HI there! My name is Stephanie and I live in Wyoming! I've wanted chickens since we bought our house 3 years ago, and this spring we finally were able to jump in with both feet!
My husband, 12 year old daughter, and 10 year old son and I started our flock with 3 Production Blues and 2 Amerecauanas, who are 12 weeks old. We fell in love with our ladies.
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We built a coop with the plan to have maybe a dozen chickens, but no more than 15.
We went to Tractor Supply to get food for our Fabulous 5, as a friend raised them until they were 6 weeks old and we had time to prepare their coop. Of course they had chicks. Hubby was teasing me he wanted chickens that laid white eggs, and so we added 2 leghorns and 2 Isa Brown pullets to our flock. These pics are of them now. They're 5 weeks old.
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In the mean time, I got an Easter Egger from the gal we originally got the Fabulous 5 from. She is about 10 weeks old and I think she is part parrot, she loves to perch on our shoulders. Shes so funny!
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We had our first tragedy on our little chicken farm right after I got the Easter Egger-my naughty dachshund tried to eat one of the leghorns when she was about a week old! Shes survived but has a deformed beak. Her name is Luna, and she is my miracle birdy. A few days later, one of our Isa Browns passed away suddenly. I'm still not sure what happened. She was fine when hubs went to work, fine when my son checked her at breakfast time, but gone when I checked them an hour later. We were all torn up about it. These chickens already steal our hearts at only a few days old!
This is Luna today, shes 5 weeks.
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A few days later we went to our local TSC, and saw bantam chicks for the first time in our lives....and came home with 4 straight runs. Our total grew to a dozen very quickly. I believe we have 2 Old English and 2 Sebrights, but one of the Sebrights im raising for my best friends daughter. I also got another Isa Brown, but she passed away within a couple hours of us bringing her home from the store.The bantams are 3.5 weeks old now.
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The next week I went to TSC and came home with 2 Rhode Island Reds and 2 Asian Black pullets.
Suddenly we were at 16 chickens.
They're 3 weeks old now.
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I was hoping for some olive eggers from a gal a few hours north of us, so I told hubby we would get 4 chicks. Once they hatched we took a day trip to get them. I got four.....teen. Since these were straight run, he suggested we get a couple of what we wanted to increase chances of getting hens. I got 6 olive eggers, plus 2 more for a friend, 6 Easter Eggers, and a Black Silver Birchen Maran and a Blue Silver Birchen Maran. (Thats 16 chickens not 14. I totally intended to give 2 to my friend.) My kids loved her chicks so much we kept them, too. One of the Easter Eggers passed away two days after we got home. She had a crack in the top of her beak I noticed the day we brought her home. I'm not sure if that contributed to her passing or not. =(
These are the Marans. They are 2 weeks old. The black may be from a hatch the week prior.
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These are Olive Eggers. They all should be 2 weeks, though one might be from a hatch the week prior.
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And these are the Easter Eggers. 2 weeks old or perhaps one or two from the week prior hatch.
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View attachment 2172763 This lady has scissor beak. She had a chip in her bottom jaw that I think caused her food to get stuck and her jaw shifted. She eats and drinks just fine though. We've been keeping a close eye on her.
Are you keeping track? I somehow doubled my chicken count in the matter of a few hours! With 31, I was pondering getting one more to finish off my flock, I just can't have odd numbers!
The end of that week, my husbands best friend showed up with 4 more chickens as a gift for me! 2 California White pullets and 2 Cornish Cross Straight Runs. I didn't intend to have any broilers, but it will be a good test to see if I can handle raising a flock of birds solely for food purposes. We shall see.
California Whites. 10 days old
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Cornish Cross 10 days old
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Whats my total, 35?
But 2 of them aren't intended to remain in my flock for long, so of course I had to get the 1 I was thinking of before. I brought home the sweetest Frizzled Silkie.... and a baby bantam duck from my new local-best-friend-who-enables-me-and-feeds-my-chick-addiction
Silkie is 2 weeks old, duckie is 10 days.
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So hubby decided we are going to have a flock of ducks and he's building an in ground pond that drains into the natural ditch we have at the back of the property. I have 10 ducklings coming end of July!
This weekend the local friend of mine tagged me in a Bielefelder Pullet post. So she came to live with me too!
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38. I have 38 chickens and 1 duck. Only 6 of them are outside. 32 chicks and a duckling are in brooders in the basement. 2 chicks are broilers and 1 is for a friend, so 35 I expect to be in my flock. 17 that I purchased as pullets, but again not 100% guaranteed.
BYC has been my go to for many of the questions I've had in this fun adventure. I decided it was about time I join and share my story with all of you lovely people. I have included photos from today
to share all of the sweet lovelies-maybe someone could guess how many of the babes you think might be Cockerels?
Don't worry, we've added an extension onto the hen house- and an additional playpen area for the small ones to get introduced to the gals outside. Everyday I think hubby adds or changes something for the chickens to be more comfortable
So excited for this journey, and to be here with you all!
my friends all think I'm nuts!
We're so happy you've decided to join us
Be content in the knowledge that you're still small time.
