- Dec 26, 2011
- 9
- 0
- 6
Hi Blondechicky,
I know how it is getting started - you want the best for your chicks. I have been there. My first experience with laying hens was that a lady gave me 2 hens that were still laying. I learned a lot. Later I bought 2 pullets and they were fun. They are all gone. We recently moved to Oregon from California and now I have a different situation with a lot more predators. We thought it through and built the greatest critter-proof henhouse and outside cage ever. The 6 hens run free all day and are cooped at night with a door that has a deadbolt! Leftover from house remodel. We even put the old kitchen windows in the henhouse when we built it. I bought day old chicks last April 1 - a variety. 2 turned out to be roosters which I gave to a lady down the road. (Many people don't realize hens will lay just fine without a rooster.) Then a neighbor dog killed 2 pullets at 8 weeks. So now I have 2 barred rocks, 3 Americuana (green eggs), and a sex linked (cross between Leghorn and Rhode Island Red - guaranteed to be female!)
So I suggest you wait until March, go to your local feedstore and buy day old chicks. They are so much fun to raise and they know you well. Buy maybe 2 more than you think you will want as adults. Find out when they come in and get them "off the truck" so they won't have too many changes. Have their place ready - box with red lightbulb, thermometer, ceramic dish of crumble, little pan of water with rocks or marbles in it so they don't drown. As soon as you get them settled, one by one dip their beaks into the water so they know where it is. Watch the temperature (reduce each week) and their behavior and watch them grow. You will have so much fun and learn a lot as you go. I didn't have friendly advice like back yard chickens to help me but my degree in agriculture always came in handy. Read all the advice you can and take it all with a grain of salt! Good luck and happy chickens!
dbarbre
I know how it is getting started - you want the best for your chicks. I have been there. My first experience with laying hens was that a lady gave me 2 hens that were still laying. I learned a lot. Later I bought 2 pullets and they were fun. They are all gone. We recently moved to Oregon from California and now I have a different situation with a lot more predators. We thought it through and built the greatest critter-proof henhouse and outside cage ever. The 6 hens run free all day and are cooped at night with a door that has a deadbolt! Leftover from house remodel. We even put the old kitchen windows in the henhouse when we built it. I bought day old chicks last April 1 - a variety. 2 turned out to be roosters which I gave to a lady down the road. (Many people don't realize hens will lay just fine without a rooster.) Then a neighbor dog killed 2 pullets at 8 weeks. So now I have 2 barred rocks, 3 Americuana (green eggs), and a sex linked (cross between Leghorn and Rhode Island Red - guaranteed to be female!)
So I suggest you wait until March, go to your local feedstore and buy day old chicks. They are so much fun to raise and they know you well. Buy maybe 2 more than you think you will want as adults. Find out when they come in and get them "off the truck" so they won't have too many changes. Have their place ready - box with red lightbulb, thermometer, ceramic dish of crumble, little pan of water with rocks or marbles in it so they don't drown. As soon as you get them settled, one by one dip their beaks into the water so they know where it is. Watch the temperature (reduce each week) and their behavior and watch them grow. You will have so much fun and learn a lot as you go. I didn't have friendly advice like back yard chickens to help me but my degree in agriculture always came in handy. Read all the advice you can and take it all with a grain of salt! Good luck and happy chickens!
dbarbre
