Hi all! :)

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HummerHaven

Chirping
Apr 25, 2023
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Hello :) We are new to chicken keeping (and homesteading) and are the proud (and kinda nervous) keepers of 3 TSC chicks; two olive eggers and an accidental Cornish cross (it was VERY busy during chick days and I misread the sign! Lol) We had 4 to begin with but one passed in the night :( and although they offered a replacement we decided not to get more chicks there.
We live in Maine with our two happy puppers (a cavachon and a lab mix) and are slowly transforming our bit of land into a homestead. I like to garden, paint, craft, game and read (mostly scifi/fantasy). I'm currently researching different breeds of started pullets looking toward cold tolerance and friendliness. We plan on expanding our flock soon (to 6).
Eventually we want to have slightly larger livestock (like mini goats) and maybe a duck pond. It's a bit like the chicken and the egg right now (haha) trying to decide what to start with as garden and chickens (and everything else on a homestead for that matter) seem to coexist in harmony, needing each other from the get go. I'm attempting to start small (HA!)
Btw our Cornish cross appears to be male (at 6 weeks ish) I've taken to calling him Roo and he comes when I call him (or say chick, chick, chick) always with the sideways glance up like do you have food? Lol He's a chonker! Easily 5 times as heavy as the others. The olive eggers appear to be male/female and I call him Roo2Doo2 (Roo2 for short) and her Hen Solo (Henny as a nickname). Of course I know it's all up in the air until they crow or lay an egg! I would love to have 2 hens but I seem to have lost the straight run lottery. We were planning to "regift" Roo when we realized he was a meat bird as I don't think I'm ready for that but he's very bold, eating out of my hand and such, while Roo2 and Henny are much more standoffish. They tend to hide behind him. We have a lot of predators in the area so I wonder if he would be a good guardian. Time will tell I guess. Anyway that's our story... can't wait to read everyone else's messages and learn as much as possible. (I've been doing research for 2years on chickens but still feel like I have to experience it all hands on to "get it"). I hope to find a good friendly community here!
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
Sadly, you are not going to have to worry about the Cornish X crowing. He won't make it that long. The only way you can extend their unnaturally short lives is to make sure they get plenty of exercise and restrict feed. Then you might get them to a year old if you are lucky. You can only do that if you've kept him separate from the others from the day he came home. If he's gotten as large as you say, he will need to be processed in 3-5 weeks but might pass before then due to the extreme strain on his joints and organs due to his growth rate. Sorry.
 
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Congrats to taking steps toward your homesteading goal! Don't be discouraged if it seems like there are a gazillion things to do -- and that they all need to be done right away. I've been living on my property for years and sometimes still get overwhelmed by the to-do list.

Miniature goats are delightful and devious. Be prepared to be outwitted by those darling little escape artists. If you're going for ducks, why not add geese, too? Geese have a bad reputation for being ornery, but not all of them are. If you appreciate matching wits with your goats, you might as well challenge yourself with geese, too.

Sorry about Roo. On the other hand, at least you are making his short life more pleasant. Kindness always matters.

Welcome to BYC, and good luck with adding some pullets!
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow

Love your screen name, do you feed the hummingbirds? My feeders are already buzzing with hummers, maybe 10 right now. Most of these are migrators and will move north yet as others come up from the south.

Love miniature goats! I kept pygmies for a while, such a riot they are. :D

Make yourself at home here and welcome to our community!
 
HummerHaven said:
Hello :) We are new to chicken keeping (and homesteading) and are the proud (and kinda nervous) keepers of 3 TSC chicks; two olive eggers and an accidental Cornish cross (it was VERY busy during chick days and I misread the sign! Lol) We had 4 to begin with but one passed in the night :( and although they offered a replacement we decided not to get more chicks there.
We live in Maine with our two happy puppers (a cavachon and a lab mix) and are slowly transforming our bit of land into a homestead. I like to garden, paint, craft, game and read (mostly scifi/fantasy). I'm currently researching different breeds of started pullets looking toward cold tolerance and friendliness. We plan on expanding our flock soon (to 6).
Eventually we want to have slightly larger livestock (like mini goats) and maybe a duck pond. It's a bit like the chicken and the egg right now (haha) trying to decide what to start with as garden and chickens (and everything else on a homestead for that matter) seem to coexist in harmony, needing each other from the get go. I'm attempting to start small (HA!)
Btw our Cornish cross appears to be male (at 6 weeks ish) I've taken to calling him Roo and he comes when I call him (or say chick, chick, chick) always with the sideways glance up like do you have food? Lol He's a chonker! Easily 5 times as heavy as the others. The olive eggers appear to be male/female and I call him Roo2Doo2 (Roo2 for short) and her Hen Solo (Henny as a nickname). Of course I know it's all up in the air until they crow or lay an egg! I would love to have 2 hens but I seem to have lost the straight run lottery. We were planning to "regift" Roo when we realized he was a meat bird as I don't think I'm ready for that but he's very bold, eating out of my hand and such, while Roo2 and Henny are much more standoffish. They tend to hide behind him. We have a lot of predators in the area so I wonder if he would be a good guardian. Time will tell I guess. Anyway that's our story... can't wait to read everyone else's messages and learn as much as possible. (I've been doing research for 2years on chickens but still feel like I have to experience it all hands on to "get it"). I hope to find a good friendly community here!
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Welcome to BYC!!
 

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