Newbie looking for advice

[Beckyinva]

I would like to get 4 or 5 chickens. My first requirement is that they are people friendly and sweet. I'm thinking orpingtons and silkies. My question is should I get babies or young adults. It seems that keeping babies inside with the lamp for about 8 weeks is a lot to go through. Can I get some opinions?
Thanks so much,
Becky

 

[chickenmanII]

Raising babies is a lot of work, but it is very rewarding as well. The chickens you raise will be used to you and where they live. When you buy grown chickens they have to get comfortable with they're surroundings and you. And some times they are a little distant, however any time you buy day old chicks there is a chance of loosing one or two, and you have to be ready for that. I like raising my chicks so they will let me handle them more when they are older. I hope this helps, I really love my chickens.

 

[shelby528]

Honestly if I were to start all over again I would go with a couple 4 month old birdies. Babies are a lot of work, I hatch 1000 out of my incubators every 21 and usually lose about 50 and trust me its just like a newborn baby but with 1000 mouths to look after. hard work but pays off.

 

[shelby528]

Honestly if I were to start all over again I would go with a couple 4 month old birdies. Babies are a lot of work, I hatch 1000 out of my incubators every 21 and usually lose about 50 and trust me its just like a newborn baby but with 1000 mouths to look after. hard work but pays off.

 

[Beckyinva]

Shelby,
That is an awful lot of chicks to take care of. I could see why you would prefer older chicks.

 

[Beckyinva]

Chickenman II,
This is the response I expected to get from people. It is so cool how you,love your chickens. How do they interact with you?

 

[stcroixusvi]

We started with chicks last year for the first time, and when it came time to add to our flock this year, we picked chicks again, even though we were at a breeders and could have had adult birds. I love the whole process. It is a bit of work, but so is taking care of adult birds.

You ought to know you've picked two breeds that are famous for being broody.

 

[chickenmanII]

Our older chickens will eat from the children's hands, they feed them grass and meal worms all the time. I can pet some of them just by standing in the pen and they walk up to see what your doing. Chickens are very curious, and I do love all my chickens. My wife and i have a deal when they're chicks they're hers, when they grow up they're mine. Of course we just like picking at each other, but she has 14 chicks right now. I will say watch out for the chicken math I have read posts about it, but its true it is happening to us.

 

[stcroixusvi]

Our older chickens will eat from the children's hands, they feed them grass and meal worms all the time. I can pet some of them just by standing in the pen and they walk up to see what your doing. Chickens are very curious, and I do love all my chickens. My wife and i have a deal when they're chicks they're hers, when they grow up they're mine. Of course we just like picking at each other, but she has 14 chicks right now. I will say watch out for the chicken math I have read posts about it, but its true it is happening to us.

chicken math, oh yes, it is true and happening to us too.

 

[felidaet]

I agree baby chicks can be a lot of work. And you have to deal with the possibility of losing once once in awhile. You also have the possibility of getting a rooster or two. Having said that though I will absolutely raise baby chicks every time. My entire family gets excited months before we get the chicks. I have a large brooder that has plenty of space. If someone lived nearby and did not want to raise their chicks I would happily do it for them if I were raising some for myself. I actually offered that to a co-worker this year that only wants 3 birds but he wanted to raise them from chicks.