New to BYC...intro!

[kmwright]

Hello!

My name is Kristen, I live in a rural town in Northern California. I got my 3 chicks on Friday and I'm picking one more up today. They are 5 weeks old, a Plymouth Rock, Gold laced Wynadotte, and Ameraucana. I made a brooder out of a kiddie pool and chicken wire. They have pine shavings, water, chick starter, and a couple of perches that they love! I can't believe I've never done this before, I am absolutely in love with my chicks! They have such personality and they follow my 3 year old daughter everywhere. She says that they love her.

Here they are before I had their brooder set up. Lucy the Wynadotte is on the left, Sneaky the Plymouth Rock is up front, and Teddy (Bear) the Ameraucana is in the back.

Rolling in the pine shavings

Outdoor time with my daughter. They were chasing bugs, it was so fun to watch them!

Thanks for letting me share! I am looking forward to being here more often!!

 

[chicmom]

Hello and welcome! Thanks for sharing the lovely pics!

 

[Morgan7782]

from a fellow Northern Californian! Aren't chicks just great?? I think it is wonderful to have chicks with kids too, my nephew is 5 years old and lives with us pretty often, and he is so proud that he can put my chickens into their coop for the night! Plus, just wait until your little girl gets to collect eggs! I will keep my fingers crossed for a green or blue egg from your ameraucana/easter egger chick

I have 1 Barred Rock, 1 Easter Egger (They are mistaken as ameraucana's but they are actually Easter Eggers

) and 4 Wyandottes of various colors. They are addictive so don't be surprised if your chicken math multiplies quickly!!

 

[kmwright]

It amazes me how good my daughter is with them. She catches and handles them like she's been around them her whole life. I have to keep an eye on her, of course, but she's really gentle. On Saturday she was carrying the Plymouth Rock back to the brooder and it was squawking for the others, and she says "hey! don't you yell at me!"

Oh that's the other thing I noticed, they really stick together. If I take one away, they all freak out. Yesterday we were holding two and the third jumped and flapped OUT of the pen! I couldn't believe it.

 

[Luke0987654321]

first of all:

you will meet very nice people here,
and you will learn things that you never knew.
the chicks look great!

do you know if they are pullets or roos yet?


luke.

 

[kmwright]

I didn't get them out of the straight run bin, so I'm hoping they're female. What does pullet mean?

and you will learn things that you never knew

Yeah, I was reading about a "blow out" on another page and thought "whoo, that sounds like fun!!" Also someone was talking about scraping poo off their chicken's rear, I was laughing. I laugh mostly because it will happen to me.

 

[Morgan7782]

Pullet is a young hen (female)

I will keep my fingers crossed for all girls! The Barred Rock's are very very easy to tell the gender of. Get some good body shots and comb shots and a few people on here can tell you for sure if that is a girl or boy

 

[gryeyes]

A pullet is a female chicken under one year of age. A hen is a year old or above. A cockerel is a male chicken under one year; a rooster is a year or more old.

However, you'll fine that most folks here on BYC refer to their female chickens as "girls" or "ladies" far more often than pullets, and the male chickens as "roos."

Bantam breeds are smaller versions of chickens; "bantam" refers to size, and is not a breed itself. Many large fowl breeds also come in bantam versions. Some bantams are "true" in that there is no large fowl version. I have recently added some Silver Sebrights to my flock, and they're only bantam-sized.

You got your chicks old enough to not have to worry about pasty butt, so that's great. Hopefully none will grow up to be a "dirty hen" with a poopy backside.

They'll want to hang together because chickens are very social animals. They'll peep in distress if one of them is out of sight. And the one that is not with the others will REALLY peep loudly.

Sexing chicks, especially when you get them from feed stores - is only 90% accurate. So let's hope all your chicks ARE pullets. Unless you don't mind and can keep roosters where you live. But the breeds you got are pretty darned good layers!

 

[kmwright]

I hope they are all female. I can't have a rooster, so if it turns out that one is a rooster, I'll have to find it a new home. I've already met some neat people from the area, I'm sure they could help me if that happened.

Yeah, they totally freak when one is left behind so I always pick all 3 up together. Then they're okay.

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

Gladto have you here. everytime I get on here and start reading post I learn something I did not know before this is a spongemuffin of knowlage Hope you find a Home here among us.