Brand New To Tending Chickens

cbhunter777 · Aug 21, 2018

I've always lived in rural areas but my animals have been limited to horses, dogs and cats. I board horses for people, one of which works for a Farmers Co-op. When chicks came to the store in the spring he rescued 3 that were damaged in shipping. Rather he handed them off to another of my boarders who rescues anything in need. She took them to her apartment and managed to save one of them. Then she bought her a friend because no chicken should have to live alone, right? That's how I came to have my first 2 chickens when they started flying around her apartment. So they are doing very well in our first small coop. While I was away for the weekend at a horse show, another boarder brought me 4 Andalusions and 4 Silkies. At least that's what she was told. And who knows how many pullets and how many cocks I have. I made the off hand remark that a friend of mine had all her Silkies murdered by coons in one night! If I ran across some more locally I might get her some. That's when my friends brought in 8 Silkies. Now I'm not so sure my friends (who have no chicken experience either) know what breeds or sexes I do have on the farm. All I know if I have to get a larger coop ready FAST. So, obviously, I'm not getting into chicken tending in the best way but I do expect to make it work. I love fresh eggs and so do my 3 large dogs. I love all of God's creatures and am highly entertained by my new pets. I still need to share some with my friend who has no Silkies right now. My 9 year old granddaughter loves them all. I told her I'm training them to eat out of my hand and come to my voice and she can help me train. She's all over that! So we're having fun and learning something new. This site is a wonderful resource. Once I figure out what exactly I've been gifted with (breed and sex wise) I'll make a better plan.