Hiya there. I just discovered this forum. I haven't read much of it yet besides the required reading, so I'm not sure about people's ways of posting.
I'll just start by saying that for around 6 years, my friend has allowed me to help take care of her school's farm for a week or two each summer. It's in the suburbs, and has lots of chickens! I fell in love with these adorable birds. About 3 years ago, while I was there, I saw a hen laying on some eggs in the coop. Usually they have hens with eggs in a special cage, since their coop is a wild place with all sorts of roosters, geese, rabbits, ducks, and more. I thought that if those chicks ever did hatch in here, they would probably end up getting hurt or accidentally let outside, where coyotes often come to visit. So I took them home. It might have not been the best idea, but I was younger and didn't know everything, or if it would be okay to leave them in that environment. I had done much research on incubators and I made my own. 6 of them hatched, but 2 had needed help getting out. Mike was the first, and had needed help, and sadly died the next day. The others, Bo, Colonel, Butterscotch, Pippin, and Lucky survived (though she was the other one who couldn't hatch on her own, and only lived a few months
). Bo and Colonel were roosters, and Butterscotch and Pippin were hens. We couldn't keep roosters in our area, unfortunately, so we had no choice but to take them all back to the farm once they started crowing. A year or so later, the coyotes went on a major raid and only Butterscotch made it out. She was in bad shape too, so we thought it would be best to bring her back home. We also took two of the weakest chicks who also happened to be best friends, so that they would have a better chance. To this day I still have Butterscotch, Speckles, and Palila, and they are healthy now.
We built a coop in our backyard and let them free roam. I'll post a picture someday when I'm allowed to!
I'll just start by saying that for around 6 years, my friend has allowed me to help take care of her school's farm for a week or two each summer. It's in the suburbs, and has lots of chickens! I fell in love with these adorable birds. About 3 years ago, while I was there, I saw a hen laying on some eggs in the coop. Usually they have hens with eggs in a special cage, since their coop is a wild place with all sorts of roosters, geese, rabbits, ducks, and more. I thought that if those chicks ever did hatch in here, they would probably end up getting hurt or accidentally let outside, where coyotes often come to visit. So I took them home. It might have not been the best idea, but I was younger and didn't know everything, or if it would be okay to leave them in that environment. I had done much research on incubators and I made my own. 6 of them hatched, but 2 had needed help getting out. Mike was the first, and had needed help, and sadly died the next day. The others, Bo, Colonel, Butterscotch, Pippin, and Lucky survived (though she was the other one who couldn't hatch on her own, and only lived a few months
