Gravel Road Momma
In the Brooder
- Aug 26, 2020
- 6
- 11
- 15
Quick backstory: I collected a few retirement-home chickens from a neighbor several years ago in my first attempt at chicken keeping. Then I had a couple of human babies and did not replentish the flock as they went to chicken-heaven. Let's call me what I am: a chicken newbie.
Fast forward 6 years and I promised my Littles that we would get some chickens this year. I ordered 15 day-old babies from Cackle Hatchery: 8 guineas, 6 Brahma pullets and a Brahma rooster. Hatchery was wonderful, babies were beautiful, they arrived during the time we were "safe-at-home", everything was GREAT... I ended up with 16 10-week old babies (they sent an extra!) that I moved out to the coop on a Thursday. When we got home from visiting grandparents on Saturday, the coop man-door was standing open with a guinea in the doorway and one laying visible just inside. Apparently the door latch was weak and the neighbor dog had wrenched it open... and I had exactly ONE guinea left. Several birds laying hither-and-yon, a few in pieces and several more just missing. It was a terrible day. Absolutely heartbroken. I cleaned up the chaos, gave the remaining baby some treats and made sure she/he (guinea!) had food/water and fixed the door. She/he wouldn't let me close enough to move her/him to another space and I decided not to add to the trauma by chasing. The next morning there was another guinea baby calling at the door!! I ran out and opened the door (scared them both to death) and just stayed in the yard for awhile. The returning baby went back into the coop eventually and I shut them both in.
I hoped that I might have others reappear, but none ever did. The coop is MUCH more secure now and the neighbor has stopped letting their dogs run loose, but here is my question: should I wait to add to my flock until next year? The two guineas I have are now about 13 weeks old. I live in an old farmhouse that came with an actual coop building. We closed-off half of it to begin with, so my indoor coop space is about 8'x20'. (I was originally planning to transition to free-range, but in light of the last few weeks we have added a fenced-area attached to the coop...at least for the time being.) Another neighbor has adult guineas and has offered some, but I am concerned about how they would do with the two I have. I am now back at work 8hrs/day and my kiddos are back in school, plus my house is under construction, so having chicks in my mudroom at this point would really not be doable. I looked at ordering some 8-week pullets, but they are definitely outside of my budget. Am I irresponsible to have just two babies rattling around in that space until spring?
Fast forward 6 years and I promised my Littles that we would get some chickens this year. I ordered 15 day-old babies from Cackle Hatchery: 8 guineas, 6 Brahma pullets and a Brahma rooster. Hatchery was wonderful, babies were beautiful, they arrived during the time we were "safe-at-home", everything was GREAT... I ended up with 16 10-week old babies (they sent an extra!) that I moved out to the coop on a Thursday. When we got home from visiting grandparents on Saturday, the coop man-door was standing open with a guinea in the doorway and one laying visible just inside. Apparently the door latch was weak and the neighbor dog had wrenched it open... and I had exactly ONE guinea left. Several birds laying hither-and-yon, a few in pieces and several more just missing. It was a terrible day. Absolutely heartbroken. I cleaned up the chaos, gave the remaining baby some treats and made sure she/he (guinea!) had food/water and fixed the door. She/he wouldn't let me close enough to move her/him to another space and I decided not to add to the trauma by chasing. The next morning there was another guinea baby calling at the door!! I ran out and opened the door (scared them both to death) and just stayed in the yard for awhile. The returning baby went back into the coop eventually and I shut them both in.
I hoped that I might have others reappear, but none ever did. The coop is MUCH more secure now and the neighbor has stopped letting their dogs run loose, but here is my question: should I wait to add to my flock until next year? The two guineas I have are now about 13 weeks old. I live in an old farmhouse that came with an actual coop building. We closed-off half of it to begin with, so my indoor coop space is about 8'x20'. (I was originally planning to transition to free-range, but in light of the last few weeks we have added a fenced-area attached to the coop...at least for the time being.) Another neighbor has adult guineas and has offered some, but I am concerned about how they would do with the two I have. I am now back at work 8hrs/day and my kiddos are back in school, plus my house is under construction, so having chicks in my mudroom at this point would really not be doable. I looked at ordering some 8-week pullets, but they are definitely outside of my budget. Am I irresponsible to have just two babies rattling around in that space until spring?
I guess I'll figure it out eventually!
