Kentucky people

[kentuckysilkies]

Dark egg breeds and Brahmas
I have Maran eggs set under two of my Silkies now and will be looking for Brahma eggs soon. Hopefully I will be getting some Penedesca eggs soon as well. We are also going to set up a pen for large mutts.

 

[Sara1982]

Quote:
Sounds cool

 

[FLOWERPOT]

Im in indiana now but its right across the bridge from Louisville Ky, Grew up in Louisville.

Brand new newby here!!!!

I have Baby Bantams in the brooder, Brown eggers on the way from MM, Sultans and Phoenix in the bator, I took a break from chickens for a few years and Im so excited to get em again!!!!

 

[FLOWERPOT]

Thank you!
I will let you know how it goes.
The sultans should hatch on Monday night.
The Phoenix are in another bator and were just put in today, so in 21 days we shall see what happens.

My brown egg layer assortment is due to arrive the week of the 17th from MM hatchery. Very excited about these too !!!!

I bought the bantam babys 2 weeks ago from a local feed store, who got them from C.M. Estes hatchery, who I had never heard of till then. They were a couple of days old then, so they are now almost 3 weeks old. Im haveing fun with them, but still trying to identify some of them. They are supposed to be full breed, no mixes.

I found the forum here to post pics and ask for help with id. so I think I will take some recent pics tonight and see ya'll there tomorrow?

 

[ChickenCop]

I got a little bit of everything...2 Barred Rock Hens (laying), 11 Bantams (mixed mainly, except for a pair of Black tail Japanese) and 6 Ameracuna chicks in the brooder..Im guess there are about a week old now.

 

[FLOWERPOT]

tHANKS cHICKENcOP

No biggie,I was just wondering because one of my bantie babys is so pretty, solid white, The place I got them told me the hatchery name. When I looked them up they had listed the types of bantams they had. That is the only one that might resemble her. I cant figure out the breeds of some of them yet, Guess Ill have to wait till they are full grown.

 

[Cassandra_Lyn]

Hello everyone! I reside in wonderful Cadiz, KY and am preparing for my first attempt at chicken rearing. As a child my grandparents had chickens and I have always wanted to raise some of my own; I just bought a house in the country with a barn so I am finally able! I am in the process of converting the barn into a chicken coop; the ladies will have lots of room..

I do have a few newbie questions if anyone feels up to answering them

I would like to let my chickens roam freely, I have read that they will always return to their coop at night. How far will the chickens usually roam, though? I have about 2.5 acres but my property is not fenced in, I am concerned that they might wander into my neighbors yard or go too far and run into some wildlife. My other question is about baby chicks. I would like to know how difficult they are to raise. I am afraid of killing them

My plan is to keep them in pen in my finished basement for the first few weeks so they will be safe and have access to a red warming light. I am a stay at home mom so I will be able to check on them a lot. I guess my question is "if I do everything by the book (I have read tons of info about raising chicks), will they be alright or are they ridiculously delicate?". I hope that made sense!

Take care all!

 

[wyldehorses]

Welcome Cassandra_Lyn,

I'm not an expert, but I'll try to help.

1) Some chicks are more delicate than others. Are you getting them from a feed store, local person, hatching your own eggs? I raise mostly bantams and they seem a little more delicate than standards, but you should have good luck with the set up you described.

2) They may roam to your neighbors, and free ranging means eggs will be harder to find. They will come home to roost. Do your neighbors have dogs? When I let mine free range, every dog for miles seemed to wind up in my yard. And if it wasn't dogs, it was possums and racoons.

I don't mean to discourage you. Chickens are so much fun! Just a couple of things to consider. Maybe they could range part time. You being at home will help discourage predators.

 

[Cassandra_Lyn]

Thank you wyldehorses for the welcome and the input!

I plan on getting them from the local feed store. Even though I live in the country I can't seem to find anyone that has them except for the feed store. I see they sell baby chicks on-line, but I am not sure how I feel about mail order chicks.

I plan on getting standards to begin with, probably some New Hampshire Reds and/or some Ameraucanas; both are allegedly hardy, good egg layers, and friendly. After I am confident with these, then I would like some bantams.

I did not even think about the difficulty with finding eggs if I let them roam, I am glad you mentioned it! Hmm, I guess I will make a run connected to my barn for them. My neighbors probably would not appreciate poultry visitors. Plus, my neighbors do not have dogs, they have something worse; little children who do not listen! I can just picture the neighbor's three year old trying to chase down my chickens with pointy sticks. I think I'll just give the chickens "supervised" free-range time.

 

[wyldehorses]

It always makes me feel welcome when I join a new board. And I can't believe all the people from Kentucky! Who knew so many of us were into chickens!

Yolonda

And I lived in Missouri for a few years and I still said I was from Kentucky. I'm soooooo glad to be back!