Well I have been reading the pages On BYC for a very long time, checking out the forums and reading up as much as possible. However I only recently decided to register, not really sure why I took so long, especially since registering only took me a brief moment. Sure there other chicken websites etc...but none add up to this one. I sure do like BYC!!!!
I have been living on my farm for 5 years now, I had decided I was going to get chickens and maybe a few ducks and some other animals when I first bought the property but that too has been taking a long time. The property wasn't really set up for animals until recently and even then the barn isn't quite done. I ordered my baby chicks last month from a farm. they order from a hatchery somewhere in toronto. If it hadn't been for a freind who bought her chicks onthe spurr of the moment, I would of likely still be sitting here wishing I had some too. I went to the farm ordered my batch of 20 chicks and patiently waited a month for them to hatch and be shipped to me. They arrived on the 2nd of this month and I was super surprised to see the little box they came in. I for sure thought they would arrive in something much bigger. 20 red sex link.
By the time I bought the feed and lingered around to see the horse being trained for barrel racing the chicks were feeling a bit cooped up..no pun intended!!! I placed them in their brooder, dipped their beaks inthe sugar water and directed them to the feed. I never heard a peep out of them for hours to come, they were happily eating and drinking away. As the days progressed I realize chickens grow super fast, they are only 8 days old now and so entertainng to watch. Still I wish they would make less of a fuzz about being picked up. I pick them up at the end of each night, check for any pasting up and clean those who needed and then place them back down. some refuse to get off my hand while others are just happy to be back on solid ground.
I made their brooder out of an apartment size 1980's crib that my friend was throwing out, it was still in great shape but now her youngest is 3 so she no longer needed a crib. I took it to the house cleaned it, measured a piece of rigid tiled board, the ones that are used for bathrooms and showers...and then added it to the bottom I adjusted the height and then took some gardening edging and after adding a few holes tied it all around on the bars. On the outside I placed chicken wire throughout and I did the same for the top. I placed a heat lamp with a 250 watt heat bulb on the top. It used to be for my dessert lizzard, but he passed away last year and I never replaced him. so I kept it to keep the mud room warm when my dogs were outside playing and needed a quick warm up in the winter. it came in handy for the chickens. I adjust the location of the lamp depending on the time of day and the temperature in the house and outside. sometimes it needs adjusting several times per day so it doesn't get too hot or too cold. The weather up here is so unpredictable. Today I woke up and it was only 1 degree outside. pretty chilly for being june 8th. As long as they are moving about and they are happy, eating and trying to fly from one end to the other than I think I am doing quite good. It also has side vents I can lift or place down in case it gets too cold or too hot.
I can't wait till they are old enough to go into their chicken coop we took so long to build. we purposely built the coop inside the barn with the run leading out an existing door and into a big pen which is locaed in the middle of the horse pen and the dog pen. We have big wild cats, bears, wolves and foxes to worry about here. So protection was the key to a proper built chicken coop. Often times we have gone outside and found a bear in our front or side lawn just foraging through the berries or garden. In the winter we have a wolves den out back and they stay in the tree line for the most part. I've got 5 large dogs so they do keep the predators away with all the barking they do at them. For that reason alone none of my animals are ever left outside for the night. EVER!!!
Obviously you can tell I love animals, I am also a huge family person, my kids are fantastic, love them to death, and there is nothing more fun then teaching them everything I can about small hobby farming. I have 2 sons and one beautiful daughter. my oldest is 14 and in highschool, my daughter is 6 and the yongest is 2 and he is a bit of a rascal, who just loves his little chickies as he calls them. My hope is to get my egglayers up and comfy and then maybe I will also endevour into beekeeping. I sure hope to hear from you and to learn a little form each one of you.
Ema
I have been living on my farm for 5 years now, I had decided I was going to get chickens and maybe a few ducks and some other animals when I first bought the property but that too has been taking a long time. The property wasn't really set up for animals until recently and even then the barn isn't quite done. I ordered my baby chicks last month from a farm. they order from a hatchery somewhere in toronto. If it hadn't been for a freind who bought her chicks onthe spurr of the moment, I would of likely still be sitting here wishing I had some too. I went to the farm ordered my batch of 20 chicks and patiently waited a month for them to hatch and be shipped to me. They arrived on the 2nd of this month and I was super surprised to see the little box they came in. I for sure thought they would arrive in something much bigger. 20 red sex link.
By the time I bought the feed and lingered around to see the horse being trained for barrel racing the chicks were feeling a bit cooped up..no pun intended!!! I placed them in their brooder, dipped their beaks inthe sugar water and directed them to the feed. I never heard a peep out of them for hours to come, they were happily eating and drinking away. As the days progressed I realize chickens grow super fast, they are only 8 days old now and so entertainng to watch. Still I wish they would make less of a fuzz about being picked up. I pick them up at the end of each night, check for any pasting up and clean those who needed and then place them back down. some refuse to get off my hand while others are just happy to be back on solid ground.
I made their brooder out of an apartment size 1980's crib that my friend was throwing out, it was still in great shape but now her youngest is 3 so she no longer needed a crib. I took it to the house cleaned it, measured a piece of rigid tiled board, the ones that are used for bathrooms and showers...and then added it to the bottom I adjusted the height and then took some gardening edging and after adding a few holes tied it all around on the bars. On the outside I placed chicken wire throughout and I did the same for the top. I placed a heat lamp with a 250 watt heat bulb on the top. It used to be for my dessert lizzard, but he passed away last year and I never replaced him. so I kept it to keep the mud room warm when my dogs were outside playing and needed a quick warm up in the winter. it came in handy for the chickens. I adjust the location of the lamp depending on the time of day and the temperature in the house and outside. sometimes it needs adjusting several times per day so it doesn't get too hot or too cold. The weather up here is so unpredictable. Today I woke up and it was only 1 degree outside. pretty chilly for being june 8th. As long as they are moving about and they are happy, eating and trying to fly from one end to the other than I think I am doing quite good. It also has side vents I can lift or place down in case it gets too cold or too hot.
I can't wait till they are old enough to go into their chicken coop we took so long to build. we purposely built the coop inside the barn with the run leading out an existing door and into a big pen which is locaed in the middle of the horse pen and the dog pen. We have big wild cats, bears, wolves and foxes to worry about here. So protection was the key to a proper built chicken coop. Often times we have gone outside and found a bear in our front or side lawn just foraging through the berries or garden. In the winter we have a wolves den out back and they stay in the tree line for the most part. I've got 5 large dogs so they do keep the predators away with all the barking they do at them. For that reason alone none of my animals are ever left outside for the night. EVER!!!
Obviously you can tell I love animals, I am also a huge family person, my kids are fantastic, love them to death, and there is nothing more fun then teaching them everything I can about small hobby farming. I have 2 sons and one beautiful daughter. my oldest is 14 and in highschool, my daughter is 6 and the yongest is 2 and he is a bit of a rascal, who just loves his little chickies as he calls them. My hope is to get my egglayers up and comfy and then maybe I will also endevour into beekeeping. I sure hope to hear from you and to learn a little form each one of you.
Ema
. So glad you decided to join us, there are a lot of great people on here. Sounds like you have a real nice set up. Hope you enjoy your chicks as much as I enjoy mine. 
