I am so sad. I raised 5 day old chicks and today we finished the coop. They could have gone in tomorrow, safe and sound. Two Delawares, two Easter eggers, and a Barred Rock. My dogs got to them in the garage and killed all but one of the Delawares. She is lonely and I'm not sure how to replace a flock for her. She is 5 weeks old. I live in Acton,CA and so, am wondering if anyone knows where I could find two or three chicks about the same age to replace the babies we lost. Or...what do I do now??
Incredibly sad...
- Thread starter ctchopper
- Start date
That's terrible
So sorry to hear of your loss. In desperation, you might try craigs list to find someone local. No guarantees on who/what you will find but you might locate them quickly.
- May 19, 2009
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Oh I am so sorry for your loss! Dogs were doing what dogs do.
Catching fluffy, squeaky, quickly moving things, sigh. Don't blame the dogs.
I bred collies for years. Some were good with birds, others had
a different temperament and excelled at other things.
You can't trust them around the birds again. At least you found
out now and know.
Let me see what I can find in your region. Be back later.
Best,
Karen
Here's a place you can try just north of Lancaster. It's quite a set up and they sell 3 week old chicks! That's old enough to put in with your baby. In 2 weeks they can all go outside. They have White Plymouth Rocks and a bunch of other desirable breeds.
copied from another post by someone on BYC:
"If you are interested in Barred Rocks, New Hampshire Reds, Easter Eggers (what they are calling Americaunas) or Giant Cochins there is a hatchery in Antelope Acres out on 90th St East near Avenue E. They are in Northern LA County just north of Lancaster. They also have ducks and turkeys for sale also if you are interested. They sell chicks from week olds and up. Their email address is: http://www.odysseyranch.com "
Ima,
I just took another look at their website! They are breeding to the APA Standard of Perfection. It is possible to show these birds! What a treat! The Cuckoo Marans are great birds. Used to own them and their dark brown eggs are a real treat! You can show the eggs. It's a blast. Just send in 5.00 and a set of three eggs to the show and they send you back any ribbons and trophies you might win. I do not know if they care if your birds have feathered shanks of you are only showing the eggs.
The Blue Laced Red Wyandottes is a stunning bird. It is rare and that color not accepted yet by the APA ( I think) but just lovely in the coop. Don't worry about the "straight run thing". Just buy extras. There is always a market for extra roosters on craigslist. You can give them away there as soon as you figure out who is what sex. ( as soon as the boys combs start to get large and their wattles start to get bigger than the girls. I could tell at 6 weeks.
These folk have a chick care page too.
http://www.odysseyranch.com/Chick Care Tips.html
Lots of good advice here but I want to touch on one thing. They are advising to use "Nutrena Gamebird Starter Crumble to start all of our baby birds which seems to give them a good, healthy start. However, you may use any commercial chick starter for the type of poultry you are raising. Use the chick starter for the first 8 weeks. We perfer a crumble as opposed to the mash as there seems to be less waste."
It took me a year to figure this out. These heritage breeds like the Wyandottes, New Hampshire Reds and dual purpose breeds do better with a higher protein count when they are chicks. Last year I raised my Light Sussex on a 16% chick crumble. I was disappointed with their size. This year, a wise veteran breeder shared knowledge with me and I found out they needed at least 21-22% chick feed protein. I will be raising them on a Gamebird feed this year and expect better growth results.
I just looked around the Net and I think "Nutrena Gamebird Starter Crumble"
might have a new name now. Just ask them where they buy theirs. It is probably local to you too. Use whatever percentage of protein they recommend. I wish I had known that last year.
Catching fluffy, squeaky, quickly moving things, sigh. Don't blame the dogs.
I bred collies for years. Some were good with birds, others had
a different temperament and excelled at other things.
You can't trust them around the birds again. At least you found
out now and know.
Let me see what I can find in your region. Be back later.
Best,
Karen
Here's a place you can try just north of Lancaster. It's quite a set up and they sell 3 week old chicks! That's old enough to put in with your baby. In 2 weeks they can all go outside. They have White Plymouth Rocks and a bunch of other desirable breeds.
copied from another post by someone on BYC:
"If you are interested in Barred Rocks, New Hampshire Reds, Easter Eggers (what they are calling Americaunas) or Giant Cochins there is a hatchery in Antelope Acres out on 90th St East near Avenue E. They are in Northern LA County just north of Lancaster. They also have ducks and turkeys for sale also if you are interested. They sell chicks from week olds and up. Their email address is: http://www.odysseyranch.com "
Ima,
I just took another look at their website! They are breeding to the APA Standard of Perfection. It is possible to show these birds! What a treat! The Cuckoo Marans are great birds. Used to own them and their dark brown eggs are a real treat! You can show the eggs. It's a blast. Just send in 5.00 and a set of three eggs to the show and they send you back any ribbons and trophies you might win. I do not know if they care if your birds have feathered shanks of you are only showing the eggs.
The Blue Laced Red Wyandottes is a stunning bird. It is rare and that color not accepted yet by the APA ( I think) but just lovely in the coop. Don't worry about the "straight run thing". Just buy extras. There is always a market for extra roosters on craigslist. You can give them away there as soon as you figure out who is what sex. ( as soon as the boys combs start to get large and their wattles start to get bigger than the girls. I could tell at 6 weeks.
These folk have a chick care page too.
http://www.odysseyranch.com/Chick Care Tips.html
Lots of good advice here but I want to touch on one thing. They are advising to use "Nutrena Gamebird Starter Crumble to start all of our baby birds which seems to give them a good, healthy start. However, you may use any commercial chick starter for the type of poultry you are raising. Use the chick starter for the first 8 weeks. We perfer a crumble as opposed to the mash as there seems to be less waste."
It took me a year to figure this out. These heritage breeds like the Wyandottes, New Hampshire Reds and dual purpose breeds do better with a higher protein count when they are chicks. Last year I raised my Light Sussex on a 16% chick crumble. I was disappointed with their size. This year, a wise veteran breeder shared knowledge with me and I found out they needed at least 21-22% chick feed protein. I will be raising them on a Gamebird feed this year and expect better growth results.
I just looked around the Net and I think "Nutrena Gamebird Starter Crumble"
might have a new name now. Just ask them where they buy theirs. It is probably local to you too. Use whatever percentage of protein they recommend. I wish I had known that last year.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #5
Thanks for the sentiments and for the information about Odyssey Ranch. We are driving out there this morning to see if we can buy 3 or 4 older chicks. I truly appreciate the lead. No, I won't say I wasn't angry with the dogs but they certainly weren't abused or blamed. I know they were being dogs (and usually they're great dogs) and I just made a mistake one time with the garage door. We now have the box up high and out of reach and will no longer use the outlet inside the garage for the extension cord into the backyard - as we were finishing the coop 
. Even though the door was closed, that allowed the dogs to push it open. Anyway, words of warning, and thanks so much for your help. -Catherine
. Even though the door was closed, that allowed the dogs to push it open. Anyway, words of warning, and thanks so much for your help. -Catherine
- Feb 3, 2014
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I am so sorry! I hope you can find some friends for your lonely one now. I'm so sorry you are going through this!
- May 19, 2009
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Quote: Hi Catherine,
Do let us know how things work out and what you get!
Always fun!
These things happen. Every year dogs get creative with sad results.
Glad everything is moving on post-incident.
Best Regards,
Karen
Do let us know how things work out and what you get!
These things happen. Every year dogs get creative with sad results.
Glad everything is moving on post-incident.
Best Regards,
Karen
Last edited:
That is so sad! Sorry to hear!
Let us know how things turn out for you!
- Thread starter
- #9
Again, thank you, everyone, for your concern. It's good to hear from people who don't think I'm a nut job for being upset about chickens 
We went to Odyssey Ranch but actually were not impressed with the condition of the birds. They did have some 5 week old chicks but the conditions were very dirty and I didn't want to bring home an illness. They also did not have the breeds that we were looking for. We tried several locations, mostly feed stores but found no other chicks older than about a week. So that's what we settled on. We got two more Barred Rocks and a Buff Orpington. So, I'm hoping that they can be introduced to the five week old chick in a month or so. Any suggestions there? In the meantime, lots of petting and a little holding of the sole survivor, the Delaware. . Also, when temps get no lower than about 40 degrees at night, is that ok for her to head out to the coop? I worry about her not being able to snuggle up to others for warmth but feel she'd be safer there. Here she is 
We went to Odyssey Ranch but actually were not impressed with the condition of the birds. They did have some 5 week old chicks but the conditions were very dirty and I didn't want to bring home an illness. They also did not have the breeds that we were looking for. We tried several locations, mostly feed stores but found no other chicks older than about a week. So that's what we settled on. We got two more Barred Rocks and a Buff Orpington. So, I'm hoping that they can be introduced to the five week old chick in a month or so. Any suggestions there? In the meantime, lots of petting and a little holding of the sole survivor, the Delaware. . Also, when temps get no lower than about 40 degrees at night, is that ok for her to head out to the coop? I worry about her not being able to snuggle up to others for warmth but feel she'd be safer there. Here she is 
A little late perhaps.. But if you could cope with giving the 5 week old away and just starting over with a new batch of the same age?
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