Ok been doing research now I am in trouble

[djackjr]

If I order chicks, looks like 25 is the minimum or have to pay extra for them, So I think I may need to expand my coop a bit....

Oh the wife is so going to kill me!!

 

[silkiechicken]

Ideal has a min dollar order. They made it to WA in 2 days all alive and happy. However, not discouraging you from ordering 25 or more!!!! I mean, you NEED 25 at least for safe shipping in cooler weather, and we all know it's cold in WA

 

[speckledhen]

Start the expansion project now. Might as well!

 

[djackjr]

Quote:
Ok first expansion will be my new living quarters right next to the chickens

 

[djackjr]

Quote:
ya mean WET in Washington

 

[orcasislandchickens]

Wet? In Washington? Hahahaha. I can't believe people BUY ducks.

 

[ncCHICKS]

Check Craigslist for some chickens, or if you want to order them, for free wood

 

[Cetawin]

Quote:
Enabler!

That is exactly how went from 6 to 32....such enabling from here.

I order 21 from Meyer and paid a little extra but it was worth it. They came in a cute little nest of hay and had a heating pad under them. Use can order as few as three or five I believe.

 

[DTchickens]

its best to get a fairly large amount of chicks really.. then if a few die. it doesn't matter too much. and Chicks dying (not to scare you... its the truth) Is not uncommon. predators. Sickness. etc. just like babies they need special care until their old enough to fend for themselves. but even then its best to help them. if more then you want grow up-Well theres you some to sell. Money for feed.

-Daniel

 

[Fredster]

Quote:
If you want something to worry about....

We bought 12 chicks in March of 2007. I built them a 5x7 coop, and fenced off about a fifth of our back yard area for them.

We got a rooster last fall.

This March, we got another batch of chicks. They were from McMurray, and were part of the encephalomyelitis shipments, so we lost several. At the end, though, we had 13 more chicks, bringing us to 27 total chickens.

I built a second coop, this one 10x12 and big like a shed. I fenced off about 3/4 of an acre for them, and we moved them there earlier this year.

In the late spring, we hatched our first batch of chicks, and increased our flock by another 20 or so. At the same time, some of our hens went broody and we let them hatch out another 10-12 chicks.

In the late summer, I bought a couple of dozen eggs from some Amish people, and threw them into the incubator. We have 12 chicks from that, and we've bought another 18 chicks at a local flea market. Three more hens went broody, and we let them each hatch a couple of eggs.

We started eating our chickens, and lost some to various other things (bronchitis, bad hatching, etc), but now we have about 70 chickens...and we're going to order 50 more in the spring.

I'm working on a THIRD coop now, this one roughly the size of a small house, and I'm fencing in our back field (2.5 acres or so) for the chickens.

So yeah. Be warned, they're addicting.