NY chicken lover!!!!

[yakitori]

I live in Orange County NY. I have 10 mystic onyx hens (3 months), 1 Easter egged hen 5 months and 5 Easter egged Roos. 4 Roos are in a bachelor pad and my most passive roo is with my girls. I just had my first egg laid!! I'd love to meet other chicken owners around me.

I’m in Orange county too! But Oc is pretty big Middletown area

 

[khrystianp81]

I’m in Orange county too! But Oc is pretty big Middletown area

I'm in Monroe/tuxedo border. 25-30 min away

 

[rolohman]

Henhouse is coming along! Plastic roof is on and back panel doors are attached. Need significant work to add draft blockers and predator proofing (latches, etc.) but at least the rain is now blocked and I can work at a more leisurely pace.

Chicks have arrived- received an extra so we have 7! A couple have the beginnings of pasty butt- maybe as much as one poop sticking to their feathers. I’ll work more on cleaning them today- tried with a damp paper towel this morning but the piece was too hard and dry and wouldn’t easily come off. I’ve read on here about people actually dunking their bottoms in dishes of warm water- it’s hard to imagine them liking that but I’ll try later today.

Edited to add that was is shown is the back of the coop. It will be painted and have a bit more trim, but I’m not focusing on aesthetics as much there as just big doors to aid in easy cleanup.

 

[Iluveggers]

Chicks have arrived- received an extra so we have 7! A couple have the beginnings of pasty butt- maybe as much as one poop sticking to their feathers. I’ll work more on cleaning them today- tried with a damp paper towel this morning but the piece was too hard and dry and wouldn’t easily come off. I’ve read on here about people actually dunking their bottoms in dishes of warm water- it’s hard to imagine them liking that but I’ll try later today.

Yay! Photos when you get a chance! What breed was your extra?

For pasty butt, I get a soaked warm wash cloth, hold it on the butt to loosen everything, put coconut oil on it, and the poop slides right off. Then a nice dry towel on them to help dry off.

 

[rolohman]

Here you go! This is all of them but the bright yellow buff Orpington. I THINK the extra is one of the two gray ones, because I expect I know which ones the two black ones are and one of the stripey ones. I had one olive and one Easter egger, and my understanding is that they can look like almost anything. So my guess would be one of those is the extra?

Currently freaking out about whether they are too hot or too cold since I am not sure I trust my thermometer. They move around a lot and aren’t clustered anywhere so maybe it’s good ?!

 

[rolohman]

Now most of them have come out and are napping. Thermometer says 92 but is not directly under the light. It just SEEMS so hot in there. Course, I run around in a tshirt in 50F weather. They are making what sounds like calm, happy cheeps and I haven’t seen them seeming to pant.

 

[Iluveggers]

Here you go! This is all of them but the bright yellow buff Orpington. I THINK the extra is one of the two gray ones, because I expect I know which ones the two black ones are and one of the stripey ones. I had one olive and one Easter egger, and my understanding is that they can look like almost anything. So my guess would be one of those is the extra?

Currently freaking out about whether they are too hot or too cold since I am not sure I trust my thermometer. They move around a lot and aren’t clustered anywhere so maybe it’s good ?!

View attachment 3619080

Your Wyandotte is the top stripey one w the little face mask, the two greys I would guess are Olive Eggers (especially if they have any feathers at all on their legs or feet), and the other stripey the Americana, if one of your black ones has feathered legs that is your Marans and the other is the Australorp. We got 2 Olive Eggers and an Americana from Mt Healthy this year, the Americana was striped and the two olive eggers had light & heavy leg feathering, one was black & one was grey. Adorable little ones, aren’t they?

 

[Iluveggers]

Now most of them have come out and are napping. Thermometer says 92 but is not directly under the light. It just SEEMS so hot in there. Course, I run around in a tshirt in 50F weather. They are making what sounds like calm, happy cheeps and I haven’t seen them seeming to pant.


View attachment 3619086

Do you have a heat lamp and a plate?

 

[rolohman]

Do you have a heat lamp and a plate?

Thank you for the IDs! That is super helpful.

Errr... yes, I have both. I bought a plate on amazon and was very pleased with it until I set it up and found that it was only getting up to 85 underneath. And that was the day the chicks were arriving. Cue a desperate run to true value and the purchasing of the only clip-on light with a cage (and not a very protective one) that they had, with the red bulb that was next to it. But that was 250 watts! I've now run to the grocery store to try and find something else, but they only had 70 watt incandescent bulbs. Tried that, but it didn't seem to be hot enough. So now I mounted the 250 watt bulb much higher and cracked the door open to the rest of our cold house, and they seem to be quite active and not doing any one thing (like huddling in one spot). They take naps and then they all wake up and go and eat and drink, and then they wander around falling asleep on their feet for a while. Sometimes they do go under the heating plate.

I'm hoping I can turn the light off in a couple weeks and just use the plate, to give them some semblance of nighttime. I might also leave the light on in the room, but partly cover the bin they are in, so they get the warm air but not direct bright light. They are in a smallish bathroom, so that bulb is heating up the whole space quite nicely.

 

[rolohman]

. Adorable little ones, aren’t they?

And yes, they are so adorable! And the grays do have feathers on their legs, so I bet you are right!

The kids are coming up with names. So far they want to call the grays (olive eggers?) "Dolly Parton for president 2024" and...."Cloudy". The Buffy is going to be named after the chick friend of a Japanese animated egg character called Gudetama. I'm going to have a bit of trouble keeping up with all of this!