Chick-ventures

[DaynaW]

Let me start off by saying boy did I pick the wrong year to start my flock! Chicks are flying off shelves this year with all the craziness going on. This is the first year where I had time to actually care for chicks and build a coop, as well as the funds to start everything so I kinda jumped in head first.... Which is great! Except anything chicken anywhere is el' gone-o my friends!

I was originally going to order from McMurray Hatchery because they still had the breeds I wanted I wanted in stock, and they seemed decent. I was super excited. Then not even 48 hours after submitting my order a rooster showed up in my yard! Boy was I convinced it was meant to be! But of course poor Odin was all lonely so my mother and I decided he needed company.

Lo' and behold a gentleman in town was selling 8 week old pullets! He had around 200 pullets available on a Friday, but we couldn't run over to grab any until Sunday. By the time we got there this guy had maybe 40 pullets left! They were all in good condition though so we couldn't complain.

Having originally gone for 1, maybe 2 pullets, of course we came home with 3.... and for once it wasn't my fault. My mom was just as excited and like a couple different chicks sooooo why choose! We came home with a Plymouth Rock: Frigga/Frigg, a Golden Laced Wyandotte: Odessa, and a Golden Sex-Link: Goldilocks.

Original on the names, I know *insert face palm here*. I was on a Nordic mythology kick, mom named Odessa, and my younger brother (21) called dibs on goldilocks. Odin perked up right away when we brought them home.... but we wanted to follow chicken quarantine protocols so we kept them apart.

He stood guard for 2 days or so before meandering back home. We are fairly certain that he wasn't dumped but rather he belonged to the neighbors next door. There were no feather piles or chicken bodies anywhere and we still hear his crow in the distance each day I guess he didn't like his new girlfriends? Or maybe he missed his other family? We are not quite sure but without him I would've waited until August to start my flock so I'm thankful!

My girls are growing well now, and I've actually canceled my McMurray order because I've found a local breeder that I'm getting chicks from next week. I was looking for alternatives to my August order anyways. If I had waited until August I would've been back to work and had a harder time taking care of baby chicks. Plus I've heard that with all the craziness going on the post office isn't necessarily prioritizing live animal orders. And I wasn't sure about being able to pick the chickies up right away in August..... so I think my new plan will work out well. Depending on what this new breeders stock is like that is. We will have to wait and see.

Here's an updated picture of the current girls napping in the sun: They are around 9/10 weeks now and growing like weeds! I can't wait to raise this next batch of chicks up to their size. These next guys/gals will be super small when picked up so its going to be exciting! Right now these girls are in a modified dog house coop with dog panels around for a run. I've wrapped the panels in chicken wire to keep the girls in and covered the top. Before the others get to big I plan on building an 8x8 or 8x12 coop to house everyone with a 12x20 run. I have the hardware cloth and wire for the run already, just need the building materials!

For now the new chickies will be in a brooder I'm building with some half sheets of plywood. I have a brooder plate and some external power cells to power it outside so its going to be an experience! I'll be picking up the plywood sheets this weekend, along with a little bit of roofing and some hinges. Then throwing it all together Wednesday once I'm back home from the weekend! Plan is to pick up the chickies Thursday next week, so wish me luck! I'm hoping to get a decent set of Blue or Black Copper Marans (3 pullets, 1 roo), a few Ameraucanas (again 3 pullets, and maybe another roo? Might wait on the 2nd roo until I have a bigger flock), 1 or 2 Welsummer pullets, 2 Speckled Sussex and then possibly some BLRW depending on what his parent birds look like. This particular breeder guarantees the sex or he will replace for free, and so I'm fairly confident going into this sale next week! And super excited. I plan to brood my new chickies outside with plenty of heat and protection. Let me know if you have any advice on what will be best for them!

So I've given you a brief intro to the beginning of my chicken journey, but I didn't really mention much about myself! Oops! Well I'm 25, I've got a degree in accounting and supply chain management. I've been working with a public accounting firm since last October and we were in the middle of tax season when the stay at home order hit. I'm currently furloughed and while I miss the people at my work I'm happy to get the decompress time. Plus now I have time to start my chicken adventure! My favorite color is purple, and I reallllly like blue eggs. Ummm thats all I can think of at the moment. I plan to catalog my chicken journey/story on this thread. I hope I don't bore you!

 

[DaynaW]

More photos for loves!

 

[DaynaW]

Alright so I picked up the last chicks I'm getting for the year today! (Finally!) Though I'm a little concerned about accuracy of the breeds for my Ameraucanas, one has feathered feet. So I think that they are probably really easter eggers.... which makes me a little sad but at least I'll get the blue eggs I want! I'll try to locate a reputable Araucana breeder in Washington next year as they are what I truly wanted anyways.

Currently my littles are inside in an extra large dog crate lined with paper towels. As you can see it was nice and clean this morning!
But by the time the new littles arrived it was dirty What can you do


I ended up reaching out to a Maran breeder on the westside of the state when I was over there camping and visiting my boyfriend this past holiday. She still had chicks so that is where the first 5 in the top picture came from. I picked up 4 blue copper marans and an olive egger from the sweetest lady ever. They couldn't have been healthier! Here's a photo of them right before the ride home.❤

So far the only one with a name is Olly, so I need to get with the program! The bigger girls who are outside are reaching that awkward teenage stage with long legs and developing attitudes. But they will tolerate me at least

Hoping to get the coop materials this next week and get started on Peep Palace.... Peepers Cove? I'm still working on the name I might need a transition coop depending on how fast I can get the big one up and running. Any advice on what might work?

I'll start showing pictures of progress on coop ground work here shortly, can't wait! Hope everyone is doing well and talk to you again soon!

P.S. This one also has a name, he's a confirmed rooster and shall hence forth be dubbed Nugget! He came by his name righteously enough when I told him that trying to escape the brooder pen probably meant he'd end up as a chicken nugget for our dogs....

The little chick with the white chest is Olly! She (please be a she) has a very distinctive face and is easy to tell apart. The two out front are Blue Laced Red Wyandottes who have yet to be named... so if you have ideas feel free to chime in.

Current Chicken Count:
4 Blue Copper Marans (straight run)
1 Olive Egger (straight run... please be a girl!)
3 Speckled Sussex (vent sexed, 2 girls, 1 boy)
3 Ameraucanas/possible EE (vent sexed all girls)
2 Blue Laced Red Wyandottes (vent sexed, girls)
1 Black Copper Maran (vent sexed, girl)
1 Golden Laced Wyandotte (girl)
1 Barred/Plymouth Rock (girl, is there a difference in breed?)
1 Golden Sex Link (girl who likes to take charge like a boy)

 

[avasfarmhouse]

LOVE this story! And name one of the chicks Mocha! Definitely make sure the older chickens are safe and protected for now before you build the real coop. Also, I have a recommendation: Put motion sensor lights on the coop and/or around it. This will keep/scare away some predators. I hope you enjoy your backyard chicken journey!

 

[DaynaW]

LOVE this story! And name one of the chicks Mocha! Definitely make sure the older chickens are safe and protected for now before you build the real coop. Also, I have a recommendation: Put motion sensor lights on the coop and/or around it. This will keep/scare away some predators. I hope you enjoy your backyard chicken journey!

Thank you for the reply! At least I'm not just writing to entertain myself. Though I think it will be fun to look back at these first posts next year.

And I was looking at those! Do you have a specific type you use? You never know for sure when buying online which work the best.

The older girls are in a 12x8 enclosure. Used to be a dog run, so it has heavy galvanized fencing then I wrapped chicken wire around and over the top to help a little. I have hardware cloth for their actual run though! Going to do a mix of cloth and wire with the cloth being the bottom half. Most of our predators are ground predators and the aerial predators have left the chicken wire alone so far. Might switch over to all hardware cloth if I have the chance.

Also I apologize for any mistypes or rushed phrasing. I'm using my phone to write most of these!

Thanks again for the reply!

 

[DaynaW]

Sad news to report this morning, the smaller of my two BLRW passed away just after midnight. Earlier yesterday morning she had a case of pasty butt that I treated and it must have had some underlying issue as she just grew weaker. In the end I think she may have had a case of wry neck that we caught too late. I tried to doctor her up but I was just too late. She was bundled up with me all night until she passed, I was hoping the heat plus being there to water/feed her would be enough.

Her name was Merida, because we decided to go with Disney princess names for the BLRW since they are so regal looking.... her sister is Ariel. Heres a photo of them taken just 2 days ago:

Ariel is out front and she looks kinda out of it in the photo but is healthy. She eats/drinks and comes over for cuddles where as Merida preferred to stay under the heat plate.

At least Merida knew she was loved and had me there for the end. Definitely not a way to start your day though, too heart breaking. She curled up with me before hand which raised my hopes up a bit.... I'm sorry it didn't work out in the end.

Here's hoping your Thursdays are better than mine. I'll post names and photos later today. Hopefully the others will help my mood. We do have a Mocha though! Decided to name our Easter Eggers all coffee related names. So we have Mocha, Latte and Java Chip. ^-^ Pictures to come later today. I'm going to try and get some rest now.

Rest in peace baby girl.

 

[DaynaW]

Alrighty! Time for a chick update!

I was a little discouraged after losing Merida earlier this week. But I did my best to research what could have happened to her to try and avoid it going forward. I've also started a little chick-first aid kit to have on hand as my girls and guys grow out. I've got Vetrimycin, the chicken sulfa tablets (which I have discovered a dislike for) to treat coccidiosis, electrolytes, probiotics, poultry dust for mites/lice and vitamins. I also have a handy dandy duster thing for the dust, and masks for the humans so that we don't breath in the dust. The only things I still kind of want are liquid corid and elector psp. I figured I would wait on these until I've used up their counter parts: the tablets and the poultry dust. Who knew I would be so stressed about chicken diseases????

These little buggers sure take over your life fast and man am I glad to have the time to spend with them right now while they are little! They are a welcome distraction from the monotony of being home each day. I almost don't mind having to clean up their cage daily

Right now I'm brooding my chicks inside, though they will soon be moved outside once I have their outside brooder ready. Currently they are inside of an extra large dog crate lined with a hard plastic mat, which is covered in shelf liner. Then that shelf liner is covered in paper towels that I remove each morning. The paper towels are mainly for ease of cleaning out the pen, I tried pine shavings inside... and holy mess outside of the kennel! So paper towels it is while they are in the house.

The crate is also wrapped in chicken wire to simply keep the chicks in at the moment. Thankfully we don't have any predators in the house that can reach the chicks. Our three dogs are currently kept out of my room and all is good. The outside brooder will obviously have hardware cloth on it to not only keep the littles in but evils out. I'll post pictures and details once I have it complete.

In other news, my mother and I buried Merida under one of out new Mulberry tree starts. This particular variety is a dwarf everbearing Mulberry. It is supposed to have dark fruit and was bought specifically for the chickens that I didn't have yet *facepalm*. Now the tree will be known as Merida's Mulberry tree and we will always remember our first little chick that didn't make it.

The back yard breeder we bought the girls from guaranteed health and offers to replace any chicks that don't make it with new ones should the need arise.... I was originally hoping to not need that service but I did shoot him a text letting him know what happened. He made sure that we were able to stop by Friday evening to pick up our replacement chick (ugh that sounds awful doesn't it? replacement chick... bleh). Thankfully he had a darker BLRW left around 5 days or so old. So we grabbed her..... and one more because chicken math. So now I have a BLRW and a splash version of the blue laced wyandotte. Their names will be Anna, and Anastasia after the disney princesses! Because of course we had Merida and Ariel to start with.

We also FINALLY decided on a theme for our beautiful Blue Copper Marans' names: Greek Goddesses (and Gods should the need arise). So as of right now we tentatively have Aphrodite, Persephone, Nike, and Iris. With the agreed upon change to Hades should one of our girls in the straight run end up a boy. If we get two boys then the other one will be Posideon because I just don't like Zeus as a chicken name. XD

I threw a chick stick in there today for everyone, and of course provided some grit with it. Here's hoping they like it! Anna may still be too small to try it though..... She's probably not more than 5 days old I'd say.

Here's photos!

Easter Eggers (I wanted Ameraucanas so bad *insert crying*):
Latte
Mocha
Javachip

Speckled Sussex:
Nugget
Nutella (our biggest and oldest in the brooder) Shes changed since this photo even!
Honey (we ran out of N food names!)

Blue Laced Red Wyandottes:
Ariel
Anna (ah-na) She's the tiniest!
Anastasia (because who doesn't want a long name?)

Black Copper Maran:
Copper (original I know) She does have feathered feet you just can't see them here.

Blue Copper Marans:
Aphrodite
Persephone
Nike
Iris

Olive Egger:
Olly

Brooder Set up (inside):
Side note: I had a hanging waterer in there but I think it may have caused problems. And it was not as easy to clean as my little quart one is.
(I totally just cleaned the brooder before this photo lol)
I have a brooder plate in the back left corner and it gets cleaned under regularly. The top also requires cleaning as they roost on it. The small plate up front on the right has chick grit, a must if giving chicks snacks/treats. And my waterer only looks empty because right now I'm watering them every day with 8 oz of medicated water as their only source. This is switched out when it is low with a fresh medicated batch, and checked multiple times a day right now. I'm treating for coccidiosis just in case that had something to do with Merida's death. Better to be safe than sorry, and I have noticed that a lot of their runny poop has stopped. And whoever was dropping red tinged presents is now feeling better as there is no evidence of blood in the stool of any chick. So I'm already feeling more confident.

I've raised both the food and water to minimize any poop deposits or scratched up bedding getting into the containers. This is especially frustrating when using pine shavings, just FYI. Because you need to keep the water supply and food supply as clean as you can. I clean my waterer daily at the moment for a couple of reasons. 1. I'm medicating the water and replacing old batches with new ones, and 2. because chicks still try to stand in the water. Not to mention someone still poops in there or dips their poop covered foot into the water reservoir. Despite it being raised *facepalm*! I'll be lifting their food and water up onto bricks in the outside brooder in an effort to keep them cleaner.

While brooding, before Merida's death, I was using probiotics in the chicks water. Recently I read they may not need probiotics this early (think 2 to 3 weeks at the moment), and so I'll be switching to an electrolyte/vitamin mix specifically for chicks once I'm done treating for coccidiosis. I realllllly hope none of the chicks get wry neck before then..... I have heard that medicated feed can cause a vitamin deficiency so I'm assuming medicated water can too.

OTHER SIDE NOTE: I stopped feeding the medicated feed while I'm treating my girls and guy(s) for coccidiosis. I've read that combining the two is not a good idea, as their purposes do not align? The medicated feed is a preventative measure and once the parasite sets in you need to move to the medicine. Or so I've read.... erring on the side of caution my chicks are now receiving the non-medicated crumbles from Purina until this round of medicine ends. And I may not move back to the medicated feed for a little bit afterwards too. Just to make sure the chicks get their nutritional levels back to an optimal level before introducing the medicate feed again.

Please, if you have advice on this whole subject: preventative treatment, what kinds of feed to use, what kinds of drugs to use, what I can improve on, feel free to weigh in! I look forward to hearing from anyone interested in my story and stay tuned for brooder 2.0 plans and info. I'm building it with the intent to turn it into a breeding/broody area next year. So should be exciting!

Have a great rest of your weekend everyone!

 

[DaynaW]

Oh! And the big girls are doing great! Here's an updated photo. They are really getting big!!!!