Raising Chickens

[bailey352]

I wanted to start a thread where I can go to if I ever have a question, instead of starting a new thread every time. Anyone else that has questions can post here too! Actually, please do! Because I have been wanting to be able to have members that I can share my (very few) experiences with! I think it would be fun and interesting for me and anyone else who would want to do so.

 

[Chicksandhorses]

Hey thanks for posting this!!! because i have a question about brooders, which do people most recommend to make them out of???

 

[Mingming]

Cool thread!! It seems a lot of people use large storage bins, but the chicks out grow them quickly. I used a sectioned off part of my daughters bedroom as they grew, but be prepared for the dust they make.... I don't know how the chicks did that, but her bookshelf got such a thorough cleaning after we moved them to the coop! Next time I think the basement would be better.

 

[Chicksandhorses]

hahaha I guess thats where all the dust comes from! lol ok thanks!

 

[ChickChicHurray]

I use the largest bin they make, they can stay in there until they are feathered out enough to go outside. I was in the hen house this morning ( I sit with them every morning and talk while they climb on me) I heard one of the roosters crow for the first time, I was so excited. I know he may have been doing before and I just cannot hear from the house. They have been outside for the past four nights in their coop (Black Copper Marans) I have two sets of them. My plan is to take one rooster and put it with my easter eggers when they get older. My friends think I am nuts because I sit with the chickens in the coop a couple of times a day and talk to them, but thats okay with me just wait until they want eggs...lol.

 

[Chicksandhorses]

lol, ya i'll spend hours watching and talking to my chicks, so your not alone!

Do you think a reptile tank would work??? if not i'll use a large rubbermaid container or part of my room, thanks.

 

[bj taylor]

i used a rabbit hutch as a brooder - it worked for max five chicks. then i moved them into my xlarge dog crate - that worked great. i surrounded it w/cardboard to cut the draft down. another really good brooder is an appliance cardboard box. they're heavy duty & big enough for quite a few chicks.
i even used an appliance cardboard box to slip over my rabbit hutch (it was outside & chilly) at night. great for holding heat in at night, & blocking winds. i cut peek a boo holes in each side so i could check on them at nighi & put a heat lamp under the hutch. i put the light on an old charcoal grill for extra fire protection. they had radiant floor heating. lol

 

[bailey352]

I sit with my chickens too! They are almost a month, so I am going to let them start sleeping in their coop sometime soon! Im exited! No more stinky rooms for me!!!

But I love to sit with them because they climb all over me!!

 

[bailey352]

This is probably an extremely stupid question (please don't judge), but do you have to do a tithing to an egg a chicken eats before you eat it?

 

[chickenrun1020]

just rinse and eat