Hello from Seattle

[wlai]

Hi everyone! Always nice to find a new community full of folks so enthusiastic to share their hobby with! Would love to hear any advice on our plans:

My girls (human

) are 9 and 4, and we are about to order some chicks for them to raise as pets. The whole family is pretty excited about this.

We will be getting an Eglu and about 4 hens for our small suburban yard. In addition to the run, the birds will get some free range time fwhen we are watching them, since we have neighbor's dogs and raccoon/possums to deal with. I've heard 4 is pretty much the limit for Eglu, and so that's what we are shooting for.

The girls would like to get two silkies, and we are still trying to decide on the other birds, probably a breed that are good egg layers. Any suggestions would be welcome, but so far we are thinking Wyandotte? Not sure whether these two should be bantams as well, given the small size of the Eglu as coop.

Think we'll get sexed chicks from MyPetChicken, but McMurray has a much larger selection to choose from. We just don't know what to do if we get straight runs, though: Do folks just give the roosters away if they don't want them?

We also haven't figured out how big a brooder we need before we can set them out to the Eglu. Definitely would like to start with a transparent rubbermaid container, but can it last till they are ready for the Eglu outdoors? The brooder pic thread seems to suggest not, but advice would be great!

And everyone seems to have purchased feeders/waterers. If we are only doing this once in a while, since we can't really grow our herd much, are the convenience factor worthwhile?

Well, that's it for now, thanks for checking in!

 

[Fay at Frizzled Feathers]

Hello and Welcome , i see that you are new. Yes its worth getting into , it will be a great eperience for your children. The barred rocks are good with small children and lay pretty good. The big plastic totes would work fine for a brooder for a few chicks to start.I am sure other people here can answer your questions a lil better.

Fay

 

[willowcol]

Hi

!! If I had to choose 4 chickens I would get the 2 silkies and maybe 2 Easter Eggers. The kids will love the blue/green eggs they lay. My EE is my favorite, she is the sweetest babie I have (don't tell the silkies I said that). Not sure about the Eglu, I have heard good and bad things about them. It might be fun to get a playhouse kit and turn it into a coop so the kids can help build it. Or maybe a chicken tractor. Do a search on the Eglu above and read coments on it before you spend to much money, make sure it will work for you. I would buy sexed chicks if possible, and I would stay far away from the Incubating and fertile egg links, lol. It is very hard to stop yourself from building incubators and buying fertile eggs even though you won't remember doing it.

 

[balticbabe]

Welcome,

I got my girls from two different feed stores. Don't know what part of Seattle you are in but Monroe Feed has a large selection of chicks in the Spring. It's fun to pick out the chicks yourselves then get any feed or acessories you need at the same time. Much cheaper also.

I got my Wyandotte from Monroe feed, she is beautiful but not very friendly. The Rocks are aggressive in a good way and are still laying even in the cold, gray days of January.

When mine were chicks I kept them in an aquarium but had to move them into a crate a month later since they started fighting. Not enough room.

I purchased waters but made a feeder out of a plastic Costco peanut container sat atop a pie tin. Works well until it gets low and light enough for them to dump it over.

Hope this helps.

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

from TN

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Glad to have you here!

 

[redoak]

 

[Dandelion007]

 

[christmaschicken]

from beautiful Christmas, FL

 

[william9792]