until I grab her and put her away. But she is darn adorable. She follows me around, comes running when she hears me. She is the only one out of the small ones that has figured that out. I just had to save one of the brahmas cornered by the big ones. At least the big ones go away quickly when they see me coming with my stick.

 

[CannedMonster]

My 12 babies have been in the prefab coop and run for several days now.
They’re 2 & 3 weeks old now.
It’s going fantastic!
They learned how to negotiate the ramp the second day.
I ran an extension cord out and I was able to fit my 12” x 12” heat plate in one of the nesting boxes.
It’s been so hot here I don’t even know if they’re using it at night.
Temps are going to be cooling off a lot by this weekend with overnight lows in the 50s.
The cord fits out of the tiny gap in the nesting box lid.
I removed the divider between the nest boxes so they could be away from the heat if they want.
I do have to pick most of them up and put them in the coop at bedtime but it’s just a matter of time before they learn to do that.
Also, I removed the food and water from the coop part and they just use the food/water in the run since they’re down there all day.

They’re feathering so fast!
One of my Australorps is huge.
It has big thick legs and the comb is starting to show quite a bit too.

They love the little dust bathing tub I got them

On the right is the suspiciously male looking BA chick. On the left is an EE.

 

[Chickassan]

Oh no yours has tricked you into carrying her into the coop too!? Lol! She won't grow out of that, i'm still doing it they enjoy the ride I think. And they don't act like "chickens" they're more like a feather puppy. She will get in all kinds of trouble so keep an eye on that one.

So she is holding her own. The four smaller ones are figuring out their pecking order. Chest pumps and all, she doesn't back down. I do have wider branches.she does go high, but on occasion she thinks to long and then it's to late. She is the only one that won't go in the coop in her own at night. She stays by herself until I grab her and put her away. But she is darn adorable. She follows me around, comes running when she hears me. She is the only one out of the small ones that has figured that out. I just had to save one of the brahmas cornered by the big ones. At least the big ones go away quickly when they see me coming with my stick.

 

[llombardo]

Oh no yours has tricked you into carrying her into the coop too!? Lol! She won't grow out of that, i'm still doing it they enjoy the ride I think. And they don't act like "chickens" they're more like a feather puppy. She will get in all kinds of trouble so keep an eye on that one.

Interesting. I found her with the ducks a little bit ago. Not sure how she got there either. I kept hearing her, she was getting louder as I got closer. So I go grab her and she snuggles into my neck as I carry her. I don't mind. She is to cute and I'm pretty sure she knows it.