Covid-panic-induced chicken keeping?

[DuckGirl77]

I’ve thought for years that TSC and the like should have even the tiniest of screening processes for buying chicks like you would have at a dog shelter. Just simplistically - what are your plans for food, shelter, predator protection, summer vacation? Etc. Not meant to restrict purchase per say, but to remind people that chicks are tiny cute babies that grow up to be a big responsibility.

This would be good. I think some places are at least trying to educate. When my local feed store started offering chicks several years ago, they gave "seminars" on chicken-keeping. I still had alot to learn after that, but it made me think and plan before I started. I like your idea though, to get people to think about it. Especially for right now - people seem to be panic-buying, so they may not go out of their way to educate themselves first.

 

[Friday_Matinee]

This is my very first post on here, my wife grew up with chickens as a kid and her Dad had a ranch (until he got divorced) and had 43 chickens there. I've only ever interacted with them twice for about 10 mins total. So I am a complete newbie when it comes to birds. We were planning on getting chicks at some point but the pandemic def had us panic buying so to speak. More so our neighbor was hatching eggs cause she was bored being stuck at home. We figured now would be the perfect time to raise them since both kids are out of school or too young for school (5yrs and 2yrs old). I'm a stay at home Dad so I'm always around to care for the chicks even as they grow up. I will be a bit less stressed having them though. If all goes to crap at least we'll have to veggies we grow and the eggs they lay!

She hasn't had babies in a long time though so day old chicks are new for us.
We got 9.
2 Speckled Sussex
2 Gold Laced Wyandotte
2 Barred Rocks
1 Rhode Island Red
2 Easter Eggers

Currently building a 4x8' coop with an attached 8x16' run. The coop is like a mansion! I tend to over build things though. Figured I'd make it as close to Fort Knox as possible since we have a raccoon that lives in one of our trees and foxes and hawks etc. Last night I was sitting in the back yard and got a text asking if I was sleeping in the coop tonight. It's big enough for me to!

This site has been incredibly helpful in helping us get started. Thanks.

 

[LizzzyJo]

This is my very first post on here, my wife grew up with chickens as a kid and her Dad had a ranch (until he got divorced) and had 43 chickens there. I've only ever interacted with them twice for about 10 mins total. So I am a complete newbie when it comes to birds. We were planning on getting chicks at some point but the pandemic def had us panic buying so to speak. More so our neighbor was hatching eggs cause she was bored being stuck at home. We figured now would be the perfect time to raise them since both kids are out of school or too young for school (5yrs and 2yrs old). I'm a stay at home Dad so I'm always around to care for the chicks even as they grow up. I will be a bit less stressed having them though. If all goes to crap at least we'll have to veggies we grow and the eggs they lay!

She hasn't had babies in a long time though so day old chicks are new for us.
We got 9.
2 Speckled Sussex
2 Gold Laced Wyandotte
2 Barred Rocks
1 Rhode Island Red
2 Easter Eggers

Currently building a 4x8' coop with an attached 8x16' run. The coop is like a mansion! I tend to over build things though. Figured I'd make it as close to Fort Knox as possible since we have a raccoon that lives in one of our trees and foxes and hawks etc. Last night I was sitting in the back yard and got a text asking if I was sleeping in the coop tonight. It's big enough for me to!

This site has been incredibly helpful in helping us get started. Thanks.

The fact that you have numerous supportive chicken people in your circle and that you’re researching this site means you will be fine! You’re obviously going about this the right way.

 

[Friday_Matinee]

The fact that you have numerous supportive chicken people in your circle and that you’re researching this site means you will be fine! You’re obviously going about this the right way.

we're pretty lucky, both neighbors are excited for the birds too. When designing the coop I built it on 30" legs for easier cleanouts (i have a host of medical issues in my bones) and as I built it I got concerned that it was too tall and the one neighbor would take issue. She just laughed and asked if I could get 2 chickens for her too. They are technically illegal to have in our city unless we have 3ac. But our local co-op sells feed to 600 people a month and 5 neighbors around us all have them and one the one on the other side of the neighbor who asked for 2 birds has a rooster. They aren't as noisy as I expected.

 

[ILChickenTV]

I have to admit, I nearly bought more pullets because of the current situation. It was more of a wake up call that if this could happen, much worse could, too. Ended up with six free chicks from someone I know instead. We'll have to see how many are keepers, but it's fun to have them. We happen to have had hens for a year now, so we're not new to them.

 

[Light family]

We are new to this And yes we’ve seen suppliers of chicks and coop building materials sold out. We had been thinking about it for a few years (but someone was kindly bringing us free eggs!), so it is just recently that we acted on our intentions. I think many people are spending extra time at home and have time to start projects. I hope that, like us, they take it as a long term project with lots of learning to engage in.

 

[msirene]

I grew up with chickens, and always wanted them as an adult, but we were renters for years in the city. When we finally bought our suburban house, I brought up the idea of chickens a couple of times, but got a lukewarm response from my husband. Then we were suddenly both working from home, and I threw the idea of chickens out again, and he said yes! That was almost 7 weeks ago now, and our chicks are now happily out in their custom-built walk-in coop and pen, fully based on thorough research on this site and reading Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens. I am looking forward to years of learning and chicken love to come

 

[centrarchid]

As our travel restrictions came into play, I sold a dozen laying hens very easy. The money was used to purchase over two months worth of feed. Now I reversed myself and switched eggs from table use to hatching. If chicks are in short supply as mine start to hatch, then we will sell some.

 

[CatsandCrops]

I think for some, this was the kick in the butt to go forward with plans. I've wanted chickens for years and have been trying to talk my husband into them for the past 2 years since we bought our house/land. He was consistent with his no's. I kept building up our gardens and producing more food, kept reading more books on homesteading, kept asking for chickens etc etc. Finally, after he did the grocery shopping at the beginning of shut downs/shelter at home due to me working a 24 hour shift, and had to go to 4 different stores for eggs...I made the off hand comment "if we had chickens, we wouldn't have to worry about things like this in times of need" he agreed to chickens.

Granted, I had done a ton of research over the years, had ideas on what we needed/how to do it, we weren't going into this blindly - but I can see how some might have.

 

[Dsotto]

I feel guilty being that person trying to get chicks as soon as they come in...but that being said, I've wanted chickens for years but the time was just never right and I didn't have the ability raise babies with ultra care when I was working full time since I was gone three nights a week. We've had everything set up for weeks but I just keep missing the chicks since they go so fast. I do hope they are going to good homes. I can't wait til they grow up. The novel baby chick stage is cute but the paranoia about them is not. We've built a super tricked out coop and run and I can't wait til they get in it. I hope they love it. We're in it for the Long haul. We plan on homesteading out in the country and already looking at land for it's chickenworthyness.

I'm a flight attendant and off on leave til August and will likely be furloughed come October so my husband said we should start our chicken investment and it is the perfect time since I have all day to devote to them and make them love me. Haha. (Financially we are fine, so that's not a concern...flight attendant-ing doesn't make that much).