Devasted 8 y/o Need Plymouth barred, Easter Egger, andalusian

[Aetcheverry]

We lost 4 8 week old chicks Last night. My 8 year old is going to be devastated. Does anyone sell those breeds around that age?
Colorado

desperate for help

 

[Acre4Me]

Sorry for the loss of the chicks! Luckily, EE and Barred Rocks are fairly common.

I'd do some searching for farm pages on fb (cannot sell animals on fb, though), maybe one is near to you and has a flock of chickens. Ask friends if they know someone who overbought chicks this year or have some they cannot care for. Some animal shelters take chickens. If you have any hatcheries near enough to you to drive to, some sell Started Pullets - which are usually around 14 or so weeks old and getting near to laying. Shipping on a started pullet is pricy, but if you can pick up in person, then no shipping. Call local 4-H office (often part of the county extension office) to see if they know of any kids with chickens that might want to sell you a few.

We were asked by a friend if we had any chickens we wanted to get rid of due to a predator loss at their home...we did not have any we previously wanted to get rid of, but our flock was big enough that we gave him two chickens anyway bc they asked nicely and told us their situation. Those 2 birds are still doing well, 8 months later!

 

[One Lucky Momma]

This sounds like a tragedy and probably a traumatic one. I am so sorry for the child and the chicks and for you.
Forgive me, this may not be what you’re wanting to hear right now, but I wonder how open you’re being with the child about this. if you’re trying to replace the chicks on the sly, it’s going to be very difficult and the child probably won’t be fooled. Are you trying to protect them from the reality of predation?

It will be a lot easier to start over with new chicks of whatever breed and age you can find. And this might be a good time for a lesson in Mother Nature. Of course I don’t know this child personally, but I do know that in general children are incredibly resilient and inherently wise.

So, please forgive me if I’ve come across as being coldhearted, as a devoted mom and a hard core animal lover that’s not my intention. This is one of those hard times and I’m thinking perhaps you’ll suffer the pain together and come up with a plan. Good luck!

 

[Aetcheverry]

This sounds like a tragedy and probably a traumatic one. I am so sorry for the child and the chicks and for you.
Forgive me, this may not be what you’re wanting to hear right now, but I wonder how open you’re being with the child about this. if you’re trying to replace the chicks on the sly, it’s going to be very difficult and the child probably won’t be fooled. Are you trying to protect them from the reality of predation?

It will be a lot easier to start over with new chicks of whatever breed and age you can find. And this might be a good time for a lesson in Mother Nature. Of course I don’t know this child personally, but I do know that in general children are incredibly resilient and inherently wise.

So, please forgive me if I’ve come across as being coldhearted, as a devoted mom and a hard core animal lover that’s not my intention. This is one of those hard times and I’m thinking perhaps you’ll suffer the pain together and come up with a plan. Good luck!

I appreciate it! No I wasn’t doing it to be sneaky, she’s lost a few to predators before. I know it’s apart of it all. We rescued an ameraucana and she died at around 6 y/o just a few weeks back So we love them and EE’s. My daughter has fallen in love with the barred rock and I fell in love with the Andalusian. She has cried and cried but understands that sometimes awful things happen. I just wanted to fill that void a little bit. If I replaced them with the same looking chicken she would still know the difference. She is a true chicken lover!

 

[Aetcheverry]

Sorry for the loss of the chicks! Luckily, EE and Barred Rocks are fairly common.

I'd do some searching for farm pages on fb (cannot sell animals on fb, though), maybe one is near to you and has a flock of chickens. Ask friends if they know someone who overbought chicks this year or have some they cannot care for. Some animal shelters take chickens. If you have any hatcheries near enough to you to drive to, some sell Started Pullets - which are usually around 14 or so weeks old and getting near to laying. Shipping on a started pullet is pricy, but if you can pick up in person, then no shipping. Call local 4-H office (often part of the county extension office) to see if they know of any kids with chickens that might want to sell you a few.

We were asked by a friend if we had any chickens we wanted to get rid of due to a predator loss at their home...we did not have any we previously wanted to get rid of, but our flock was big enough that we gave him two chickens anyway bc they asked nicely and told us their situation. Those 2 birds are still doing well, 8 months later!

I’m transitioning 8 week olds with our adult chickens so I didn’t want to start over and transition babies with both batches. I might have found 2 8 week old barred rocks to buy this weekend If I want an andalusian I’ll have to start from day 1 though and an EE.
it’s heart breaking losing them! We had them inside for 6 weeks so we became very attached. You are a wonderful person to help that family!!

 

[Ruthster55]

Improve your fencing. We had to do what's in the picture. Our primary predators are dogs and the brick wall portion has a footer to prevent digging.

Note: this won't protect against hawks or opossums eating eggs. If the problem is raccoons, you would also have to protect the coop with hardware cloth and something like a footer to prevent digging.

 

[Aetcheverry]

Improve your fencing. We had to do what's in the picture. Our primary predators are dogs and the brick wall portion has a footer to prevent digging.

Note: this won't protect against hawks or opossums eating eggs. If the problem is raccoons, you would also have to protect the coop with hardware cloth and something like a footer to prevent digging.

Wow that looks amazing!! Our main predators are hawks, possibly owls, skunks and raccoons. Our original coop was made very very well, nothing has gotten into it. We've owned it for over 2 years. We borrowed a smaller coop to transition our younger chicks with the adults in the run during the day and their own coop at night. I believe a raccoon got into it and killed 4 and left 3 alive. I've been working on maintaining the coop and improving sections. Our run is just a deterrent, something could get into it if it wanted. I love what you have going on though!! Baby steps and we will get there.