NY chicken lover!!!!

[rancher hicks]

New to chickens in Herkimer County, NY. I have 7 11-week old chicks and 4 2-week old chicks, all barnyard mixes. I have to separate the cockerels soon from the older batch. I'm moving 3 of the 4 cockerels to a separate pen. The rain is preventing the construction of the other coop. This has been a wonderful experience for my kids so far, but we haven't gotten to the egg-laying or processing part.

Welcome to the coop. Be sure to hang around. Or is that roost around?

 

[featherz]

So for the egg hatching purists, I had a fun experiment- I didn't expect anything, but hated to throw out developing live eggs.

I had just a few eggs (I have enough chickens, just wanted to hatch a few) under broodies and a mad egg eater was making the rounds.. So I pulled all the eggs in various stages of development, candled, and kept the eggs that looked fertile and developing (just mutt eggs, no idea how long they had been there). Had about 7 eggs when I was done. Had nowhere else safe to put them so I put them in my unsterilized incubator (had just been used for another hatch) without a turner and just kept the humidity at whatever (about 45%) and walked in about twice a day and haphazardly turned the eggs (I have a turner, but didn't want to use it due to unknown ages of eggs).. EVERY SINGLE EGG hatched (took about 10 days total from the first chick since they were all different ages), with the last one just coming out now.

Figures.. I do everything wrong due to hurrying and not expecting much.. dirty eggs, dirty-ish incubator, no reliable turning, no careful humidity control.. all hatched perfectly. LOL. (This is in my brinsea so the temp was the only thing that was stable).

 

[Lapeerian]

Hermione did good, checked earlier and she had 7 of the 10 hatched so far. 2 eggs still under her plus one that looks like it hatched from the shell but was still in the membrane.

 

[Gramma Chick]

New to chickens in Herkimer County, NY. I have 7 11-week old chicks and 4 2-week old chicks, all barnyard mixes. I have to separate the cockerels soon from the older batch. I'm moving 3 of the 4 cockerels to a separate pen. The rain is preventing the construction of the other coop. This has been a wonderful experience for my kids so far, but we haven't gotten to the egg-laying or processing part.

Welcome ...to you ....
hmmm...Diamondss...had such fun there with my Mom & my Kids
Most everyone has trouble with the processing part .
Are you going to process everyone ? or just the Roos ?
Hens can lay eggs for 3 or more years ...
We keep the Hens & process the Roos...

children CAN have a real negative experience with processing if all are done ..
I am pretty sure that is what made my great niece a vegetarian.
Every year my niece buys chicks in the spring ...then processes them all .
Not saying yours will have a problem ...just giving you a heads up ...

 

[Chicken girl 15]

This is our first flock as well. We ate going to have them , hopefully, hatch out next spring so we can process once the new girls start laying good. The kids, we have 5, are excited to be a part of the life cycle of the chickens. It has a lot to do with how we as parents prepare the kids as well.

 

[Gramma Chick]

This is our first flock as well. We ate going to have them , hopefully, hatch out next spring so we can process once the new girls start laying good. The kids, we have 5, are excited to be a part of the life cycle of the chickens. It has a lot to do with how we as parents prepare the kids as well.

Yes it does...I personally am the one at our house ...who is dont kill the chickens ..
How ever when you get a bunch of rascallly young roos ...life become chaotic...it become necessary for peace

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Morning all. Sunshine has returned and my plants and chickens are happy about that. Yesterday was insane at work and they were mean.

Welcome to the newbies. We are always happy to enable you in any way possible!

 

[tao chick]

We are only processing the roos. I have picked out one roo that will stay with the hens unless/until he becomes a problem. My kids have been prepared from the beginning that we will eat the boys. We named them after our favorite chicken dishes and have not developed an attachment to them. The girls were named by the kids and are staying with us for their eggs. Boo, Reddy (white one in my avatar), and Rose are our hens so far. Florentine, Riggie, and Marsala are the boys we're processing. Mr. Wings (formerly known as Mary) is the black one in my avatar that we're keeping for a while. Of the four new chicks I think the barred rock is a boy and I'm worried that we're going to have 3/4 boys. My goal is 5 laying hens by fall. Right now my enabler is my sister in law. She's got a flock and has given me all of my chicks.

 

[PhoredaBurds]

So - Guineas were a bust for me .... way to loud ALL THE TIME .... they did watch good - but then they got mean with the chickens when I lost my head roo.

SO - I'm game to try geese now - maybe .... Can they and will they roost and move with the chickens - not challenge me (I can't spend a lot time - a few trips a day - so they aren't pets) but alert for danger .... are they a target for hawks since they are white ?   They won't honk all day will they?  Just when they alert ?


Can I get Roman Tuft in some colors ?  I know SOP is white - but I'd be glad to get culls or a different line that had colors in them.  

I am a fan of geese. Guineas r not for for me. My geese are brown Chinese, Patsy & Arlo. If I did it again id probably go w Africans bc the Chinese are a little high strung. They are excellent alarmists & quiet down after the threat has passed. Not fast enough to catch a chicken tho a little territorial. Learn to speak goose w ur body language & they'll work w u. Goslings are so fun to raise & will follow you around telling u about their day. Super fun and entertaining. If a hawk tries to take down a goose they're either desperate, stupid, or both. The goose would make that hawk very sorry, lol.

 

[tao chick]

And thank you for the warm welcome!