I'm an old senior citizen (male) down here near Galveston,Texas. Getting ready to have fun with 15 chicks coming soon. I have my brooder all set up, water, chick chow, lights, and a little thermometer. I bought my starter chicks from Murray McMurray....an assortment of Brown Egg layers. Looking forward to having fun with them and eating some home grown eggs. Maybe Ill be able to chat w/ a few of you over time. Looking forward to any and all insight ya'll may offer. Otherwise, I'm still reading the do's and don'ts and the How's.
glad you have joined us and congrats on getting your own flock. If you haven't explored the site, then do visit the Learning Center to help you get started. Once those babies arrive, be sure to watch for pasty butts the first week. And get your coop planned and going, you will need it by the time they are 5-6 weeks old. They grow like weeds and many of us have had to scramble to expand the brooder to accommodate this by the time they are only a couple of weeks old. FIFTEEN - I started with only 1/2 dozen and they were quite a challenge. Enjoy the new adventure, enjoy the forums.
Welcome to BYC -- as noted above, The Learning Center is an excellent place to start filling up on your chicken keeping knowledge and, yes, they grow much faster than many newcomers to the hobby might anticipate (and are adorably distracting) so better to get started on the coop construction early. Sounds like you have chosen a fun way to start out with a nice mixed flock, good luck!
I have my coop and RUN made already. Gotta fill in some spaces between the flooring and the walls of the coop....don't want to get them under the flooring and can't get out. It's between 55* and 63* at night . They will be in an adjacent room next to the coop. It has a window fan and a small A/C. Actually it's my outside "fishing tackle" room/man cave. I'm sure they will be comfy in there. Got to check on the pasty butt thing. Anyway, they did not come today. Poor things are starving and need water bad. Where are they?
Hi and welcome to BYC - glad to have you join us. I do hope that your chicks get to you safely. These links may help you for the moment. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/getting-started-raising-chickens https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-and-raising-chicks You may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - just type the name of your state in the search box. All the best CT
It's been almost a year since I got my chicks. I lost a few along the way. These brown egg layers are really doing their job. We have eggs running out our ears. I am eyeballing these chicks at the local feed store. The Easter Egg Chickens !! They are called Americanas....not sure about the spelling here. They are a hybrid developed here in the states in the late 60's or early 70's. The original breed comes from Chili in S.America. and spelled almost the same. I'll ask if these birds have been vaccinated or not. I wonder if their is medicated chick starter. Oh BTW, I did learn that this starter feed is the same thing as Laying Mesh but a finer grind. My brooder is still put together.....now I will go by the feed store later today and see if they have any left. The cost is $4 ea.and they are about 2-3 weeks old. My other hens were 5 months old when the first egg appeared. I have had fun raising these birds...Out of the original 15 that I ordered, I had 2 roosters ! They never gave me or any of the hens any problems but I will say that Gold colored one has an attitude toward me. He pecked me a couple of times very hard and drew blood!! Gotta go..Take care chicken fans..and have a Blessed new year. Ed near Galveston,Tx.
Greetings from Kansas, Ed, and a belated ! It's great to have you aboard! You're never too old for chickens!
