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Vata Raven said:
Hello all, Melissa here.

This year is the year I finally decided to start my homestead journey, and ordered myself 20 chicks from Hoover's Hatchery. They arrived January 13th... and I totally wasn't prepared. I thought I was, but the lack of reliable people with the right tools proved me wrong. My flock of 20 are 4 weeks old now, and they're still inside the house. (sigh)

Luckily, my mother doesn't care too much since they're in this house extension that gets plenty of air and sun, so they don't smell... but the carpet didn't survive the chicken invasion 🤣

Again, my mother doesn't care. I think it finally gave her a reason to replace the ugly carpet that's plagued the house for 20+ years.

I got 5 Rhode Island red hens, 5 Jersey giant hens, 5 barred plymouth hens, and 5 roosters of an unknown breeds. However, I'm sure the roosters I got are also barred plymouths.

All 20 are still alive, but I don't think this would've happened if I did not quit my job to take care of the chicks. One was nearly dead from the shipping cold. Another was a (still is) runt and the others wasn't allowing it to eat and sleep properly. A 3rd one started yanking her feathers out due to it being too hot. And I'm sure other things happened, but those three moments are the ones that stood out to me the most.

They are more affectionate than any cat I've met They're more mannered than most dogs. They love belly rubs, treats, and hammocks.

I've been lurking BYC for a year... maybe 2 years. I never saw the need to become a member because I could search the forums without being a member, but I finally decided to sign-up because I noticed a lack of info about Jersey giants.

I wasn't sure how big to make the pop door for the black giants. I read they get 2 feet tall. Do I make the pop door 1 foot wide and 2 feet tall?
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Welcome to BYC!!
 
LizzzyJo said:
You quit your job just to take care of 20 chicks? Dang. Ok. Good luck to you. Make sure they don’t ruin the subfloor.
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Yes, but I'm going back when the factory's peak starts up in March. I can only do this because 1) I'm not a full-time worker and don't get vacation time (so I give myself my own vacation) 2) I've known the supervisors for several years.

I'd do it again, too, but I'd only do it for 2 weeks since I'd know what I'm somewhat doing the next time.
 
Vata Raven said:
Yes, but I'm going back when the factory's peak starts up in March. I can only do this because 1) I'm not a full-time worker and don't get vacation time (so I give myself my own vacation) 2) I've known the supervisors for several years.

I'd do it again, too, but I'd only do it for 2 weeks since I'd know what I'm somewhat doing the next time.
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Oh that makes sense!
 
janiedoe said:
When I said it would get into the subflooring, I wasn't just referring to the ammonia build up, it can cause mold also. That will devalue your home, as well as having a bad effect on the occupants health. A drop cloth might help, if you can't get them out of the house right now.
Do you have a large property? Otherwise, it will be more practice to build a walk in coop.
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The value of the house is determined by several factors, but regardless, thank you for your concern.

Also, yes, we have a fair amount of land. At least an acre is usable. But even if we had a smaller plot of land, I'd still do several smaller coops over one larger one because the foundation adds to the cost and build time.

I can't use the garage as a permanent solution anyway because 1) my mother recently had it worked on to improve the resell value 2) it'd make a crap coop anyway with how big the windows are.

I think there 2 feet of wall space between the floor and the window bottoms. That's not much roosting height.
 
LizzzyJo said:
Oh that makes sense!
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It's nice. I much rather give myself 2 months of unpaid vacation vs 2 weeks of paid vacation.

2 weeks ain't nothing. You can't get much done in 2 weeks (well, maybe you can). And if you work 5 of the 7 days, you really can't get much done when it's house related other than the regular daily/weekly cleaning.
 

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