Hello,
We are Tim and Teri Anderson, most of the posting will be by me, Teri. We just started raising chickens not quite two months ago after many months of preparations, and years of planning to eventually raise some hens for eggs. With our busy lives we didn't want to rush into getting chickens if we weren't able to devote the time and work they deserved, so, it took a while to take the leap, but, we are so glad we did.
Living in a semi rural area has made it both easier to have chickens and harder because I can't have as many as I want and I don't dare keep a roo. Eventually we hope to move to a more remote area and start our own self sustaining property.
We bought chicks from both Cal Ranch and Tractor Supply, mostly because the hatcheries all seem to want us to order at least 15 chicks, which would put us over the maximum we are allowed to keep in our city, or they want a fortune for shipping a smaller order. We knew it was risky going to a feed store, but, we took the chance and so far we have been happy with the results. Our flock consists of two meat chickens (which we didn't realize we were buying because we are such newbies and didn't know Cornish Rocks are often bred for that purpose and didn't read the signage well enough. We thought telling the guy that worked there that we wanted hens to lay eggs was enough). We named them Aria and Desi. Aria is huge, and Desi is starting to fill out nicely, too. We also got two Buff Orpingtons (one turned out to be a roo, at least we're pretty sure that's the way it's going) and named them Tikka and Cleo. We also got two white Leghorns for egg production purposes and named them Nia and Mochie. And then we got two chicks in a pen marked Auracaunas. One is silver and we're pretty sure she is an Americauna, but, we could be wrong, her name is Hazel and she is the favorite. The other looks like she may be an Easter Egger, and her name is Chief.
We moved our girls out to the chicken coop last night, and so far I have only worried about them half the time.
Last week, to compensate for the three we are going to have to lose from our flock, we picked up four more chicks. Two RIR's that we named Anne and Cordelia, and two Silver Laced Wyandottes, named Diana and Lacey. As they are so tiny they will be in the brooder box for at least a month or more, depending on what the weather does as they start to feather out. If it's warm enough, we will start introducing them to the rest of the flock, under controlled circumstances using a cage to protect them, and only in the run during the daytime. Once they are adapted to each other, and they can spend the day together unsupervised, we will move them out permanently.
So far, our experience has been positive, not too many crisis moments, and everything has been smooth sailing.
We are Tim and Teri Anderson, most of the posting will be by me, Teri. We just started raising chickens not quite two months ago after many months of preparations, and years of planning to eventually raise some hens for eggs. With our busy lives we didn't want to rush into getting chickens if we weren't able to devote the time and work they deserved, so, it took a while to take the leap, but, we are so glad we did.
Living in a semi rural area has made it both easier to have chickens and harder because I can't have as many as I want and I don't dare keep a roo. Eventually we hope to move to a more remote area and start our own self sustaining property.
We bought chicks from both Cal Ranch and Tractor Supply, mostly because the hatcheries all seem to want us to order at least 15 chicks, which would put us over the maximum we are allowed to keep in our city, or they want a fortune for shipping a smaller order. We knew it was risky going to a feed store, but, we took the chance and so far we have been happy with the results. Our flock consists of two meat chickens (which we didn't realize we were buying because we are such newbies and didn't know Cornish Rocks are often bred for that purpose and didn't read the signage well enough. We thought telling the guy that worked there that we wanted hens to lay eggs was enough). We named them Aria and Desi. Aria is huge, and Desi is starting to fill out nicely, too. We also got two Buff Orpingtons (one turned out to be a roo, at least we're pretty sure that's the way it's going) and named them Tikka and Cleo. We also got two white Leghorns for egg production purposes and named them Nia and Mochie. And then we got two chicks in a pen marked Auracaunas. One is silver and we're pretty sure she is an Americauna, but, we could be wrong, her name is Hazel and she is the favorite. The other looks like she may be an Easter Egger, and her name is Chief.
We moved our girls out to the chicken coop last night, and so far I have only worried about them half the time.
Last week, to compensate for the three we are going to have to lose from our flock, we picked up four more chicks. Two RIR's that we named Anne and Cordelia, and two Silver Laced Wyandottes, named Diana and Lacey. As they are so tiny they will be in the brooder box for at least a month or more, depending on what the weather does as they start to feather out. If it's warm enough, we will start introducing them to the rest of the flock, under controlled circumstances using a cage to protect them, and only in the run during the daytime. Once they are adapted to each other, and they can spend the day together unsupervised, we will move them out permanently.
So far, our experience has been positive, not too many crisis moments, and everything has been smooth sailing.
and Welcome To BYC!
