- Apr 19, 2011
- 115
- 1
- 101
Hi to all. I am a new member and wanted to introduce myself. My husband and I have recently retired and we have lived on a 10 acre place for the last 15 years. We have 3 horses, 2 goats and 2 dogs. We just got 8 red chickens about a month ago and they were about 3-4 weeks old when we got them. Hopefully I can post pics when I have enough posts to do that.
And I say "red chickens" because they were supposed to be rhode island red pullets but as I soon learned more, I realized we had bought from a backyard broker and she probably had no idea what they were. I am just very thankful that they seem to be very healthy. So far they have not given me definite indication there are any roosters but I have my suspicions but simply because 3 are alot bigger than the others, stand more upright (but then again I'm a newbie) and seem a tad more aggressive but maybe just because they are bigger. And so far at about 8 weeks old, there combs are very small and not a definite pink or red.
And now to the housing - they started out in a 100 gallon old stock tank and they still stay in there at night. My husband does not like chickens at all but has gotten these for me because I wanted them and is building me a coop. He is very very handy but he is also very meticulous and slow. We are converting an extra horse stall (3 sided open slant roof type) and have made them a temporary 4 x 12 fenced run to stay in the daytime. When this converted horse stall is finished it will be a mansion fit for a queen. I have no need for that but that's the way hubby does things. The outside of the stall is metal and he is currently working on insulating it and covering the inside walls with OSB. He will also install windows and a door and then fix a larger permanent run across the whole front and out about 10' with a gate to enter. Like I said, it will be very nice when finished but I hope it is finished by next winter (LOL). And being retired, he works on it most of the day. I'm very appreciative tho.
And I say "red chickens" because they were supposed to be rhode island red pullets but as I soon learned more, I realized we had bought from a backyard broker and she probably had no idea what they were. I am just very thankful that they seem to be very healthy. So far they have not given me definite indication there are any roosters but I have my suspicions but simply because 3 are alot bigger than the others, stand more upright (but then again I'm a newbie) and seem a tad more aggressive but maybe just because they are bigger. And so far at about 8 weeks old, there combs are very small and not a definite pink or red.
And now to the housing - they started out in a 100 gallon old stock tank and they still stay in there at night. My husband does not like chickens at all but has gotten these for me because I wanted them and is building me a coop. He is very very handy but he is also very meticulous and slow. We are converting an extra horse stall (3 sided open slant roof type) and have made them a temporary 4 x 12 fenced run to stay in the daytime. When this converted horse stall is finished it will be a mansion fit for a queen. I have no need for that but that's the way hubby does things. The outside of the stall is metal and he is currently working on insulating it and covering the inside walls with OSB. He will also install windows and a door and then fix a larger permanent run across the whole front and out about 10' with a gate to enter. Like I said, it will be very nice when finished but I hope it is finished by next winter (LOL). And being retired, he works on it most of the day. I'm very appreciative tho.
