New mama to 4 chicks

[Cornbanessa]

Hello y'all
New to the site & first time chicken mama in Oregon! Lucky for me we have a great backyard farming shop near by. We ended up getting 4 different breeds, a Barred Rock & Wyandotte which are now 2 weeks old, and a Welsummer & Cuckoo Maran which are 8 days old.

I have them all on an organic non medicated starter feed. I am a homemaker so I am able to give them lots of attention & my border colllie mix has taken quite a shine to them! Being a first time chicken mama I want to make sure I give them them best upbringing and have been reading thru this site almost daily! So here I am!

My main questions now are what they need as they mature? Vaccines? Do you clip their nails? Or wings? Is that a thing? I have a coop and run built and ready for them. But until then I have them indoors in a Rubbermaid brooder under a heat lamp.

So glad to have found this site!
Cheers!

 

[N F C]

Check out the Learning Center, there are a lot of helpful articles there including this one:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...ks-the-first-60-days-of-raising-baby-chickens

Enjoy your new little ones and thanks for joining us!

 

[Colonel-Sanders]

With my chickens I wouldn't say that I, "vaccinate," them, however I do give them anti worm solution that mixes with their water about once every three months. As far as nail or wing clipping I have yet to find a reason to do either of these things as they dull their nails by scratching at the ground searching for food, also when they attempt to fly, they don't get very far at all, in fact never more that a few feet off of the ground.

When my chickens were young I fed them food specifically for chicks and as they grew up I gradually went up the chicken feed age scale to the top where they are now fed layer pellets in addition to a multitude of other foods such as corn scratch, dried mealworms, grit, and since I also happen to have a gecko that eats live mealworms, live mealworms. The only other thing besides food and water they need is a clean place to lay eggs, but beware if about 3 eggs are in the nest at once a chicken might decide to try to incubate them even though they aren't fertile.

Hope this helps!

 

[Cornbanessa]

Thank you I will check it out!

Also I just called the shop I purchased them from and they were vaccinated for mareks at the hatchery. And I just was reading about the de worming. I'm sure I will also become a regular at my local backyard farm store

Thanks so much for your replies!

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[Cynthia12]

WELCOME!!!!

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under Cornbanessa

Welcome!

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun. Unlike non chicken loving friends, family and colleagues, BYC’ers never tire of stories or pictures that feature our feathered and non feathered friends

 

[Doodlemom]

Welcome to the group! Here is my two little chicks I hatched out three weeks ago. The yellow one is a English Lemon Buff Orpington and the deal one was suppose to be a English Jubilee Orpington but instead is a Cochin I believe.

They are hanging out on the couch with me watching TV. Lol

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas and a belated

! Great to have you in our community!

 

[superlukee]

I don't clip my chickens wings. If there's a predator in my yard I want my chickens to be able to escape.