Another "worm" in the bunch :)

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SpontaneousMe77

SpontaneousMe77

In the Brooder
8 Years
May 31, 2011
15
0
22
Queen Creek, Arizona
"Worm" is a term for newbie in my husbands line of work btw
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I just wanted to introduce myself to the forum- I have been a chicken mommy for about 30 hours now & am so excited!
I want to say that so far I have read as much as a person can in about 7 hours spent on here. I will do my best to search old threads before asking questions. I appreciate those who run the site & all those who contribute. I find so much of what everyone has to say very useful, comical & fun! I might not know anything yet, but when I want something to work, I do all I can to do it right!
I live in the Phoenix area, so I will be doing some research tonight on keeping my chickens comfortable. I have 2 kids, 12 & 10, & a great husband of 15yrs who works in North Dakota 10 days at a time before coming home to see what crazy/spontaneous thing I have decided to do now, & a wonderful mother who retired early to care for my kids while I went back to school, who is willing to help with our new family members too. I am 38 days away from graduating from a nursing program (to be an RN-future ER nurse hopefully!), & my hobbies include making the worlds best compost & growing a huge variety of fruits & veggies from heirloom organic seeds. Not sure what else to say, but I am happy to make friends on here, so message me if you'd like!
I am grateful for anyone who takes a moment of their time to offer me advice!
Thanks to everyone for posting such helpful information!

Oh- I have 2 speckled sussex sweeties & 2 welsummers, 2 toy poodles, 1 fat house cat, & never get any sleep
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Hi and welcome! What kind of chickens do you have?
It's been so hot here as well the past week or so, I have been freezing 2 liter bottles of water and leaving them around the pen so they have something to cuddle up to and cool down a bit, ( a tip I saw on here) as well as changing the water frequently to keep it cool.
With you being into gardening I am sure you will have some very happy chickens!!
 
Shannon33-
Hello,
I have 4 speckled sussex sweeties, born last Wednesday.

Oh & I want to add I have never been a member of any other kind of forum, so idk all the abbreviations yet, but I am working on it.
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from California!

Speckled Sussex is one of the two breeds I still "need" to add to my flock. I am envious.

Let me share my regular three warnings for new chick moms & dads:

When you look in the brooder and they are all dead, do not have a heart attack yet. Tap the side of the brooder first - the chicks will wake up. They just fall asleep like that. Sometimes on their backs, or with their heads across stuff in the brooder (like laying their heads on the chopping block). They DO look dead, but they're just asleep.

When you pick up a chick and feel a tumor on its neck, do not panic then, either. That's a full crop. The chicks are piggies and will stuff themselves. That crop will empty over night and be all normal again in the morning. Not tumors. Whew!

When you see one or another chick on its side, kicking and twitching, it is NOT having a seizure. It may even flap its wings and roll over onto its other side to do it some more. This is dust bathing behavior in the brooder bedding. Perfectly normal. And very silly looking once you know what it is, which is NOT a seizure. Trust me.

And a bonus, fourth warning: You will fall in love with them. This will not change even when they grow up into chickens and start to lay eggs. You will love them more. And I bet you will do a great big dance and run excitedly into the house, screaming with delight when the first one lays her first egg.

Welcome to the wonderful world of keeping chickens!
 
Thank you for all the warm welcomes!
And gryeyes, you just gave me the greatest giggle. I did freak out last night when I thought they were dead! They sleep so funny!
Thank you SO much!
And I am glad to hear I made a good choice in breed. I thought maybe they werent so good since there were so many yellow ones which were all "sold" at the store & the "dark ones" (as the clerk put it) were the only ones available. When I bought them, yet another man came with a paper on the breed & DOB. They are the cutest things ever & I just want to hold them- is this ok? Can you handle them too much or does it help make them friendly?
Last night when I thought I wasnt getting the temperature right, I contemplated sitting on them- LOL.
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I read all the newbie tips on searching before posting questions but cant find what I am looking for....
Is it okay to hold them? Can I overdo it?
How old are they when the typically begin laying?
Of course I could come up with a list of questions but I will keep searching.... I am just really curious about the above 2 now...while Im searching on the rest of my million questions.
Thanks to all!
 

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