ColetteCarrocket
In the Brooder
- Jul 10, 2024
- 4
- 18
- 31
Hi all,
I recently became a chicken mama, even though I had never planned for this to happen!
So long story short-ish (to answer questions1-3), a colleague of mine (we are teachers) decided to hatch some chicken eggs at school with her students. Her plan was to give them to a farmer or sell them afterwards. I’m a naturally curious person and love to learn so I started to read about chickens, raising chicks, etc.
When it was time for the chicks to hatch, a few were born with disabilities; I asked my colleague if I could try to save them instead of letting them die, to which she agreed. I told her I’d give them back to her or send them to a farm afterwards, if they survived.
So, that day I brought home three chicks: one chick with what looked like a severe wry neck, one chick with splayed legs, and one chick who was unable to walk or even just stand on its own.
Let me tell you, I don’t remember ever reading up so much about any topic (other than for school of course
). But I read and read on how to care for them, and after a few days, all had improved. A couple weeks later, all were still alive and mostly well… but I must have done something wrong with splayed legs chick because I realized after week 3 that it had a slipped tendon, and it had been that way for at least a week. I ended up deciding to cull as the chick wasn’t able to get around on its own and I wasn’t able to fix it either.
I realized at that point that I was way more attached to them than I would have expected, and decided to get my two remaining chicks a friend to still have 3.
Well it has now been 6 weeks since my feathered babies were born and I think they are here to stay, after all!
I no longer plan on giving them away, at least not until Winter.
My two original ones are (I think) Rhode Island Reds; I’m guessing one pullet and one cockerel. The friend I got them is supposed to be a female Bielefelder but behaviour and comb colour is making me question the sex.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
I don’t know yet since all of this is so new, but it had made me spend more time outdoors which is great!
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
I love performing arts, although this whole chicken thing is making me wonder if I really love arts, or am I just skilled/talented? Because now I would chose to spend time with the chickens over spending time on a stage!
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I live alone with my two cats; no romantic partner, no kids, although I would like some (kids), maybe, in the near future.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
It kept popping up when I was first trying to learn as much as I could about raising chicks… and also, I have to admit I was quite amazed to see that online forums are still a thing!
Anyways, I’m attaching pictures of my 3 feathered babies! As you can see, the two RIR are total lap chickens! But I guess that is to be expected when you raise chicks that rely on you to survive those first few days!
The Bielefelder isn’t as cuddly but it will hop on my lap occasionally, especially if the other two are already there.
I recently became a chicken mama, even though I had never planned for this to happen!
So long story short-ish (to answer questions1-3), a colleague of mine (we are teachers) decided to hatch some chicken eggs at school with her students. Her plan was to give them to a farmer or sell them afterwards. I’m a naturally curious person and love to learn so I started to read about chickens, raising chicks, etc.
When it was time for the chicks to hatch, a few were born with disabilities; I asked my colleague if I could try to save them instead of letting them die, to which she agreed. I told her I’d give them back to her or send them to a farm afterwards, if they survived.
So, that day I brought home three chicks: one chick with what looked like a severe wry neck, one chick with splayed legs, and one chick who was unable to walk or even just stand on its own.
Let me tell you, I don’t remember ever reading up so much about any topic (other than for school of course
). But I read and read on how to care for them, and after a few days, all had improved. A couple weeks later, all were still alive and mostly well… but I must have done something wrong with splayed legs chick because I realized after week 3 that it had a slipped tendon, and it had been that way for at least a week. I ended up deciding to cull as the chick wasn’t able to get around on its own and I wasn’t able to fix it either.I realized at that point that I was way more attached to them than I would have expected, and decided to get my two remaining chicks a friend to still have 3.
Well it has now been 6 weeks since my feathered babies were born and I think they are here to stay, after all!
I no longer plan on giving them away, at least not until Winter.My two original ones are (I think) Rhode Island Reds; I’m guessing one pullet and one cockerel. The friend I got them is supposed to be a female Bielefelder but behaviour and comb colour is making me question the sex.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
I don’t know yet since all of this is so new, but it had made me spend more time outdoors which is great!
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
I love performing arts, although this whole chicken thing is making me wonder if I really love arts, or am I just skilled/talented? Because now I would chose to spend time with the chickens over spending time on a stage!
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I live alone with my two cats; no romantic partner, no kids, although I would like some (kids), maybe, in the near future.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
It kept popping up when I was first trying to learn as much as I could about raising chicks… and also, I have to admit I was quite amazed to see that online forums are still a thing!
Anyways, I’m attaching pictures of my 3 feathered babies! As you can see, the two RIR are total lap chickens! But I guess that is to be expected when you raise chicks that rely on you to survive those first few days!
The Bielefelder isn’t as cuddly but it will hop on my lap occasionally, especially if the other two are already there.
I love your intro. Thanks for sharing pictures of them. They're cute!
