Just starting with a few chics

[BlueBaby]

Hello, and welcome to BYC!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi and

I'm glad you joined us! If your looking for chicks, I would definitely check out My Pet Chicken, http://www.mypetchicken.com/
Even though they might not have much now, come New years you can get your order in for spring or sometime, they have a great selection of breeds. I ordered from them last year and I am planning on doing it again sometime.
They also have this neat tool I personally love using: http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/which-breed-is-right-for-me.aspx
I hope you enjoy your time on BYC, best wishes!

I ordered from them this year. They did have lots of variety. I lost all of my shipped chicks twice, do to failure on the part of USPS.

MPC refunded my money quickly and said they were gonna flag my zip code not to ship here for a while, which is good because to me life is not expendable!

Many others in different locations have had plenty of luck with MPC. I had another set of chicks shipped by a breeder, and USPS failed that time as well. 4 days in the box! But 14 of those chicks lived and they seemed much hardier than from the hatchery. But also, it was my third rodeo and was armed with more knowledge how to help them recover from shipping. So that may have had an effect. I probably would order from MPC again because they do have a wide selection, if USPS has cleaned up their act on that route. But with the minimum being pretty high, I know that won't work for many. Also getting the birds sexed is a bit pricey when compared to the $3 pullets you can get at every feed store come Feb/March without having to deal with dying or dead chicks, Because the LFS takes care of that when they get their shipments. Of course the variety isn't as much. But they will usually have shipments of different types every two weeks through about August in my area. And I can ask them what they have coming in and when so I can plan ahead and try to get what breeds I am interested in. So you can always check with them.

I also enjoyed that tool link.

 

[Blooie]

Welcome to the flock! Oh, the adventure you are about to undertake!!! I remember well that initial excitement of the first flock, wanting to do everything right! Kinda like the Luvs commercial - after the first one you kinda relax a bit and enjoy more.

There are a lot of us who don't raise chicks with the old heat lamp in the brooder thing anymore. I can give you a link if you'd be interested in checking that out. We call it Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder, or MHP for short. As for breeds, you have so many choices. As others have said, some are predisposed to certain traits, but within every breed there are exceptions. I happen to love my Easter Eggers - I'll never have a flock without them - but as has been said, they aren't prolific layers. That's okay with me...I'm not raising chickens for commercial egg production although I do sell my excess, so I'm content with whatever they want to provide. My grandkids are safe around them. Since my mildly autistic granddaughter Katie is my chicken sitter when we go out of town for a few days, and her little sister has been in her wheelchair since she was 9 months old that one factor is the most critical for me. And are Easter Eggers ever cute!

I've had so many kinds of chickens....I like Brahmas because of their calm, gentle nature but those feathered feet and heavy bodies can play havoc with the nest boxes. They drag everything in there on those feet, and when they start shifting all that bulk around eggs that were already in the nest when they went in didn't always fare well. <Sigh> I've heard folks say that Golden Laced Wyandottes are wonderful for temperament, but I couldn't get rid of mine fast enough - bullies with wings. A lot depends on how much time you spend with them, but remember always that coddled chickens don't always see people as something to respect - they tend sometimes to challenge us like they do other birds in the flock for high spot in the pecking order. I'm content to be able to walk out there among them, feed them a few treats, and have them relaxed and going about their business no matter who is out there with them. Other folks want chickens that behave more like pet dogs and cats.

I've been a My Pet Chicken customer since my first flock, and I've never been disappointed. I think last year in order to get the breeds I wanted I ordered in mid-December and scheduled shipping for April. That worked well for me. Take this time to plan out (and even begin building if you can) your facilities for them and learn as much as you can. I wish you all the success in the world!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

@Blooie That's good info for me. I was wondering how some of the heavier feathered feet varieties will fair in my area with all the rain. I didn't realize what a mess they would be in the nest box. I have a few, but will probably steer clear in the future.

I have a few hens that hang out on my lap. But that is out of 48 birds. They all feel safe and relaxed. And I love watching them do their thing. Chicken TV is the best! Even the ones who do come don't want me to catch them. It's more or less on their terms and I am OK with that. I actually spend a few hours a day with them, pretty much everyday. Sometimes more because they follow us around when we work. It's one of the tools I use to maintain my sanity.

I also will probably always have EE in my flock. I don't depend solely on them for eggs. I do sell a few in hopes to cover some of the chicken feed cost. But this is a great (not cheap) hobby for me. with the side benefit of sharing fresh eggs with others who appreciate it. I love the multitude of egg colors. It makes me feel like a child when I collect them.

With the bonus that as far as I have ever seen, no two are exactly alike... even if the differences are subtle.

On top of that... They are almost always available as pullets from every feed store around for $2.50 - $4, come spring!

I don't know if I said it before, but experience is the mother of all teachers. And I appreciate you sharing yours!

 

[Blooie]

@Blooie That's good info for me. I was wondering how some of the heavier feathered feet varieties will fair in my area with all the rain. I didn't realize what a mess they would be in the nest box. I have a few, but will probably steer clear in the future.

I have a few hens that hang out on my lap. But that is out of 48 birds. They all feel safe and relaxed. And I love watching them do their thing. Chicken TV is the best! Even the ones who do come don't want me to catch them. It's more or less on their terms and I am OK with that. I actually spend a few hours a day with them, pretty much everyday. Sometimes more because they follow us around when we work. It's one of the tools I use to maintain my sanity.

I also will probably always have EE in my flock. I don't depend solely on them for eggs. I do sell a few in hopes to cover some of the chicken feed cost. But this is a great (not cheap) hobby for me. with the side benefit of sharing fresh eggs with others who appreciate it. I love the multitude of egg colors. It makes me feel like a child when I collect them.

With the bonus that as far as I have ever seen, no two are exactly alike... even if the differences are subtle.

On top of that... They are almost always available as pullets from every feed store around for $2.50 - $4, come spring!

I don't know if I said it before, but experience is the mother of all teachers. And I appreciate you sharing yours!

I did keep one Light Brahma, Tank. I really like the breed....the only thing is the egg/nest thing. But if you have bigger nest boxes than I do, that's not enough of an issue to eliminate them from a healthy, mixed flock. When I get a little more ambitious I'm going to change that about my setup...I love the plastic hanging nests for the ease of moving them, the ease of cleaning,and the nice, cozy dark appeal to the chickens, but I should have known size was going to be an issue when our Buff Orpingtons had trouble getting situated in them.

I thank you for the kind words, but truth be told I don't have a lot of experience raising chickens, not when you think about the years and years a lot of our members have. I got my first chickens in February of 2014. Getting them as a spur of the moment decision...no planning, no knowledge, no coop/run set up ready and no idea how we would even go about getting started. But being the intrepid soul I am, I dove right in - I suspect that first flock did well despite me, not because of me. The first thing I learned from a group of amazing people on an older thread was that I was going to get a lot farther and have a better flock if I, well, kinda tossed a lot of "conventional wisdom" out the window and went with my gut and my common sense. And that's what I've done ever since.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I did keep one Light Brahma, Tank. I really like the breed....the only thing is the egg/nest thing. But if you have bigger nest boxes than I do, that's not enough of an issue to eliminate them from a healthy, mixed flock. When I get a little more ambitious I'm going to change that about my setup...I love the plastic hanging nests for the ease of moving them, the ease of cleaning,and the nice, cozy dark appeal to the chickens, but I should have known size was going to be an issue when our Buff Orpingtons had trouble getting situated in them.

I thank you for the kind words, but truth be told I don't have a lot of experience raising chickens, not when you think about the years and years a lot of our members have. I got my first chickens in February of 2014. Getting them as a spur of the moment decision...no planning, no knowledge, no coop/run set up ready and no idea how we would even go about getting started. But being the intrepid soul I am, I dove right in - I suspect that first flock did well despite me, not because of me. The first thing I learned from a group of amazing people on an older thread was that I was going to get a lot farther and have a better flock if I, well, kinda tossed a lot of "conventional wisdom" out the window and went with my gut and my common sense. And that's what I've done ever since.

Well thank for passing it down.

I won't eliminate any of my feather footed friends that I have right now. Just consider not replacing them. My big issue thus far is that poo seems to stick to them pretty often.

Do you have any clue if rain is detrimental to the top hat breeds? I have a few of them and not sure if the wet heads will dry normally and not cause extra coldness or something? Hopefully the info will benefit the OP when making decisions as well.