Colorado

[wsmith]

Wow the list the elizabeth feed store has is crazy long! Do they usually have different chicks on their list at different times or are they all in around the same time? They have everything I want with the exception of the Copper Marans.. I could substitute them for Welsummer instead though. I could get 2 amaraucana 2 welsummer and 2 australorp for a grand total of... $23.10! Though now I'm torn between getting 2 australorp or 2 Dominiques after hearing all of your good reviews on them I should have built a bigger coop!!!!

Sorry if I sounded a little short last night, I was irritated with my younger son........

It does get exciting doesn't it!

Last spring we brooded our chicks in the garage. It works, but the aroma of growing chicks can get overwhelming at times, especially when it starts to warm up....... This year we have the brooding houses (3) set up, and they will be outside in brooding pens. We have heat lamps for the chicks, but when they are feathered out, the heat lamps gradually go away. Each pen is about 24 X 8, and each brooding house is 4 X 3, elevated. The pens are wood (6 ft) and wire fenced to keep the nasty coyote and fox out. We still have to get the netting overhead to keep crows, owls, and hawks out ot the brooding pens.

Now that you are somewhat decided on the breeds you want, you need to decide on your flock keeping method. Remember that there are many methods of chicken keeping. Some like medicated feed, others don't. Some like crumbles, others pellets. there are several choices when it comes to brand name or locally made feed. Organic or not, how much protein content, etc. For feed I feed my chicks Nutrena, either all-flock or chick starter for about 1-1/2 months, then I switch to all flock. I don't give medicated feed, but that is because of what my flock goals are. Many do medicated feed and are very happy with it. Do not feed them layer specific rations until they are about 4 months old. I also add a small amount of vinegar and a little molasses to their water. Helps with pasty butt and they are very healthy and active. That may also be a breed specific thing, but i learned it from an Old-timer that raised Doms.

Many keep their chickens as pets only, some raise them as farm livestock, and everything in between. You will need to decide if you will process any extras or keep them, what to do about predator control, etc. Remember that even in the city or suburbs there are many local predators around. Raccoon, fox, coyote, and the ever-present neighbor dogs.

Got to go. Fixing some nice fried eggs and toast, and then off to collect a trailer load of wood chips!

 

[Pozees]

Above are some of my eggs. These are the pretty ones though. Not that they all aren't pretty. I have the dark brown ones which are laid by my marans. If you look really close, you'll see their speckles on some of them. I have the light blue in the top left corner. I have the light olive in the bottom left. On the other side I have the blues and I have one that is light, light green with white speckles. The lighter ones, for comparison, are the color typically of the production brown egg layers. The colors do not show very well in this picture. But the eggs are beautiful.

Adam, I agree with everyone else. Figure out what you want and then build your flock around that. Most new people to chickens are always amazed at the huge variations that exist in the breeds and egg colors. I also believe that the temperament of chickens have much to do with how much handling and love they are given. I've never had a mean RIR and 4 of the foundation birds in my flock are RIRs because they were just so sweet and the Roo was protective and nice.

edit: I have had mean speckled sussex and cuckoo marans roosters though. they are no loner with me and they are not the birdy daddy's of any of my first generation chicks. i have a gentle black marans rooster now that is just gorgeous.

That is such a pretty picture Thanks for sharing

 

[Pozees]

So, a couple things we might not have answered yet - local sources are best for small numbers of chicks, unless you want something really specific that you can't locate locally, then you can try places like my pet chicken where they will sell you as few as three. By local I mean either an individual or a local store, most feed stores have chicks every spring which are ordered from the bigger hatcheries.

Some of this you probably already know, but:

Feed stores, hatcheries, or breeds with sex linked traits are the only way to be pretty or totally sure you're getting pullets only in day-olds. If you get straight run chicks, you will find they tend to be approximately 50% males, and even if you think you will get away with one rooster, you have to decide what to do with any others. Throughout the year you will see roosters listed on Craigslist as well as on BYC for as little as free - and you can give yours away but you must know that once you give them away they may be someone's dinner. Some of us are okay with that, some are not, and it helps to work it out in your head before you are required to make a decision. If you are really not okay with it, you don't want to buy straight run chicks. Mind you, I have yet to slaughter any of my own, but after much deliberation I know I can and will at some point. The chicken we buy in the store has not had nearly as good a life as the one in our back yard, and has likely been fed some things we might not be entirely comfortable with.

Wendell made an important point which bears repeating - know how to guard your birds from predators including neighborhood dogs, which are the most dangerous of all because they are not afraid of you and will knock you out of the way to get to your chickens. Many years ago I had a flock of 25 White Leghorns just at point of lay, killed by a neighbor's dog who never touched one of them. It raced around and around the pen and they all keeled over and died. We all hope not to have losses, but the reality is, it's a matter of time.

All that said, having chickens is fun, rewarding, a great family project, and there is nothing as dependably entertaining as watching a chicken run, especially when it's in hot pursuit of a grasshopper

 

[coloradogal]

All that said, having chickens is fun, rewarding, a great family project, and there is nothing as dependably entertaining as watching a chicken run, especially when it's in hot pursuit of a grasshopper

My chickens are my therapy. I lose time when I sit in their coop. Only another chicken person could understand when I say I love my chickens. Eventually, they will all end up in the soup pot unless they are killed in a horrific way, then they get buried. But until that point, they bring me so much joy. I suspect there are just chicken people out there as my 2 brothers are also in love with theirs.

The only thing that the romantic side of me thought about during the 2012 hype was Quetazcotyl as he is depicted as a bird-snake. I envisioned the original man the legend was about as this great warrior who also loved birds, to include chickens. I suspected that anyone who could love the lowly chicken as much as I do must not be such a bad person. I suspect when I should meet my maker, the one thing that people will remember most about me is the many tears I've cried over something that most just view as dinner. There is a sacredness in loving and cherishing the most humble of all creatures, the chicken.

Likewise, anyone who could brutally torture a bird is also no friend of mine. Stalin had this perverse pleasure in torturing chickens. Just do a google on stalin and chickens.

 

[Adam7]

Got to go. Fixing some nice fried eggs and toast, and then off to collect a trailer load of wood chips!

Low blow!! I won't be fixin those for a few months still!

So, a couple things we might not have answered yet - local sources are best for small numbers of chicks, unless you want something really specific that you can't locate locally, then you can try places like my pet chicken where they will sell you as few as three.  By local I mean either an individual or a local store, most feed stores have chicks every spring which are ordered from the bigger hatcheries. 

Some of this you probably already know, but:

Feed stores, hatcheries, or breeds with sex linked traits are the only way to be pretty or totally sure you're getting pullets only in day-olds.  If you get straight run chicks, you will find they tend to be approximately 50% males, and even if you think you will get away with one rooster, you have to decide what to do with any others.  Throughout the year you will see roosters listed on Craigslist as well as on BYC for as little as free - and you can give yours away but you must know that once you give them away they may be someone's dinner.  Some of us are okay with that, some are not, and it helps to work it out in your head before you are required to make a decision.  If you are really not okay with it, you don't want to buy straight run chicks.  Mind you, I have yet to slaughter any of my own, but after much deliberation I know I can and will at some point.  The chicken we buy in the store has not had nearly as good a life as the one in our back yard, and has likely been fed some things we might not be entirely comfortable with.

Wendell made an important point which bears repeating - know how to guard your birds from predators including neighborhood dogs, which are the most dangerous of all because they are not afraid of you and will knock you out of the way to get to your chickens.  Many years ago I had a flock of 25 White Leghorns just at point of lay, killed by a neighbor's dog who never touched one of them.  It raced around and around the pen and they all keeled over and died.  We all hope not to have losses, but the reality is, it's a matter of time.

All that said, having chickens is fun, rewarding, a great family project, and there is nothing as dependably entertaining as watching a chicken run, especially when it's in hot pursuit of a grasshopper

Thanks for the pointers. I'm not one to shy away from killing my own food . I hunt rabbit/dove/deer/elk through out the year so hopefully chicken will add a little variety to the menu! People give their roosters away for free do they? This is something I need to look into...

 

[Adam7]

I did a bit of research on culling. This video put to rest any hesitation I think I would have with doing it myself. I would recommend you watch this if you are having any second thoughts. The way she does this is really great(well as great as killing a chicken can be).

She doesn't actually do the deed until the about 4 minutes into the video if you would like to see just a bit of what she is talking about.

Just figured I'd share.

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Low blow!! I won't be fixin those for a few months still!
Thanks for the pointers. I'm not one to shy away from killing my own food . I hunt rabbit/dove/deer/elk through out the year so hopefully chicken will add a little variety to the menu! People give their roosters away for free do they? This is something I need to look into...

I gave away 3 Roos this year. I was careful about who I gave them to as I wanted them to have at least another year or so to just do their manly thing. All have very nice homes now but there were some adds I saw when I was listing them that were specifically 'rooster for your stewpot, free!!' One guys post even said 'if you can catch him, he is yours!' You can also post a wanted add on Craigslist offering to take unwanted roosters. Just be sure to say they are going to a stewpot so people don't think you are a rescue or something.

 

[maggiemo]

Adam and anyone interested in buying local pullets. (some are local, some are from McMurry and raised to the feathered out age, so local in a sense of that)
I have put in an order with a woman in eastern Colorado who hatches birds but also will order what you want from McMurry Hatchery and raise them out until they are feathered and sell them to you at that point. It is a little more expensize than day old birds, but you get pullets and you don't have to mess with lights and brooding pens and such.
I have order 16 birds of various breeds for her to raise for me this spring.
Her name is Diane and she has been soooo very helpful with me choosing the right birds for what my needs are.
Here is her website; http://www.snappyturkenfarm.com/
Here is what I have ordered from her;
4 americaunas
4 turkens
2 houdans
3 cuckoo marans
2 speckled Sussex
1 golden laced polish
If any one does order from her please say you heard about her from me (I'm Mo)! I get a free chick if you order anything from her!!

 

[Mtn Margie]

Welcome Adam and all the other newbies! Adam, there are people in your area that process their own chickens and would love the help. They will post here when it comes time and that way you can have a real tutorial. As far as your coop being too small, I would just build an addition and that way when chicken math explodes, you will have the option of having a brooder pen or a broody pen or breeding pen or the possibilities are endless and exciting. I added on to my original coop and have housed and changed things around to house geese, turkeys, a broody and her family and now I have some of Coloradogal's eggs that she hatched out for me and those babies are getting ready to move on up into the big house!

 

[maggiemo]

Forgot to say; beautiful eggs ColoradoGal!