Hello from Texas! And a few utterly clueless questions...

[texasheathers]

Hey everyone! I'm Heather - I'm from the Houston, TX area - SAHM of 3 - 2 boys and 1 girl.

I joined this forum because I wanted some quick advice - and someone to either tell me I'm crazy or tell me I'm not - lol.

My husband and I both grew up with chickens - but it's been a long time... my memories are sketchy.... but my husband's has a lot more experience than I do...

We have been considering getting a few chickens for about a year now.... I get free yard eggs from a friend .... but still, we thought it would be nice to have a few of our own.

So... it's Easter and the feed store by my house has baby chicks - Cukoo Maran and some other type that I couldn't understand what the man said on the phone... but he acted like I was nuts with my questions.... so I didn't try asking again! I felt like a complete idiot asking all my questions... and then I couldn't understand his answers due to speech/dialect/and he talked really fast!!

He also said they had dyed easter chicks (I thought these were illegal??) - and he said he didn't know what kind of chickens they were.... but they were free.

Ok - so here is my question - if my hubby makes a crate - and we get three little chicks - put them in my kids Easter baskets on Easter morning - and then move them outside to my backyard to a crate - and start taking care of them... is it logical that we can raise these three chicks into laying hens?? I know we won't get a lot of eggs from just three chickens - but this would just be a start and if it goes well we can get more...

My backup plan - is that if it doesn't work out - we can give them to my friend with all the chickens and she can add them to her flock.

We have a lot of wood - that my husband can make a chicken coop out of ..... so we have a place to put them up....

Also, we live in an acreage subdivision about an hour out of Houston - some people with bigger lots have livestock - but we only have 3/4 of an acre....

I have a lot of reading to do to figure this out of course - but I was wondering from you guys - am I crazy?? Should I just keep getting my free yard eggs and forego this idea?? I think my kids would learn a lot by having backyard chickens!! My best friend and my mother think I've lost my mind.

And, if I go throguh with it - should I take the free dyed chicks or should I by the Marans or whatever the other kind was he had (started with a b... but that's about all I got.) Or maybe one of each??

Heather

 

[4-H chicken mom]

and

from Ohio. The folks that work at these feed stores really don't know anything about chickens. You could possibly raise them if the proper care is given. These chicks will need 95 degree heat for the first week then it is drop down 5 degrees per week after that till they are fully feathered. Proper feed and fresh water daily. I really don't recomend putting them in the baskets. Two reason, they can jump up and hurt themselves and then that would be sad for a child to see, second they need to be kept warm. Also, when you get chicks from the feed stores, unless they say they are pullets, you could end up with roos.

 

[CityClucks]

First of all,

from Oklahoma! This Backyardchickens site is a great place full of an incredible amount of information and some really nice people.

Second, you're not crazy! And here is some advice about some of your questions:

1. If you want hens for eggs, don't get the dyed chicks - they are most likely all roosters.

2. Don't get chickens thinking you can just give them to your neighbor if they aren't what you thought - introducing outside birds without the proper quarantine, etc. can result in diseases that have killed off entire flocks...not a good idea.

3. Do get some chicks! The Marans or Barred Rocks (were the chicks black with yellow spots on their heads?) are good egg layers. But this is most important if you want eggs and chickens that don't try to fight each other when they're grown: YOU MUST BE CERTAIN YOU'RE GETTING PULLETS (FEMALES).

4. Baby chicks require more care than just putting them outside. A warm consistent temperature is very important the first few weeks of their life. There are tons of threads on BYC about how to care for them, but one of the more succinct explanations I've found is here: http://www.mypetchicken.com/backyard-chickens/chicken-care/chapter-4-caring-for-baby-chicks.aspx

Glad you're here - and whatever you decide to do - good luck!

 

[chickboss]

Ditto to the above advice! They will need care, but soooo much fun. I have small children as well (4 and 6) and here are my in house chick rules:
1. No holding baby chicks on the first day home, period. (This is obviously very hard, but I feel they need time to settle in without any further stressors.)

2. While they are still very small, the kids get to play with them, supervised, twice a day. Excessive whinning, begging, pestering ect. will lead to the loss of one chick cuddle session. (Only happened once, LOL)

3. Any child refusing to help with care of his/her chick gives up thier rights to call said chick there own. Ownership reverts back to the original purchaser of said chick (mom) until the child reassumes chores for a reasonable amount of time (they are little, a day works) and the original purchaser is reassured of said child's commitment to the chick in question.

LOL.

Those are mine, have fun making up your own!

 

[okieglory]

Your not crazy don't worry, you about 3 times less crazy then me haha they do require a lot of stuff other then putting them outside and it might seem like a lot but they are so much fun and when they are older taking care of them is so easy so don't worry.

 

[Backyard Hencam]

Whoa........ So many of those little Easter chicks never live to be over a week old because people are not prepared to care for them. Please take your time, decide what breed would be best for you, make a proper brooder, get a heat lamp, set it up, test it for a few days, get the right food and let your children participate in raising them. Do not buy the colored chicks! They are males!

 

[M To The Maxx]

 

[b.hromada]

and

from S. Florida! Glad you joined us!