First Time Chick Parents, Spring 2016

[ladynewtochicks]

haha yeah my hubby offered to share his shed but moving everything and putting up a wall but has not happen yet. But it's OK I am not ready for them outside 24 7 yet. Over protective mama

Lol I would love to keep them close for a while longer but my brooder is crowded since I have no self control in the feed store. They need to go lol

 

[jessschlles4]

HI!!!! 


I want to join in too! My family and I are going to be first time chick parents as well. We have a roomy shed we are converting into a coop. We are so excited!!!! 


I was able to tell within a day. The orpingtons, the only way i could tell them apart was one was whiter in rhe face and eyelashes than than the other.

I've already contacted the farm we are going to pick up chicks from. Our chicks are going to be Silver Laced Wyanottes (4) and Easter Eggers (4). My daughter (who is 5) is so excited, she is using her 15$ of birthday money for the chicks. Whatever she gets she gets to name as well. 


Does anyone have a hard time telling their chicks apart at first? Or is it fairly easy once you get home and spend time with them? (the people who already have their first chicks). 


Our chick adoption day is May 29th! We are all sooooooo excited!!!!! 

We were able to tell apart by day1. The orpingtons were the toughest, but one had a whiter face and eyelashes. Good luck with the new babies!

 

[collie1470]

Our BOs are now 6 weeks old, and are getting more difficult to get pictures of....brats lol

 

[collie1470]

And the Silkies are 2 weeks old now. They're so much feistier than the orpingtons were at this age.

 

[lisa7780]

I just got my girls yesterday. I got 2 Golden Sexlinks, 3 Blue Andalusian and 3 Silver Laced Wyandotte.

 

[realsis]

So sweet♡♡♡ enjoy each moment. They grow so quickly. I noticed my laced wyannadottes are slower to Feather so don't let that worry you.

 

[athomas718]

I love coming to this thread!! Makes me so excited!!!


We cleaned out the shed yesterday! We had never used it before, and previous owners (we bought the house in Feb but had been renting it since 2014) had kept tarps in there that smelled awful! So glad we cleaned it out now. We are going to sanitize it down. We cut some trees around it down to give the shed more light and so squirrels can't easily get to it from the tree branches. Which is what we suspect was the smell of the tarps. We still have A LOT of interior work and maybe replace some of the shingles on the top. I am SOOOOOO excited. I come to this thread to see how everyone else is doing until we can join in on the fun!

I'm so scared of a chick dying. I want to do everything perfect. Did anyone on the thread lose any chicks? I am scared that it's really common. I think I would just be so sad.

My three kids already named their chicks (of course it could change in a month) but today they came up with the cutest names.

My five year old (Josie) gets to name 2 since she's using her birthday money to buy 2 chicks. She chose Isabella and Junior. Don't be confused, we are getting only pullets.

My 2 year old (Emmie) chose Juju. It's so cute.

And my 10 month old doesn't say a lot but when I asked him he said Mama, and I think that's a fine chicken name. haha

My husband and I will name the remaining 4, but we are waiting until we get the chicks.

I am beside myself with excitement. I can't believe I have to wait a MONTH! GAH!

 

[collie1470]

We lost one of our orpingtons within a few days of getting them. She just failed to thrive. She was smaller and lethargic...tried everything I could think of, but she just didn't make it. But, the remaining 7 are ridiculous and have grown like weeds.

 

[athomas718]

We lost one of our orpingtons within a few days of getting them. She just failed to thrive. She was smaller and lethargic...tried everything I could think of, but she just didn't make it. But, the remaining 7 are ridiculous and have grown like weeds.

Did you buy from a hatchery or a farm breeder? I'm wondering if there is a difference? I've seen some threads that say there is.

Losing one is common though as far as I can tell. I think we are considering getting 10 since that's our max, so we can have wiggle room in case we lose any.

 

[MiniIndyRanch]

I love coming to this thread!! Makes me so excited!!!


We cleaned out the shed yesterday! We had never used it before, and previous owners (we bought the house in Feb but had been renting it since 2014) had kept tarps in there that smelled awful! So glad we cleaned it out now. We are going to sanitize it down. We cut some trees around it down to give the shed more light and so squirrels can't easily get to it from the tree branches. Which is what we suspect was the smell of the tarps. We still have A LOT of interior work and maybe replace some of the shingles on the top. I am SOOOOOO excited. I come to this thread to see how everyone else is doing until we can join in on the fun!

I'm so scared of a chick dying. I want to do everything perfect. Did anyone on the thread lose any chicks? I am scared that it's really common. I think I would just be so sad.

My three kids already named their chicks (of course it could change in a month) but today they came up with the cutest names.

My five year old (Josie) gets to name 2 since she's using her birthday money to buy 2 chicks. She chose Isabella and Junior. Don't be confused, we are getting only pullets.

My 2 year old (Emmie) chose Juju. It's so cute.

And my 10 month old doesn't say a lot but when I asked him he said Mama, and I think that's a fine chicken name. haha

My husband and I will name the remaining 4, but we are waiting until we get the chicks.

I am beside myself with excitement. I can't believe I have to wait a MONTH! GAH!

I was super nervous about losing a chick too. In reading peoples comments, it does seem pretty common, so it was all I could think about on the ship days. Knock on wood, all of my chicks are happy and healthy! I think getting them when the weather is warmer and having the proper brooder/equipment for them upon arrival is a big part of the success I'm having so far. I only had one mild case of pasty butt and it was cleared up within 8 hours of being in the brooder. So as of now, my only mishap is actually having possibly been shipped a chick of the wrong breed, but she's so cute I'm glad that the mix-up happened.

Oh, and mine came from MPC since the question about hatchery vs farm was mentioned.