Shefa1124
In the Brooder
Hello All,
As a new chicken farmer (and fledgling homesteader), I needed a community to learn from and contribute to. I've never had chickens before but I've never had the land before either. A year ago end of this month I will have been on my 20-acre farm in rural West Virginia one year. The farm had been largely vacant for decades so there was and still is much to do but March 30, I rescued 5 Leghorn hybrids from the chicken factory at the end of my road. At 20 weeks, they are delivered to the factory and their sole job 24/7 is to lay fertilized eggs. They lay continuously and, by the time I got them, they were nearly featherless and highly "institutionalized." They didn't know how to be a chicken and they kept squatting in submission to the rooster.
It's about 5 weeks latter and all but one have all their feathers back. The one is almost there. They have learned to scratch and one has even started to provide me an egg a day. They still don't roost. I started off with egg laying crumbles supplemented with scratch feed and meal worms. I provide them with oyster shell and insoluble grit and add some APV in their water. They also have a dust bath tire but I don't think anyone has used it yet. Recently I decided to prepare my own feed of black oil sunflower seeds, whole corn and whole oats with a bit of diatomaceous earth sprinkled in their to keep them worm-free. I still give meal worms and I bought a forager's block. These girls are really doing well. They have an 10' x 10' space as well as a 20' x 10' run. I also let them free range a bit during the day when I am outside.
So I went and purchased 5 more chicks (and 4 ducks - Pekin and Mallards) to add to the flock. I haven't integrated them yet, babies are too small and I'm not sure what type of chicks I have now - something about black beauty runs? Don't know but I wanted some dark birds to offset the white of the leghorns.
I do have a dog (Kona) and a cat (Siren) who live here with me. Both are very good with the adult birds. Kona has been around the babies and seems quite interested but gives no signs of danger. Still, I never leave her unsupervised with them. The cat will not be introduced to them until they are bigger than she is.
I have 4 adult children and 1 teenage grandson, all live 3 to 4 hours away and visit with some regularity but this is my first time since being 20 that I've lived alone and I'm loving it! I plan to add some goats and sheep to the family as well as a burro, preferably rescue animals. But the fencing needs to be shored up first.
I work in child protective services which can wear down a person so coming home to something I can rescue and nurture to health and happiness is very important to me. Gives me a measure of control I don't always have in other areas I wish I did. I also collect oral histories as a hobby. Currently, I am collecting the histories of the remaining classmates to the one-room school house that is across the road from my home. There are about 5 folks, 70+ years old who have some remarkable stories to share! I'm preparing a website for the school house museum where the stories will be archived.
I found this site when I searched for the answer to why one of my chicks isn't growing. I haven't found an answer but still thought the community would be good to join.
Cheers! Shefa (pronounced Shay-fuh)
As a new chicken farmer (and fledgling homesteader), I needed a community to learn from and contribute to. I've never had chickens before but I've never had the land before either. A year ago end of this month I will have been on my 20-acre farm in rural West Virginia one year. The farm had been largely vacant for decades so there was and still is much to do but March 30, I rescued 5 Leghorn hybrids from the chicken factory at the end of my road. At 20 weeks, they are delivered to the factory and their sole job 24/7 is to lay fertilized eggs. They lay continuously and, by the time I got them, they were nearly featherless and highly "institutionalized." They didn't know how to be a chicken and they kept squatting in submission to the rooster.
It's about 5 weeks latter and all but one have all their feathers back. The one is almost there. They have learned to scratch and one has even started to provide me an egg a day. They still don't roost. I started off with egg laying crumbles supplemented with scratch feed and meal worms. I provide them with oyster shell and insoluble grit and add some APV in their water. They also have a dust bath tire but I don't think anyone has used it yet. Recently I decided to prepare my own feed of black oil sunflower seeds, whole corn and whole oats with a bit of diatomaceous earth sprinkled in their to keep them worm-free. I still give meal worms and I bought a forager's block. These girls are really doing well. They have an 10' x 10' space as well as a 20' x 10' run. I also let them free range a bit during the day when I am outside.
So I went and purchased 5 more chicks (and 4 ducks - Pekin and Mallards) to add to the flock. I haven't integrated them yet, babies are too small and I'm not sure what type of chicks I have now - something about black beauty runs? Don't know but I wanted some dark birds to offset the white of the leghorns.
I do have a dog (Kona) and a cat (Siren) who live here with me. Both are very good with the adult birds. Kona has been around the babies and seems quite interested but gives no signs of danger. Still, I never leave her unsupervised with them. The cat will not be introduced to them until they are bigger than she is.
I have 4 adult children and 1 teenage grandson, all live 3 to 4 hours away and visit with some regularity but this is my first time since being 20 that I've lived alone and I'm loving it! I plan to add some goats and sheep to the family as well as a burro, preferably rescue animals. But the fencing needs to be shored up first.
I work in child protective services which can wear down a person so coming home to something I can rescue and nurture to health and happiness is very important to me. Gives me a measure of control I don't always have in other areas I wish I did. I also collect oral histories as a hobby. Currently, I am collecting the histories of the remaining classmates to the one-room school house that is across the road from my home. There are about 5 folks, 70+ years old who have some remarkable stories to share! I'm preparing a website for the school house museum where the stories will be archived.
I found this site when I searched for the answer to why one of my chicks isn't growing. I haven't found an answer but still thought the community would be good to join.
Cheers! Shefa (pronounced Shay-fuh)
We are glad you joined this flock!
Glad you joined.
Best wishes and have lots of fun! 
