Grandsons Chicken 4H Project

[Mrs.Prissy]

My husband and I are blessed to have 2 great grandsons to raise.Last year he needed a project for a grade and he chose a chicken coup,he needed chicks,and to raise them,till they started laying eggs.So grandpa and he built a very small coup beautiful one but they grew and fast ,it was great for 6 babies but small now for 6 adults and 1 rooster.They need a run and bigger laying boxes The feed store man told them they would stay very small so the coup plans would be fine for adults???Now they are wanting to add more room without tearing down original,just add to it???They are Rhode Island and Plymouth rock ,very friendly,like to be peted,We love them and cant have anything to big ,we have small back yard,1 of them gets very upset when we take the eggs ,she wants to sit on them,so they need a bigger home We are learning all of uswish I knew more with your web sites I am learning more and more So thank u for all your research and hard workto bring us free info to learn from Mrs Prissy

 

[MissNutmeg]

 

[Kessel23]

 

[Mrs.Prissy]

Ps Grandson received a A for his grade and My husband is 70 still working and I am in 60+,love to quilt,knit and sew use to can when we had a garden,grandsons say they would love a garden anyway thanks Mrs Prissy

 

[drumstick diva]

When hens want to hatch eggs (going "broody" is the term) they get very protective of them and may growl / bite to keep you from taking them. If you don't have a rooster , the eggs will be infertile and never hatch (just rot after awhile). Broody hens don't know that. So it's best to take the eggs away from, since she's just wasting time & energy on them.

If you do have a rooster -her eggs probably are fertile. She will sit and hatch them out in about 3 weeks.

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under Mrs.Prissy Welcome!

Wow, what are the odds? I not so long ago finished a welcome to Foghorn J Leghorn!

Congrats to your grandson on his 'A'

You might find this article helpful: How Much Room Do Chickens Need

I do hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

If you include your general location on your profile, this will assist others. Location, climate, season etc can be important factors when members are responding to any questions you may have and vice versa.

You might want to also Find Your State Thread and pop in and say hello.

BYC has Topic of the Week discussions which I have found to be a great resource, informative and sometimes entertaining; so definitely worth checking out.

If you would like to share Pictures and Stories of the flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out

 

[Plip]

What a charming story! Thanks for sharing it!

Great to have you here. Welcome to BYC!

 

[DaviJones]

Sweet story! If you post a picture of the coop I'd/We'd be glad to offer expansion ideas. I actually expanded mine shortly after moving my girls in as well.

 

[Mrs.Prissy]

Thank you all for such a warm welcome,and the info is great, God knows We need it , I have never done any thing like this ,this is my frist time writing on any social Forums of any kind,and their is 1 rooster,When my husband bought them they were all going to be Hens,He just sliped in,so I guess he was ment to be with the Hens.I never knew Chickens could be pets,they love runing up to the door at feeding time wanting to be petted.The Grandsons have given them names, and yes now they want them to hatch babies,but are worried because of all the cats that live around us.We live close to Visalia California in the valley.Last week one of the Hens layed a egg almost 2 1/2 times bigger than a store bought grade a large brown,we had never seen a egg so big?Is that good or not? The boys ran in with the egg and since there was only one my older grandson told the younger one its ok its so big there is more than enough for both of us,But the little one said its so big maybe their is a baby in it.Thanks again Mrs Prissy

 

[DaviJones]

Me too! I'd always thought of them as livestock and flighty but my sister has the Wyandotte sit on her lap and the rest will sprint to the fence when the hear the backdoor(they assume I have food on my person) The extra large egg is most likely a double yolker, they happen every now and then, crack it open and check

The smaller eggs can develop into chicks too. In fact they're actually better for hatching as the double yokers are like "twins" and I haven't heard many success stories on those. As long as they're fertilized and incubated or sat on you should get some little fluffs.