Proud Papa of baby Chicks!

[Loco Ken]

I saw that there are various varieties of the Ameraucana's. Does anyone know which one I have here? I'm curious to know if mine will be the gray colored Blue Wheaten variety from the looks of the pictures in the Breed section. Thanks!

 

[gryeyes]

For six chickens, you need 24 sq ft of coop floor space, and any feeders, waterers, or nest boxes can reduce the available, open floor space. So I would recommend nothing smaller than a 4 x 8 footprint. Plus, it's an easy cut pattern, since most plywood sheets are 4 x 8, anyway. If you put the nest boxes, and for six chickens I'd use two of 'em, on the wall instead of on the floor, that would leave some of that precious real estate free for chickens to walk around. As long as the nest boxes are about 24 inches off the ground, anyway....

Your chicks are adorable. You got a good mix of 'em, too!

 

[carrlr]

Quote:
Ken,
Welcome to BYC. South Dakota to the Pacific NW. Wow quite a move! These are the measuments I go by as well. Always build bigger than you expect, it's addicting. As for nest boxes, which I realize will be awhile, would be 1 box for every 4 chickens. Currently I have 12 hens and four nest boxes, but they usually all lay in the same box. Go firgure. I would say that "sexed" chicks have about a 90-95% accuracy rate. Can't speak for the other breeds, but I think you might have one each of the BRs. A BR hen is actually black with one bar of white and a BR roo is white with two bars of black. A more distinct white spot on their head would be a hen and a blurred white spot a roo. When they feather out a roo will be lighter. Of course, easiest way to tell is if one starts to crow. Good luck!

 

[Loco Ken]

Quote:
Yeah, it get's expensive when we go back to visit. The military brought me here 16 years ago and I haven't been able to leave! It's beautiful but the weather isn't as forgiving when it comes to growing a garden. I miss the longer summers but it's a trade off. The mountains are absolutely gorgeous and I love hiking in them. Our summers hang around 75 degrees and start around July 5th. J/K.....It just seems like it's always raining at some point on the 4th. You just get used to it after awhile. Very beautiful here but I do miss the plains. Grew up in farming country so farm animals don't scare me one bit. Even worked on the farms to raise money as a kid. Makes you appreciate the little things, ya know?!

I would say that "sexed" chicks have about a 90-95% accuracy rate. Can't speak for the other breeds, but I think you might have one each of the BRs. A BR hen is actually black with one bar of white and a BR roo is white with two bars of black. A more distinct white spot on their head would be a hen and a blurred white spot a roo. When they feather out a roo will be lighter. Of course, easiest way to tell is if one starts to crow. Good luck!

Well, I guess I'm in a waiting game. It'll be sad to get rid of them if they are but I'm sure I can find a home for him. If not, I like chicken!​

 

[Loco Ken]

Forgot to mention, heading out to the Puyallup Fair tonight with the family. Will be checking out all of the animals, and especially the chickens. Been interested in goats, cows, pigs, pheasants, ducks, geese, and maybe some exotic chickens. Who knows, maybe someone there has some for sale and I won't be able to say no! We'll see!

 

[midd2005]

welcome ken and happy building!

one other thought that i don't know if anyone has mentioned yet:

i'm told that it's best not to keep baby chicks on newspaper. their legs really aren't very strong yet and the ink can apparently be slippery for them, which can lead to a condition called spradle leg.

i didn't use newspaper so can't vouch for the accuracy of that myself. i used pellets that would disintegrate into sawdust when they came into contact with liquid. kept the dust down quite nicely and the chicks weren't very smelly, which was good since they were in our living room for 3.5 weeks.

other people use wood shavings. cedar (and i think pine) are to be avoided as those woods can hurt chickens. if you go to a feed supply store, i'm sure they will be able to hook you up with something.

 

[fancy]

Don't forget to calculate you coop dimensions using chick math!!!!!!!

 

[Luke13:34]

BAAAAbieeesss!

Welcome to the madhou...forum!

 

[Loco Ken]

Quote:
Thank you for that info! I will get something else in there A.S.A.P! I was thinking they would probably enjoy something better than newspaper but didn't know that it could be harmful. Again, thank you!

i used pellets that would disintegrate into sawdust when they came into contact with liquid. kept the dust down quite nicely and the chicks weren't very smelly, which was good since they were in our living room for 3.5 weeks.

I will be heading down to the feed store today to see what they have as I'm putting together the new brooder. I noticed last night that one of the Ameraucana's was jumping up to get on top of the water feeder and almost making it! I want to think that it is either a little older than the rest as it's feathers are more prominent and quite frankly, more of them than the others, and it's a little bigger too. I'm glad I went with two of each because the more I look at them, the more I think I may have a Roo or two. What is it that I look for at this age to tell if it may indeed be a Rooster?

Quote:
He he.....yeah, I saw that thread! What I didn't see is the multiplier you use after you get your first batch of chicks, and the one that you use after you see someone else's chicks in person or online, nor did I see the one for when you discover you have a Roo or two. Can someone give me those please, so I make the coop large enough?

Well, got home late last night after going to the fair and I was a little disappointed to find that the chickens weren't there yet and only a few specimens of chicks were available. Saw lots of goats, cows, and horses. But mostly everything else hasn't shown up yet. I was really looking forward to seeing the chickens as you very well can imagine. Oh well, that's why I have this site to fall back on. It just would have been nice to see the different varieties up close and personal in a grow hen or roo.​

 

[Loco Ken]

Here's some pics from today. Didn't get to work on the new brooder but will hopefully get something started tomorrow. Got some straw in the temporary box they are in instead of just paper. Tried to find some wood shavings but the stuff I saw was real expensive. Anyone got some places that I might look?

When we got home last night from the fair, I went to check in on the chicks. Decided to play them some music off my ipod touch and had some interesting results. Started with some Keith Urban. They just kept on their business of eating and peeping. Played some other stuff but the music that made me laugh was some slower music that I tried. He he....they all went to a common corner and started falling asleep! It was all I could do to keep from laughing so loud and wake them up. They are too cute!

Also found out that one of the BR's has pasty butt. Crud! Watching it closely to make sure it doesn't harm the little one. Was able to wash off most of it with a warm wet cloth. More updates later!