Well, after nearly 2 years of "thinking about getting chickens", we now have 3 lovely birds.
I have been trying to absorb as much information as I can, looking up questions and finding answers!
We started out with 4 - 1 year old birds. They came home to us on July 3rd in the evening. 2 utility RIR (Honey & Maple), 2 heritage RIR (Cinnamon & Coco). They were adopted from a woman with a small hobby farm who was in the middle of a move. They had just moved from one place to another for an interim, before she was planning on moving to a permanent location. Since she was sharing space, she needed to downsize and sell off animals. We picked healthy looking birds who were alert, had red combs and shiny feathers. They all transitioned very well to their new home and loved the fresh air after living in a barn stall for a week. However, I think the stress of the two moves in a few weeks time was too much for one of our utility RIR because she passed away in her sleep, during their 2nd night.
It was unexpected and sad for our kids, but we were thankful she passed without being sick or suffering. She just fell asleep and didn't wake up.
We thought about getting a replacement but I felt that bringing in a bird from a different flock might cause issues, and I am fine with 3 birds. We were told to expect delays in laying as they get adjusted to their new home. I was told 2 days, but I read here, it could be 2 weeks. Well, the 2nd morning, just a few minutes after discovering poor Honey and removing her, one of the birds laid us an egg!
It certainly help to improve our spirits!
We have determined that our darkest heritage RIR is the one laying (Coco). She has laid very well in the past week since we got them - taking a day off here and there, but all the eggs have been a good size, getting darker in color and beautiful!
We are going into our 2nd week and I am really hoping the other two start laying soon or I may be looking to replace them! I have inspected all their vents and pelvic bones and determined them all to be in laying condition, my last utility RIR who is crossed with a Longhorn, has a bright red comb and wattle, and the other two's combs, wattles and faces are improving in color. All of them have bleached legs and feet and they are all well fed and well watered. I thought that my RIR/LH was the one laying, based on her red, red comb and wattle....but it's not her, it's the darkest RIR. Strange.
So - hoping to see more than one egg a day in the near future!
We have a small coop set up in our back yard here in our city in SW Ontario, where they are legal. We are not set up for free range as I am afraid they would end up over the short chain link and into our neighbor's yard, or under a fence and onto the street. We also have a lot of money invested in our grass....LOL. I will be looking at getting some sand down in our run, because it's hard to get all the poop out of the dirt, especially when it's soft.
I will have to post photos, I really love my coop - designed by me and built by my husband and father in law! We were really blessed with a lot of free or repurposed/salvaged materials and managed to build a solid, dry coop and run for about $50.
HOWEVER - and I am sure to get some flack about this.....I cannot get my birds to roost. I have tried and they have no clue what to do. I suspect they slept in the hay with the ducks on the farm. I was worried when they took to snuggling in the nesting box, but it has not stopped Coco from laying an egg there. I prefer scooping round, firm poop from the nesting box over scraping poop off perches or off the wood. It's easier than cleaning a kitty litter box. The 1st morning, we put out a couple fake eggs to let them know where the eggs went and it hasn't been an issue at all. No broken eggs, no poopy eggs....perfect eggs! If we had a bigger coop, I would have more options, but for now, this is what we have to work with and it works.
We have 3 kids and have had (in the past) cats and 3 ferrets. So far, the birds have been wonderful and fun to watch and feed. I wish they would stop billing out their food and fighting over scraps, but they are really cool. We have had lots of people come by to see our set up and they are impressed. The birds are quiet (the neighbor's yappy Terrier who barks at US constantly, doesn't even see them or hear them), their poop in our compost bin is fantastic and the 7 eggs we have got so far, have been really awesome!
I will take pictures of the coop, likely their vents and anything else I may have questions about!
I have been trying to absorb as much information as I can, looking up questions and finding answers!
We started out with 4 - 1 year old birds. They came home to us on July 3rd in the evening. 2 utility RIR (Honey & Maple), 2 heritage RIR (Cinnamon & Coco). They were adopted from a woman with a small hobby farm who was in the middle of a move. They had just moved from one place to another for an interim, before she was planning on moving to a permanent location. Since she was sharing space, she needed to downsize and sell off animals. We picked healthy looking birds who were alert, had red combs and shiny feathers. They all transitioned very well to their new home and loved the fresh air after living in a barn stall for a week. However, I think the stress of the two moves in a few weeks time was too much for one of our utility RIR because she passed away in her sleep, during their 2nd night.
It was unexpected and sad for our kids, but we were thankful she passed without being sick or suffering. She just fell asleep and didn't wake up.
We thought about getting a replacement but I felt that bringing in a bird from a different flock might cause issues, and I am fine with 3 birds. We were told to expect delays in laying as they get adjusted to their new home. I was told 2 days, but I read here, it could be 2 weeks. Well, the 2nd morning, just a few minutes after discovering poor Honey and removing her, one of the birds laid us an egg!
It certainly help to improve our spirits!
We have determined that our darkest heritage RIR is the one laying (Coco). She has laid very well in the past week since we got them - taking a day off here and there, but all the eggs have been a good size, getting darker in color and beautiful!
We are going into our 2nd week and I am really hoping the other two start laying soon or I may be looking to replace them! I have inspected all their vents and pelvic bones and determined them all to be in laying condition, my last utility RIR who is crossed with a Longhorn, has a bright red comb and wattle, and the other two's combs, wattles and faces are improving in color. All of them have bleached legs and feet and they are all well fed and well watered. I thought that my RIR/LH was the one laying, based on her red, red comb and wattle....but it's not her, it's the darkest RIR. Strange.
So - hoping to see more than one egg a day in the near future!
We have a small coop set up in our back yard here in our city in SW Ontario, where they are legal. We are not set up for free range as I am afraid they would end up over the short chain link and into our neighbor's yard, or under a fence and onto the street. We also have a lot of money invested in our grass....LOL. I will be looking at getting some sand down in our run, because it's hard to get all the poop out of the dirt, especially when it's soft.
I will have to post photos, I really love my coop - designed by me and built by my husband and father in law! We were really blessed with a lot of free or repurposed/salvaged materials and managed to build a solid, dry coop and run for about $50.
HOWEVER - and I am sure to get some flack about this.....I cannot get my birds to roost. I have tried and they have no clue what to do. I suspect they slept in the hay with the ducks on the farm. I was worried when they took to snuggling in the nesting box, but it has not stopped Coco from laying an egg there. I prefer scooping round, firm poop from the nesting box over scraping poop off perches or off the wood. It's easier than cleaning a kitty litter box. The 1st morning, we put out a couple fake eggs to let them know where the eggs went and it hasn't been an issue at all. No broken eggs, no poopy eggs....perfect eggs! If we had a bigger coop, I would have more options, but for now, this is what we have to work with and it works.
We have 3 kids and have had (in the past) cats and 3 ferrets. So far, the birds have been wonderful and fun to watch and feed. I wish they would stop billing out their food and fighting over scraps, but they are really cool. We have had lots of people come by to see our set up and they are impressed. The birds are quiet (the neighbor's yappy Terrier who barks at US constantly, doesn't even see them or hear them), their poop in our compost bin is fantastic and the 7 eggs we have got so far, have been really awesome!
I will take pictures of the coop, likely their vents and anything else I may have questions about!
)
and Welcome To BYC!
