Chicken (Poultry) Addiction Anonymous *Chat Thread*

[IdealisticRoo]

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I agree with you! It is sad when chicks don't hatch, but it is very easy to get overrun! I learned A LOT from my failed Christmas hatch, basic incubator lessons like: run the incubator for a few days and make sure the temp is stable BEFORE putting eggs in! Do not open incubator unless you have to, and then CLOSE it ASAP! Do not candle more than 2 times at the most!

These are all things I knew, but had to "learn" for myself! I am just glad I failed with mix eggs and cheap (ish) eggs.

I have some FBCM and Araucana (some bantam and some araucana/ ee/ polish mix) eggs in the bator now that I really want to hatch! They are due January 5th.

Next I am doing some Phoenix, some cochin and some silkie/ ameraucana mixes! I better get good at this hatching and quick!

 

[IdealisticRoo]

I thought I was doing so good! I replied to my Ideal Poultry order confirmation and added a packet of Grogel, but not any more chicks.

I resisted the 99 cent bantam special.

I did not order any more hatching eggs on ebay today.

UNTIL...

I saw this on Craigslist...

three chickens 1 rooster 2 hens with other stuff - $10
hi we have 2 hens that are not laying yet still pretty young the rooster just learned how to crow lol they come with some lil plywood things lol comes with the rest of there food

I am going to get them now...

Naughty chicken addict.

Now comes quarantine....

And then introduction...

Sigh.

 

[Louieandthecrew]

Yummmm, going out for some mexican food in an hour with some family

 

[IdealisticRoo]

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Jealous! We have 2 bland Mexican food places and 1 terrible Mexican food place here in podunk-ville!

 

[Louieandthecrew]

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Jealous! We have 2 bland Mexican food places and 1 terrible Mexican food place here in podunk-ville!

Haha! We have some great places down here

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

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Be sure to post pics -

 

[Louieandthecrew]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

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Be sure to post pics -

 

[magoochie]

This has been my first year with anything feathered. We moved to 40 acres in the country, compared to 1/2 in town.

Anyway we decided before we even moved we wanted to get a handful of chickens for eggs and meat.

A friend of our bought us some guineas and raised them for a few weeks and brough them over after we built the coop. But they all pecked at eachother until all but 2 died.

I found a girl on craigslist who had some Black Australorps that were 5 weeks old. I went and picked those up. So by July we had 12 birds.

The 2 guineas were not getting long with the BA so we let the guineas start to roam. They didnt make it past the first week.

The friend that gave us the guineas asked about our new chicks, and said he might like some. So I went back to the girl on craigslist and bought out the rest of her birds so we could raise them for a few weeks and give them to the friend that gave us the guineas. I also found another guy up the road that sold chicks, so now we were up to 32 birds at this point....

Then... we found out that if we got a permit from the DNR that we could raise and release pheasants, or quail, or chuckars. So an order of 100 pheasants went in. By August 1st we had 132 birds here! lol

Pheasants were released at 12 weeks as the DNR requested, and some chickens went to our friend. The neighbors dog got into the coop and we lost a few birds. We also butchered a few. Now we are down to 12 chickens, with 2 hen pheasants sticking around.

I already have an order placed for 15 guineas in the spring. And my husband and I are planning on building a bigger coop to include a hatchery!

 

[IdealisticRoo]

Wow, Magoochie, that is wonderful to have 40 acres! I love that you have 100 peasants roaming loose on it! That would be paradise for me! Think of the chicken coops that could be built on 40 acres!

Are all 12 of your chickens Black Australorps?

 

[IdealisticRoo]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

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Be sure to post pics -

The pictures are below, I just got sat down after getting the chickens taken care of and then dinner & dishes.

I am now against Easter Chicks and I will be handing out free printouts when the feed stores start selling chickens telling people how to take care of their new pet(s) and listing BYC as a resource!

He got these 3 chickens from Big R at Easter this year. That makes them almost 9 months old. They have not started laying. I don't know what they were being fed, but the food he gave me was a well-worn bag of scratch grain. There was no sign of food or water in the pen. Some scratch grain and a broken plastic feeder adorned the coop. The coop was an open pen that had 1 side up against a small shed, but the chickens were not allowed in the shed. The kid had built a plywood shelter and 2 open topped "nest boxes" that were full of droppings.

The birds seem healthy. They are hen-sized with pullet heads! They ate and drank like crazy when I got them home. I kept taking the food and water away so they wouldn't founder.

I have them in isolation in the front yard in my chicken tractor. I would normally worry about chickens being exposed to cold, but after what they were living in, this is a 5-star hotel in Tahiti. There is a small shelter attached, so if they stop eating the grass for a minute, they could go in and warm up! It is a bright moon out, and the are pecking at anything they can eat! I don't think they have ever tasted starter, they seemed unsure of it at first. They love grass and were pecking at it blindly in the dark!

Sorry about the poor pictures, I will do better in the daylight! I think the roo is a Silver-Laced Wyandotte. I am SO excited to have 2 white Leghorn pullets (I think)! I guess their combs have not developed because they have been malnourished and have never started laying. I think that with some starter mixed with layer ration they will be laying very soon!