kristanlinnea
In the Brooder
- Oct 5, 2020
- 5
- 30
- 36
Hi Everyone,
Thanks so much for letting me join BackYard Chickens since I'm a newbie to raising egg-laying hens and they're still too young to lay right now. I seem to (almost) be doing a decent job BUT there is no such thing as too much information. (Er, maybe not, but I hope to take my chances.) My husband and I run a pretty little bed and breakfast in upstate NY and we couldn't be open in 2020 but, as we only serve real chicken eggs, we had been talking about raising our own. Local sources have been inconsistent (i.e. we've been open since late 2017 and have been through two sources directly from farms and the farmer's market is far too expensive for the volume of eggs we need during a normal season. During the time that we couldn't be open, we built a coop, a chicken "hospital" with it's own little run, and two runs for the twelve hens we brought home six at a time - six on June 5th and six on July 11 - both 2020.
So, we have one dozen hens - half that we've raised from their second day of life and half that were technically pullets(?) but looked like the most they could be was one week old when we brought them home from Tractor Supply. (The first six were from a local farm supply and we were on the list of people that would be notified when they arrived.)
Our older pullets are 18 weeks as of Thursday, October 8th, 2020, and are a variety mix of 2 Araucanas (Emily and Fergie), 2 Rhode Island Reds (Sallie and Ruby), and 2 Barred Rocks (Winnie and Lizzie). The younger ones are approximately (we have to guess because they were labeled pullets when they looked like chicks) 13 weeks this Saturday, October 10th. 3 are Light Brahmas and 3 are ISA Browns. They're harder to name right now but the larger, more vocal (she mutters at me) Light Brahma, I call Angel and the other two Light Brahmas - variations on that name until I'm completely sure - Angeline, Angela - who knows if I ever get it right right now, lol. The ISA browns - even harder. There's one that's larger and hangs out with Angel and mutters at me, too, so I (think) I've got her pegged as Henny Penny. Dunno. Love them all, though. Even if they are ALL brats.
My favorite aspect of raising backyard chickens is that I've never done this before and the chicks were adorable and their personalities are developing as they and it's wonderful. I'm losing the instinct to worry about them all the time (I mean 24/7) but I care about making sure that they're happy and comfortable. I'm honestly not thinking about the eggs that inspired me to start a - or I guess it's really two since I staggered bringing them home - flock though I'm sure I'll cry when I get my first egg. But don't get me wrong. I mean it when I say they're ALL brats.
Other hobbies are cooking, writing, and - temporarily - working on a cross-stitch project that has convinced me that, though I have a ton of patience for things that I never imagined (like incorporating younger pullets into an older batch), I do not have patience for that. I do like making my own throw pillows since you get to pick the patterns and the size and it costs a fraction of what they are sold for if you make them yourself but that project is over - I have more than enough throw pillows at this point in time.
As I mentioned before, my husband and I run a bed and breakfast and took advantage of the time afforded by not being able to open comfortably in 2020. We're too small and it's only the two of us with a little help from a friend when it's busy and that leaves no time to invest the time and love into creating our own source of fresh eggs. We have two cats - one of which is very ambitious about ridding the property of any vermin. She's little, though, so we made sure the runs and the coops are well-protected. My husband is an excellent carpenter and a diligent project-finisher so the coop was ready long before the chicks were ready to move in. He's a military retiree and I'm a service industry retiree so the b&b was an excellent idea. We'll see what the future brings but I'm so glad we had the time to spend. The money was thin but the time was at a premium since, for the last two years, we hit the ground running once the summer season began. We can only hope for the future but I'll never be sorry we got our little family of hens.
Every time I have a concern about my girls, I google it and, about 9 time out of 10, BackYard Chickens shows an answer. You've provided excellent guidance and I'd love the opportunity to ask questions more specific to my concerns as they come up and, as I grow, I'd like to offer advice based on my experience, to help other newbies to raising chickens. I'm so happy to be a part of community that I can tell feels the same.
I'm attaching a couple pix of our coop and one silly one of "Henny Penny."
Thanks so much for allowing me into this venue!
Kristan Polsgrove
Thanks so much for letting me join BackYard Chickens since I'm a newbie to raising egg-laying hens and they're still too young to lay right now. I seem to (almost) be doing a decent job BUT there is no such thing as too much information. (Er, maybe not, but I hope to take my chances.) My husband and I run a pretty little bed and breakfast in upstate NY and we couldn't be open in 2020 but, as we only serve real chicken eggs, we had been talking about raising our own. Local sources have been inconsistent (i.e. we've been open since late 2017 and have been through two sources directly from farms and the farmer's market is far too expensive for the volume of eggs we need during a normal season. During the time that we couldn't be open, we built a coop, a chicken "hospital" with it's own little run, and two runs for the twelve hens we brought home six at a time - six on June 5th and six on July 11 - both 2020.
So, we have one dozen hens - half that we've raised from their second day of life and half that were technically pullets(?) but looked like the most they could be was one week old when we brought them home from Tractor Supply. (The first six were from a local farm supply and we were on the list of people that would be notified when they arrived.)
Our older pullets are 18 weeks as of Thursday, October 8th, 2020, and are a variety mix of 2 Araucanas (Emily and Fergie), 2 Rhode Island Reds (Sallie and Ruby), and 2 Barred Rocks (Winnie and Lizzie). The younger ones are approximately (we have to guess because they were labeled pullets when they looked like chicks) 13 weeks this Saturday, October 10th. 3 are Light Brahmas and 3 are ISA Browns. They're harder to name right now but the larger, more vocal (she mutters at me) Light Brahma, I call Angel and the other two Light Brahmas - variations on that name until I'm completely sure - Angeline, Angela - who knows if I ever get it right right now, lol. The ISA browns - even harder. There's one that's larger and hangs out with Angel and mutters at me, too, so I (think) I've got her pegged as Henny Penny. Dunno. Love them all, though. Even if they are ALL brats.
My favorite aspect of raising backyard chickens is that I've never done this before and the chicks were adorable and their personalities are developing as they and it's wonderful. I'm losing the instinct to worry about them all the time (I mean 24/7) but I care about making sure that they're happy and comfortable. I'm honestly not thinking about the eggs that inspired me to start a - or I guess it's really two since I staggered bringing them home - flock though I'm sure I'll cry when I get my first egg. But don't get me wrong. I mean it when I say they're ALL brats.
Other hobbies are cooking, writing, and - temporarily - working on a cross-stitch project that has convinced me that, though I have a ton of patience for things that I never imagined (like incorporating younger pullets into an older batch), I do not have patience for that. I do like making my own throw pillows since you get to pick the patterns and the size and it costs a fraction of what they are sold for if you make them yourself but that project is over - I have more than enough throw pillows at this point in time.
As I mentioned before, my husband and I run a bed and breakfast and took advantage of the time afforded by not being able to open comfortably in 2020. We're too small and it's only the two of us with a little help from a friend when it's busy and that leaves no time to invest the time and love into creating our own source of fresh eggs. We have two cats - one of which is very ambitious about ridding the property of any vermin. She's little, though, so we made sure the runs and the coops are well-protected. My husband is an excellent carpenter and a diligent project-finisher so the coop was ready long before the chicks were ready to move in. He's a military retiree and I'm a service industry retiree so the b&b was an excellent idea. We'll see what the future brings but I'm so glad we had the time to spend. The money was thin but the time was at a premium since, for the last two years, we hit the ground running once the summer season began. We can only hope for the future but I'll never be sorry we got our little family of hens.
Every time I have a concern about my girls, I google it and, about 9 time out of 10, BackYard Chickens shows an answer. You've provided excellent guidance and I'd love the opportunity to ask questions more specific to my concerns as they come up and, as I grow, I'd like to offer advice based on my experience, to help other newbies to raising chickens. I'm so happy to be a part of community that I can tell feels the same.
I'm attaching a couple pix of our coop and one silly one of "Henny Penny."
Thanks so much for allowing me into this venue!
Kristan Polsgrove
Glad you joined.
Hopefully those eggies start coming down the pipes soon! Make yourself at home here and welcome to our community!
