Hello everyone, I am not only new to BYC's but I am also new to chickens in general. However I am NOT new to the farm fresh eggs that they produce. I have had many critters throughout my life but I have never had chickens. I am a stay at home mom who lives on 5 acres in the country and both of my girls are getting older and in school now. For a while I had tossed around the idea of getting some chickens, we already had a coop that we were using as a rabbit hutch that was now empty because the rabbits got moved into an ACTUAL rabbit hutch. So about 3 weeks ago I was talking to my local feed store and they just happened to have someone who wanted to give 4 chickens (1 believed to be a rooster) to a good home. So I received Henny Penny the Rhode Island Red, Goldie the Buff Orpington, Rocky the Barred Rock (that we believe is a rooster) and Star who we were told is either a black star or a black Australorp she was not sure. I figured why not get some chickens, let them eat my weeds and bugs and get some fresh eggs when they get older (they were only 2 months old when I got them, now almost 3). I did NOT expect them to be sooooo entertaining. I have a blast watching them and seeing just where they will end up from minute to minute as I let them free range.
I must have got bitten pretty hard because now I have a neighbor down the road who also has chickens and ducks and is talking about having me incubate a couple duck eggs, says they are a blast. And This weekend I have a person bringing me 6 baby silkie chickens all the way from Georgia (I live in Illinois) I can't WAIT to get the silkies, they look like soooooo much fun. I was told they are eithr 1 week old or 3 weeks old lol the lady couldn't remember what the person who is selling them told her, hopefully that will change by the time I get them lol.
Here is a quick pic. of my chickens, this is when I was just starting to let them explore out of their coop/run a little bit.
I must have got bitten pretty hard because now I have a neighbor down the road who also has chickens and ducks and is talking about having me incubate a couple duck eggs, says they are a blast. And This weekend I have a person bringing me 6 baby silkie chickens all the way from Georgia (I live in Illinois) I can't WAIT to get the silkies, they look like soooooo much fun. I was told they are eithr 1 week old or 3 weeks old lol the lady couldn't remember what the person who is selling them told her, hopefully that will change by the time I get them lol.
Here is a quick pic. of my chickens, this is when I was just starting to let them explore out of their coop/run a little bit.
and Welcome To BYC! Looks like you have a cute little flock! Rocky is definitely a rooster! Can't see Star well enough in the picture to see all her color, but Black Stars usually have red feathers on the neck and chest area, while Black Australorps are solid black. One thing with having a small flock and a rooster, you may need to get more hens for Rocky, the usual recommended ratio is around 10 hens per rooster or the hens tend to get overmated. Silkie often can't be run with regular birds or they will get picked on, so you may need to keep them separate.
