2019 Newbie Chat!

[Cyprus]

Hi, I'm new to the chicken world! I got chicks a few days ago because I've always loved chickens and wanted some as pets... plus the eggs are a nice bonus I have two Ameraucanas and one Rhode Island Red. They're precious! I can't wait to watch them grow. Congratulations to anyone else who recently joined!

Do you have pictures?

 

[paneubert]

I will post to keep this at the top of the list.

My current dilemma is about if I want to brood from day 1 outside in walk in coop, or if I want to use the play pen inside my rec room for a few weeks. I will be using a heat plate and could easily make a draft guard out of some cardboard....so the coop could work. Temps will be "low", but most likely not freezing. Way less messy outside, but then again it means the chicks are further from the humans and it takes more effort to go out to check on them/hang with them.

Could brood them inside the house in the rec room for a while, but it would be stinkier and messier. Although they would be down with our stinky dog, so the smell is already not the best down there. Brooded quail down there before and it wasn't THAT bad of a smell.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[paneubert]

Finished my poop board/roost and nest boxes. The nest box is missing the floor, which I don't plan to add until closer to egg laying time. Might divide the nest box in two, not sure yet.

 

[Cyprus]

Finished my poop board/roost and nest boxes. The nest box is missing the floor, which I don't plan to add until closer to egg laying time. Might divide the nest box in two, not sure yet.

Looks great!

 

[southernbound13]

Hiii! Can I join? I'm not technically new to chickens.... just to the site and I'm a little out of practice. Growing up I raised chickens for 4-h shows every year and we always had a ton. Then I moved out and for a while no one had chickens and then one day my dad called and said he was at the feed store and just missed them so much he had to get some so my parents ended up with chickens again

It quickly became apparent that my children who hated the horses and goats LOVED the chickens so of course that meant the flock grew and we were over there almost daily.

Unfortunately this fall a new neighbors dog dug under two fences and cut our flock in half. The horrified neighbor offered to buy anything we wanted as replacement but my my mom didnt feel up to hand raising babies again.

Of course that means our boys said WE COULD RAISE THEM AND YOU CAN TAKE THEM WHEN THEYRE GROWN UP. My ever so patient husband relented and that's how we ended up with nine chicks in our garage.

They arrived in the mail on Tuesday and so far are doing excellent. We have a:
Black copper maran
Golden cuckoo maran
Buff brahma
White leghorn
Easter egger
Blue andalusian
Black australorp
Barred rock
Meal maker mystery (probably a buff orp).

 

[Cyprus]

How are everyone's birds doing? If you have any

 

[paneubert]

How are everyone's birds doing? If you have any

Haha. That is the problem this early in the year, isn't it. A lot of talk and not a lot of chicks. I promise sometime soon after February 25th I will post a lot.

 

[southernbound13]

Day 5 and other than some mild and improving pasty butt on 2 peeps everyone is doing excellent! I cant believe how robust these girls are. I know you're never out of the woods but I finally felt comfortable enough to let the boys start naming them so of course we have some very random names. I give you:
Glim

Maquito and Lennon

Bronco

Toli

And Speckles

That only leaves the marans and the leghorn nameless.

 

[Dandelyon]

Oh they're so lovable!! I love how much variety you have.

I'll be picking up my chicks next week and I'm so excited I can hardly think about anything else. My coop is nearing completion - hoping to get mostly done on this long weekend:

 

[southernbound13]

Oooh i love that coop. Congratulations!! The remaining chicks have finally been named so I now have 9 of my 5 year olds random names to keep track of at least hes cute.

This is Loobadoo

Bock-ley

And Athena

And him holding his favorite girl Speckles just because