Coop Project: Maken the Plunge & Getting Chickens

[Rock Home Isle]

Spring 2016

I'm starting a new flock of 6 Welsummer chicks. Pictures and a few updates to follow shortly.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Here are my current girls. I have a very old Buff Orpington from my original flock that I wrote about in the beginning of the thread. I also have 2 black sexlinks, and 2 Barred Rocks.

These girls are very productive, we get between 3 & 5 eggs a day. On most days we get 4 eggs. The Black Sexlinks are everyday girls...very productive egg layers.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I set up my brooder last week. This is the same setup that I have used for years. It really works well. Because the container is an all glass aquarium, the chicks can see immediately when I enter the room, so they don't startle when I look into the tank and do what ever work needs be done.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

My grandson found the chicken coops at the local farm store. He was so excited, he thought they were playhouses.

We picked up our 6 baby Welsummers, and brought them home. They were a bit out of sorts when first put into their new temporary home.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

My wife and my grandson spend a lot of time just watching and enjoying the chicks.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I have had several groups of birds since I first started this thread. I've raised my flocks from chicks and I purchased started birds that were fully feathered and ready to go.

I much prefer taking them from baby chicks to feathered birds. I handle each of the chicks several times per day, and they just do better when you take the extra time to start them yourself and handle and train your birds.

The started birds that I've gotten in the past have always been healthy, but they took a long time to adjust to me and my setting. And they just never settled in and were always a bit skittish and flighty. It was a very busy spring, and I was pressed for time. Instead of raising my own, I found a very nice lady in a nearby town who started birds for people. Even so, I'll probably never get started birds again.

All the birds that I've raised from chick to adult have been fun birds to have in the flock. The birds that I have raised myself have always come when called, and they have been much easier to work with on a daily basis.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I have wanted Welsummers for years. I had one that was started when I got her. She was a sweet little girl but skittish. She just never was comfortable being close to me, so it was difficult for me to check her on a daily basis. Well she got sick and I lost her, it was a hard loss for me, and I stayed away from Welsummers after that experience.

Now it's time for some new girls, and Welsummers it is. These little girls like to be close when I come in the room. Should be a much better experience this go around.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Along with a heat lamp I have a hot rock, for reptiles, in the tank. They seem to like it and they use it with regularity.

So here we are...the girls are 2 weeks old and happy chicks. It's a great feeling.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

My daughter loves to stop by and see the babies. She wants to get her own birds and start her own backyard flock. She's very good with the chicks and I enjoy it when she is here. My current girls are so productive, my daughter gets all the extra eggs.

This summer I'll be working on her fence so that she can start her own flock next spring. That will be so much fun. When I start building her coop, I'll post photos and updates on her experiences as well.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Since starting the Chicken Coop Project, I have been taking the wood shavings from the coop and putting them in the garden

The girls continually work the garden all winter, tilling the soil. My garden is as productive now as it's always been, but now I don't use chemical fertilizers...no more miracle grow in my garden.

The soil is deep and rich with a very easy earthy smell.