Am I doomed to fail?

[ginormous chicken]

Like stated above... you are not doomed. But be vewy vewy careful

as Elmer Fudd would say!!!

I'll tell you my experience and you can judge for yourself. I started in Oct.2010 that is late in the season. I literally bought 5 chicks 3 weeks before my feed store stopped chick sales until now. But they did fine in the garage, luckily, Oct. in CA is very warm. However, I lost 3 chicks due to____??? (Never figured it out, best guess is impaction b/c my housesitter for 3 days fed bird food. OK for adults, not OK at 11 weeks. Not very bright, but oh well..) at 11 weeks.

This is where the story gets interesting, I really wanted adults and it was too late in the season to buy chicks again. So I went to another feed store (no names) and got 4 adult laying pullets like 11-12 week olds. 1 was a rooster, 1 had chronic resp. disease, 2 are fine. I returned the rooster... ended up after numerous rounds and $$$ of treating the one with chronic resp. realizing she wasn't ever going to live a happy not sick life and so...killed her. I still have 2 left from the feed store that are healthy. I WON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!

I have 3 healthy birds that are gorgeous that come from breeders.

I think that as long as you follow some precautions you will be fine.

a. Don't buy from some random person on CL.
b. Don't take a persons word on the fact that they are healthy, or how old they are. "Oh, this chicken is going to lay next week." or "Ohh, that chicken is fine, she just lost a couple of feathers." is bunk be careful.
c. Buy from people you have made connections with. If it is a friends flock that you know is healthy, go for it.
d. Study up on what a diseased hen looks like, wobbly, fizzy eyes, trouble breathing, mucous on nasel passage etc.
e. Do quarentine for 30 days if you are going to introduce a new hen to the flock.


You'll be fine. I would see if there are any local breeders in the area who are selling. I have had really good luck with local breeders who have really clean flocks and love their birds. A good bet ( not always) is if they are breeding a specific breed of bird and are working towards showing. Usually, these are people who are concscious of disease etc.

Good Luck!

 

[hazen]

I was in your shoes. Had the same questions and concerns.....My wife, 3 year old, 6 mo. old, and myself decided to go the chick route. It was a lot more fun that it was trouble. Really not too tough to raise them up into the egg making machines we enjoy now. Im fairly new to the "chicken game", and am still learning. But I really do believe that when raised from chicks and have daily contact (being held and petted by the crew) they become very tame. Our girls are more like the dogs. They follow us around the backyard, they'll sit on your lap, very family friendly. Good luck on new chicken venture. You'll enjoy it!

One Red Star, one Black Star and a Buff O.

 

[JustAChickenLittle&More]

There are drawbacks to getting chickens from anywhere actually. I have gotten them through the mail as chicks from Hatcheries. Most of the time a few usually died in transit or a few days later. I have gotten pullets, and I have gotten full grown hens. Not always the age an breed I was told they were. I have also ordered LOTS of eggs. Some of these worked out and some didn't. Even the eggs I got; some hatched, some didn't. Sometimes none of them hatched. Sometimes a good percentage hatched, but a few were not even the breed I was told they were. These were all from many different sites. So my guess is, you try to find a breeder, word of mouth if you are looking for a specific breed, however, don't be surprised if a "surprise chick" pops out of one of the eggs, or grows up to look different than what you thought, it happens! You just never know.

I personally think that people who sell at the flea and farmers market, do sell the breed specific and also pretty healthy hens. And of course you could go to shows for show chickens, and sometimes those breeders will bring some of the chickens with them that are not going to be used for show.

 

[ailurophile23]

When I got my chicks last summer, I got the required 25 which turned out to be 28 and, either way, was just WAY more than I wanted. And, somehow, all 28 survived. I found friends and co-workers who wanted new chickens for their flocks or who wanted to start a flock and, once all the chicks had grown a good deal, we re-homed them in small groups. I ended up with 13 in my flock and all the other chickens are doing great in their new homes. So, I highly recommend asking around your neighborhood or at work and hopefully someone who had to order too many chicks is willing to raise them to some size for you. Good luck!

 

[rancher hicks]

First I would do some research to make sure you understand what it takes to keep chickens. The public library is a great place to get books and read up on what your going to be dealing with.

Second plan out your "system" or routine and be sure you can follow through. You don't say where you are in your avatar area, but who will let them out and who will take care of them when your away on vacation. I hire someone to stay in my home and take care of them while I'm away.

Third, no your not doomed. You just have to do your research on what to look for when you buy Point of Lay hens. These are hens who are young but not laying. Yet! If your concerned for healthy chickens, what would be the tip off that the person your buying from is a good caretaker of their flock?

Is the yard clean? No junk laying all over the place. You know, garbage laying in the yard, etc. etc.

Does the place smell? Yes chickens can smell but if you smell ammonia things may not be clean. If the chickens have "treats" do they look moldy or funky?

Is the water clean, or does it look like it's been sitting for more than one day. Yes it can get back wash but you can tell if it's been there for more than one day. Especially if your there in the morning. That's when I would think most would be putting out fresh water.

Are the chickens just laying around? While you may not be allowed near the flock you can tell alot by how the chickens act. Chickens like to scratch and peck and should look active. If they are laying there all puffed up and lethargic don't be afraid to say, "I really had something else in mind" and leave.

You will of course have to pay more for POL chickens but it will mean no roosters.

I'm sure things will be fine and wish you the best.

Rancher

 

[jecombs]

Thank you for all the advice! I'm feeling a bit more hopeful about our prospects as chicken farmers now, LOL

I will try to connect with some local folks. I think I can do that somewhere on BYC... I'll have to look around.
At some point I think we will want to try raising some chicks when my son gets a bit older and more independent, but for now I will look for some pullets.

Thanks again!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I don't think chicks need much more care than adult chickens. They need a place to live with some kind of litter or absorbent material on the bottom, usually wood shavings. They need food and water. They need the shavings cleaned out when they get too dirty. You need to provide that for adults, too. The only thing they need that an adult chicken doesn't need is a heat lamp to provide a slightly warmer temperature and a little more protection from drafts. This is mainly until they get older, when they'll have more feathers.

I set the brooder up ahead of time and adjust the temperature. They can even be brooded in the coop, if you don't want to brood them in the house, basement or garage.

I always plan to be able to spend some time settling the chicks in when they first arrive, in case they got too chilled on the trip or were in transit too long. Most of the time that doesn't happen and they are fine when you get them.

Once they are eating and drinking on their own, it's a pretty simple routine. Daily, I give clean water in the morning and in the evening. I glance at the thermometer, to make sure the temperature is fine. I refill the feed container when it gets low, which isn't every day. As needed, I sprinkle a thin layer of clean shavings on top of the shavings in the brooder, just to tidy it up.

On the weekend, we empty the dirty shavings and put in clean shavings. I also adjust the heat lamp a little higher, to lower the temperature a few degrees. And that's it.

Chicks are amazing to watch. If you think they'll be more than you want to handle, you can certainly get some older chickens. How friendly they are and how healthy they are is simply going to depend on who you get them from.

You might want to check out the thread for your state in the section "Where am I? Where are you?" in the social part of the forum index. That can help you connect with people in your area. I think the odds of you getting what you are looking for, as far as health and friendliness, would be much better than going to a swap meet or local auction. You could get what you want from a nice person at a swap or local auction, but you'd have to really watch out for people getting rid of sick, buggy or badly laying hens, just looking to dump them on anyone that would buy them.

We also have a "Buy ~ Sell ~ Auction" area on the forum that you could look at. You might find someone selling what you want in your state in the auction section or you could ask for what you are looking for in the "Wanted to buy" section.

I hope you have a great time!

 

[Mrs. K]

Just don't look at some sad chicken and think I can take better care of you, you poor thing. That can bring home lots of trouble. Healthy birds look healthy.

Good luck! mrsk

 

[stargazer2014]

We're venturing into chickens as newbies as well, and I wondered whether we would be okay with babies and their upkeep. As I read everyone's comments, I'm more confident that we can handle the babies. I'd hate to run into all the trouble some members posted just as we're getting started!!

 

[Baralak]

I sell chicks, and started through word of mouth, and If for some reason (like I put waaaaaay too many eggs in the bator

) I'll post on Craigs List.. Now..Not everyone is like me of course, but if you do find someone selling birds on CL.. and you go to look at them, here is what you look for

1 st look at their coop, not the grow out coop, but their main coop the one that has his birds in it. Is it clean, are their birds healthy, ARE THEY friendly, do they have feed and water?
2nd hold one the birds they are selling.. Does it feel healthy.. (don't laugh) look at their growing conditions.. Clean, water, feed
3rd Where and When were they hatched... Simple question, did a broody hatch, incubator.. Ask which broody.. and if an incubator ask to see it nicely..
4th Are the NPIP certified? Why not? Some states charge.. some don't find out what your states policy and simply ask.. Some won't .. just because
5th Why are they selling?

You can tell a lot about any chicken seller by these simple questions, how he handles his birds, their living conditions ect.

When I have people over to buy, I show them everything.. and give them cards with BYC and our state chicken site louisianachickens.com I even bring out the seramas..


Edited because I can't spell serama.. go figure