hello from Richmond, CA.

Date sort Score sort
pikachupacabra

pikachupacabra

In the Brooder
9 Years
Jul 6, 2010
13
0
22
I'm so glad I get to join your poultry party!

So, now I guess I have to talk a bit about me-which is always a little awkward for me, but here goes;
I'm currently a graphic design student, and I just moved to Richmond, CA.

I'm not really sure when I decided that I wanted to own chickens, but I have always thought they were fun to watch and interact with.

Anyway, I really had no bird (of any kind) experience, and very little knowledge, but then about 4 weeks ago my boyfriend and I were at the local pet store looking at tropical fish, and they had a whole mess (like 3 dozen or more) of tiny little chicks for $5.00 each...and that is when I decided that I wanted to have chickens of my own...but I was broke that day, we were only window shopping, so I had to go away empty handed.
sad.png


Then I spent the next week convincing my boyfriend to let me have a chicken, and then his dad said "you can't just get one, get two, so they don't get lonely". And we got back to the pet store in the knick of time as there was only like 5 chicks left.

I picked out 2 without knowing anything at all about what breed they were, what they would look like, where I was gonna put them...(my boyfriend tried to practical, and asked these questions while we standing in front of the cage, and my response was something like "We'll burn that bridge when we get to it. Which chicks do you think we should get"?

So, currently I have 1 black Sex-link, tentatively named Ember because of the flame colored edges of her breast feathers, and 1 Barred Rock, who I am considering calling Diva because she sings and squeaks constantly, and I will be getting a third chicken in just a few hours (SWEEET!!! oh, how agonizingly slow time is passing...). I am sort of undecided about what breed I will get...the guy I am going to buy from has many different breeds available, but I am leaning toward either a partridge, or a laced Wyandotte...
...I wonder if he has a blue laced red... Well, I will tell you all about the 3rd flock member after she comes home...

Anyway, my chickens currently live in the living room at night and during the day I put them outside in a temporary run. We were looking for coop help and ideas and stuff online (which is how I found BYC), and are almost finished building them more appropriate housing...I'll post pics in the designated area later.

Other than chickens, I have 7 fish, unnamed, and 2 cats, Maia and Alley.

...I am a hopeless video game junkie...and a 3rd generation tech geek, I am totally dependent on the internet (I feel crippled without it), an avid Anime fan, and I love Hello Kitty, antique marbles and collectible PVC Anime figures.

Gosh, I hope this isn't ridiculously over long for an intro...I better shut-up for now...

Cheers,
Brie
 
I really enjoyed your introduction.

Where in your living room do they sleep? Are they free-range indoor chickens at night or have they got some sort of indoor coop?

Also, what do the cats do?

-Desiree
 
Just saying "hi!" from WV. We used to live in the Bay Area (for 10 yrs).
We have brooder boxes in our living room too right now! I can't wait for them to all be fully feathered and outside all of the time! It can be a lot to get them in and out every morning and evening. We have 3 boxes/bins with chicks inside during the night
jumpy.gif
 
Last edited:
Actually they sleep in a really large rectangular wire mesh crate turned upside down on a piece of plywood...with some newspaper and an old bunched up towel (for softness and warmth)...
When they first got here they managed to squeeze through the mesh and then explored the living room, while pooping on everything with reckless abandon...but they are to cute to even be upset about it, and for poop it's pretty benign.

There is plenty of room for them, their waterer, feeder and still room to play chase a little bit...

This is all a very temporary housing situation, we're building them a chicken house with all the necessary accomodations, i.e. roosting bars, nest boxes, and an attached outdoor run.

As for the cats, they actually live with my mom right now and haven't met the chickens. I miss them terribly and don't get to see them as often as I'd like, but they get to go outside where they are, and they wouldn't be able to in Richmond (especially Maia, she is a black cat with a white heart shape on her chest, but if the white spot isn't visible, she all but disappears in the dark, and I'm too scared she'd get squished), so it is the best place for them right now, and my mom likes the feline company.

Also, I thought I should update my the status of my herd, the household chicken count has increased from 2 to 3 members as of an hour or so ago...
ya.gif

I just bought a bantam pullet. The man I bought her from says she is 3 1/2 mos. and is an Old English breed. She has these beautiful speckled feathers, and blue-ish feet...and an elegant tail which she lifts up and displays proudly.

(this chicken business is the best! I am having so much fun!)

...back to building...Cheers!
 
Quote:
Remember to quarantine new birds for 30 days (or more). I just got 6 new chicks last week and they turned out to have a parasite and required medicine.
Chickens are sort of addicting aren't they!
 
Quote:
I didn't see this until after I had already put them all together....

I will keep an eye on all of them, what sorts of symptoms would they exhibit if there were a problem?

Also, I am a bit distressed about how my first two are treating the new one...they are being kind of mean to her.
It doesn't appear as though she is being seriously injured or anything, but I don't know if I should intervene, or just let them establish who's the highest hen on the ol' totem pole.
I was surprised that the younger chickens were bold enough to bully the the slightly older new chicken...

...I suppose I should move this topic to someplace besides the intro section...
 
Last edited:
Hello from the Peninsula! Regarding the pecking order, yeah, it can be kind of mean ... but hopefully with no blood or injury involved. If there is any bleeding, definitely remove that chick from the others.

Yes, to get chickens is to fall in love -- or at least, it was that way with me :).
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom