All New To Me

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Ballroomchick

Ballroomchick

In the Brooder
May 4, 2015
13
0
42
Hi,

I am completely new to this whole raising chickens thing. We live out in the country in eastern Idaho and it just seemed like the best outdoor pet to have with little babies in the house.
I find myself checking on our 6 chicks multiple times a day just because this is such a foreign idea to me still lol.
My 2 year old love the "ickees" but it still pretty wild around them. We have a red and black sex link (Named Galinda and Elpheba), 2 rhode island reds (Holly shiftwell, and Sally), and 2 buff orpingtons (still nameless).
I'm just excited to see how this goes...
haven't built the coop yet and I never asked at the store how old our little chickees were (though the gal helping us probably woulnd't have known based on her attitude when we bought the stuff).
Any advice would be welcome.
 


Do you have photos of the chicks when you first bought them? This can help us pinpoint their estimated age at the time you got them so you can then figure their age now. *Most* of the time the chicks you get at the store are in their first week of life because they are 2-3 days when they get to the store (shipped as day-olds plus transit time) and most places tend to sell them out pretty quickly each week, especially the breeds that are popular in a given year. Because they have shipments coming in weekly, staff is motivated to get the older chicks sold out quickly if they reach the end of a week or two and still have them so as not to have tiny babies from the new batch having to mingle with older/larger chicks, so it's rare to see chicks over two weeks old in the stores during the busiest part of chick season.

Time to get started on your build - they will grow faster than you expect and be ready to be up and out of the brooder in a matter of weeks - many folks find themselves desperately rushing to finish the build because they are caught off guard at how quickly the birds are ready to move and/or something comes up that causes a delay in the build schedule, etc. Have you decided on a design for your coop and run yet? If not, the coops section here https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops is a great place to get some ideas and inspiration.
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided join our flock. Definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is loads of useful information there that will keep you from making beginners' mistakes. You have a nice mix of breeds and hybrids. Black and Red Sex Links are hardy, egg laying machines. I've raised both sex link varieties for years (along with dozens of other breeds and hybrids), and they have been my best layers, consistently churning out more than 300 eggs per hen per year. You should get loads of eggs from Elpheba and Galinda. :eek:) Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your chicks.
 
400


This is the day we brought them home.
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

I love their names! They are cute! You'll be getting tons of eggs from them once they reach the appropriate ages. Definitely check out the learning center link provided by Michael Oshay^

Good luck to you and welcome to the flock.
 
It would be great if you could fashion a wire top for the brooder, it will keep them from flying out and getting injured and protect them from pets etc. Buff orps tend to be docile and sociable birds - the hens often go "broody" which means they sit on their eggs and hatch them - if given the chance.
welcome-byc.gif
 

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