Is it really this complicated? Feeling a bit overwhelmed!

[MemesChicks]

I've been reading this thread for a day or so, and the info is terrific. I started with chicks last year for the first time in my life (trip to the feed store with my then 18-year old daughter--"I'll take care of them, Mom"...HAH!). I got two to start, and put them in a brooder made from a large rubbermaid container. I put a chicken wire lid on it, since we have cats. They hung out in that for about 2 months (until they were too big). While they were growing, I checked into what coops were around (I hadn't found this, my most favorite site, yet). I planned and built a two-level coop--the downstairs is "open" but completely enclosed with 1" chickenwire on the sides and 1/4" hardware cloth on the top/bottom; the upstairs is the closed in coop with roost bar and egg door. I made this myself (hubby helped me with the roof), and I had planned on being able to move it, so it comes apart--roof section/coop section/bottom section. Suffice to say, we made a nice fenced-in run, so I don't move it around--but I could if I wanted to. I got two more at the end of May, and they joined the flock in the summer--I have a flock of 4 girls.

My whole point is I never had any before, and I just LOVE them. Easy to care for, they love you back, and they keep me active. Like everyone else says, have a plan for where you want to put them. You can build the coop while they are growing in the brooder. Start with pullets--minimum of 2 so they have a friend. The container(Rubbermaid) I used for a brooder was about 2.5' tall x 2'W x 3'L approximately. If you think you'll be moving, just make the coop/run area moveable, too. If you have a detachable run section, you can even move them in that.

Have fun and be sure to let us what you do--we like pictures!!

 

[czoellner]

We bought our chicks last year and raised them in our basement. It is too cold to raise them outside. We built our coop while the chicks grew up and by 5-6 weeks they were ready to go outside! They loved their new larger area and took to everything quickly. We are using a nipple watering system, the chicks do great with it, and it keeps their water so much cleaner!

This year we have the coop ready, but with our older hens still producing, we didn't want to introduce the babies too early. So, again, we have our chicks in the basement and when they are ready to be "introduced" to the flock we have an area both in the coop and the run to put them for a week to "meet" the other girls. After that they will be mixed together. Hope it goes as smoothly this year as last.

So, you have a few weeks to get that coop built before the chicks need to use it.

 

[bruceha2000]

I started with chicks last year for the first time in my life (trip to the feed store with my then 18-year old daughter--"I'll take care of them, Mom"...HAH!).

Let's see 18 usually means soon off to college or her own apartment. SURE she's going to take care of them! Whenever she happens to come by!

So, how often DID she take care of them?


Bruce

 

[Dr Bill]

Get a couple of books. Raising chickens for dummies and building chicken coops for dummies, and this site are helpful choices.
You may need to get a building permit, so check into that and allow time for inspections.
Plan for security from local critters, you don't want to supply a late night buffet for the local dogs, cats, etc.
Plan for a brooder area with a heat lamp, waterers, feeders, etc.
Remember chicks are just babies.

30 years with chickens.
Good times and good eating.
Dr. Bill

 

[Loghousemom]

I am brand new to this, and am looking into what it would take to start a small flock. It doesn't seem like anything I couldn't learn, but it is starting to get complicated. Right now there are baby chicks everywhere for sale, but I can't bring them home yet because I don't have a coop. And once they come home the timer starts ticking. I am not sure if we're buying or building yet, and the latter will take who knows how long. I was thinking if my window to buy the chicks in stores runs out, then I can just order day old chicks online. But eveyone wants a minimum order of at least 15 and I don't want that many yet. I'm thinking like 4 to start. Ok, so maybe incubating? But incubators can get costly, and there is no way to determine how many chickens I will get and what sex. I really prefer to start with females as I hear males can be mean and I want fresh eggs. So if I incubate and get males, then what?I'm not trying to be overly picky, just simplify to start so I can learn the ropes.

So I'm kinda pulling my hair out a bit, thinking maybe I decided too late in the year. I dunno should I just scrap it and try next year? Am I am making this overly difficult? lol.. !

Any experienced chickeners have any words of encoragement/wisdom?

I live in ND and had the same problem last year when I decided to get chickens, though I had beer evading for over a year about the things we needed and what to do.

the first thing I would do is check with the store you want to get chicks from. Our local feed store carries chicks from weekly shipments all the way through June! They will even special order the breeds you want and notify you when they come in.

Another option would be to search out chicken folk near you and see if you can get a few chicks from them. I don't know if you will be guaranteed hens unless you choose to go with sex links or older birds. We bought 8 chicks last year that were all supposed to be hens and one was a rooster. Luckily we can keep a rooster.

good luck!

 

[CoolClucker]

I'm blown away at the amount of helpful people and advice! I am so glad I found this website! Thank you all so much! You guys are great!

 

[Betsy57]

I'll admit, I didn't read this whole thread. But get a copy of Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens. It's a great book and will help you with so many issue when you're first starting out. I agree with everyone else, get the coop set up first. Figure out how many layers you want, then double or triple that number, and then set up a coop to house that many. You'll be surprised at how much you'll come to love them! Good luck!

I agree! That is a great book to learn and so is this web site. I had no knowledge of chickens either and it has been fun, but at times, challenging but there are so many people/resources to help. Knowledge is the key. And don't be afraid to try something and learn even if it turns out as a mistake. Keep in mind CHICKEN MATH! Chickens are addictive! Check out the blogs on this site concerning it. You may also be consumed with reading books/blogs on chickens to learn from others! Although it is hard to wait, I do think it is best to have everything "in place" before getting them. That way you don't have to worry about anything and enjoy your peeps! Enjoy!

 

[Ruth A Allison]

cant wait for you to get started.
I really enjoy my 5 hens, and now that they are laying (avg of 30 per week) I wish I had started with a dozen chicks. there is 5 in my family, and everyone wonts the fresh eggs, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, ect, ect. I purchased my chicks the first week of September 2012, keep them in a large dog cage in the garage for the first 3 month, but I did place them out into there hen house each day for a few hours (as long as it was warm, and not snowing) by mid November I was moving them out in the morning and back in at dark, on new years day they just stayed in the hen house and by February 15 I was getting 5 eggs a day.. Chicks need lots of attention when they are small, so I decided to raise in the winter, that way when spring arrived I would have lots of fresh eggs. ......

 

[The Yakima Kid]

OK. Baby chicks don't go into a coop for the first eight weeks; they need to be in a brooder.

A brooder can be as simple as a heat lamp (no Teflon coated bulbs) hung over a carboard box. A red flood lamp is perfect.

Start by lining the brooder with paper towels for the first three days or so. Put chick scratch in the feeder closest to the heat; and chick starter in the one that is farther from the heat lamp. The reason for feeding chick scratch first is that if they have been chilled they can develop pasting of feces on their cloacas; chick scratch seems to prevent this. You won't need chick grit unless you decide to give them access to anything other than chick scratch and chick starter. On day three you can remove the chick scratch entirely. They will need chick grit if you feed them greens, table scraps, etc. The best food for young baby chicks is chick starter.

Take a deep breath, just change cardboard boxes to clean the brooder, and spend the next eight weeks building your coop.

To make life as easy as possible with your first chicks, consider getting a flock of the calmer, gentler, quieter breeds. Dealing with cannibalism and neighbor complaints is never fun, and I've found that keeping calmer, quieter, gentler breeds means far fewer issues with neighbors or chickens eating each other.

 

[bobbi-j]

OK. Baby chicks don't go into a coop for the first eight weeks; they need to be in a brooder.

A brooder can be as simple as a heat lamp (no Teflon coated bulbs) hung over a carboard box. A red flood lamp is perfect.

Start by lining the brooder with paper towels for the first three days or so. Put chick scratch in the feeder closest to the heat; and chick starter in the one that is farther from the heat lamp. The reason for feeding chick scratch first is that if they have been chilled they can develop pasting of feces on their cloacas; chick scratch seems to prevent this. You won't need chick grit unless you decide to give them access to anything other than chick scratch and chick starter. On day three you can remove the chick scratch entirely. They will need chick grit if you feed them greens, table scraps, etc. The best food for young baby chicks is chick starter.

Take a deep breath, just change cardboard boxes to clean the brooder, and spend the next eight weeks building your coop.

To make life as easy as possible with your first chicks, consider getting a flock of the calmer, gentler, quieter breeds. Dealing with cannibalism and neighbor complaints is never fun, and I've found that keeping calmer, quieter, gentler breeds means far fewer issues with neighbors or chickens eating each other.

Actually, they can. Mine do. I've been raising chickens for over 25 years and they are in the coop within the first week or so. (The only reason it takes that long is because I like seeing the little fuzzballs running around the box or whatever I put them in for the first couple of days) I live in MN, and last year I had chicks in the coop the first couple of days in April. They had two heat lamps - one a little lower than the other - and plenty of room to come and go under the lamps as they pleased. As I stated before, you don't need thermometers, you just need to keep it draft-free for them, and watch them. If they're crowding under the lamps, lower them a little. If they're trying to get away from the lamps, raise them a little. Your chicks are content if they're scattered around the area, eating and drinking and making quiet chirping noises. If they're peeping loudly, they're not happy about something. You also don't NEED a red lamp. I've never used one, never had pecking problems. (Maybe because they have plenty of room to move around - overcrowding can cause pecking) Here is a picture of my newly hatched chicks last year in their "brooder". You can kind of see it to the right. It's just plastic garden edging - maybe 4" tall, I don't quite remember
- in an oval shape so they can't pile into corners and squash whoever ends up on the bottom.