Hi I'm Charley I'm 19 and a mother I have a son (Elijah) who's birthday is coming up in April. And I want to get him some Chicks! When I was 12 my Dad took me to the feed store and I bought 3 baby chicks for three dollars.. My father would buy me anything I loved them they were my best friends.. My Dad was a truck driver and gone all the time so it helped to have my little chicks. Well My sister being Polly pure bred wanted pure bred chicken.. She bought 150 chick and all were different breeds and even bought 4 turkeys... After 6 days she stop caring for them and threw them outside.. By the way it was winter in Mississippi! I am a lover of animals I get that from my Father! I took the chicks in that they lived in my bathroom for 2 months lol, My Dad built me a beautiful coop and run yard. I stayed happy with my chicks. I had a rough childhood and a mother who didn't care about anything but herself and a Father that was always gone.. My Chickens and turkeys were everything to me they kept me sane in a insane childhood. Well my Dad divorced my mom and in anger to hurt me and my father she sold my show quility chickens and turkeys and geese for a 100$.. I had over a few grand in them and their coops. So I have a lot of experience with them I even had to help breed my Turkeys at 13 lol I took care of 250+ chickens at the age of 13 till I was 15. It was such a great learning experience and I learned so much! After almost five years I still miss my babies. I am a mother now and also a wife to a truck driver.. My Dad asked me to come back home and help him raise his 8 year old daughter which I have raised her from birth I had only been gone from my family for less then 2 years. My son always crys for Daddy and Papa to stay home or at least let him go with them. My Dad come up with the idea to start up with our little Chicken family again.. Its not only hard on my son its hard on me too I only see my husband 3-5 days out of a month. It would be good for both me my son and sister. I live in florida and I'm looking to get a few breeds. I need nice calm breeds. I want to get Cochin Oh I love them! But the florida heat has me worried. I'm also getting turkeys for my husband and father. Any advise? Info? What do you think I should get? I do not Plan to kill my chickens. Egg yes but I want them mostly for pets. Thanks! Charley.
My parents live in Northern Florida and they have Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, and Black Australorps, that I know of for sure( I'll check to see if she has any different kinds). As far as I know they all seem to do well in the Fl heat. We live in Western KY and the summers get nearly as hot, and sometimes more humid than parts of Fl. Last year we raised EE's and Australorps through the summer, the Australorps did better than the EE's but as long as they had a place out of the sun and lots of ice in their water they were fine. Hope this helps....good luck with your new chicks!
Oh thats helpful! My chicken batch I think is going to be made up of. Black, White, Partridge, Buff, Blue, And some Frizzle Cochins Buff, blue, white silkies Mille fleurs sultans Buff and Golden laced Polish Quail antwerp belgian phoenix (For my father lol) And finally my Turkeys... I'm getting Bourbon red Turkeys I want to get bronze breasted turkeys but I've heard they cant mate naturally.. Might be a problem! LOL I'm going to be doing this all myself and I'm 95 pounds and 5'0 lol! It was almost impossible to help my small turkeys breed when I was younger.
I have Cochins, and they do have a bit of a rough time during our humid summers. I put some ice cubes in shallow water pans for them to stand in, and it really seems to help them out alot. Frozen cantaloupe and watermelon are their favorite thing when the weathers warm. Sorry you had such a hard childhood, coming from an extremely blended family myself (and a father who didn't really have much to do with me either) I can really feel your pain. Chicken therapy is good for the soul! Good luck with your new chickies! Oh, and welcome to BYC!!!!!
Thanks so much! I think it will make it easier on my son when his father leaves if he had some kind of outlight same for me too! Great ideas for frozen fruit! I'm getting them this may or sooner!
