Raising Chicks

[yakitori]

Maybe you can grow milky mushrooms in the pine pellets when you're done.

wait...really?
I know nothing about growing mushrooms. once my mom brought back one of those mushroom growing in a box things... we had mushrooms for weeks. I couldn't look at mushrooms for a while after that, lol.

I put mine in the compost, it breaks down really easily

 

[Shezadandy]

I’m a big fan of pine pellet bedding (expanded) too!

I lay down about 3in, and then all I need to do is scoop and fluff it up everyday (heck you don’t even need to scoop for a day or two if you’re lazy, just mix it in!). You won’t need to change this out for the duration of the brooding. Grit is essential for this set up as they will eat some of the bedding.

I love this stuff too! I've never had problems with chicks eating the pine pellets, though. For the first week I use paper towels over the top of the pine pellets so I can keep a good eye on the droppings, and by that point they know what's food- and the pine pellets are still intact - way too big to fit in their little bitty beaks. Chick grit is always a good idea once they're a touch older.

My favorite thing is the chickens using the pine pellets on the bottom of the coop floor for dust bathing when it breaks down into the smaller pieces, especially when it turns muddy.

 

[yakitori]

I love this stuff too! I've never had problems with chicks eating the pine pellets, though. For the first week I use paper towels over the top of the pine pellets so I can keep a good eye on the droppings, and by that point they know what's food- and the pine pellets are still intact - way too big to fit in their little bitty beaks. Chick grit is always a good idea once they're a touch older.

My favorite thing is the chickens using the pine pellets on the bottom of the coop floor for dust bathing when it breaks down into the smaller pieces, especially when it turns muddy.

oh, i use mine the way they use it for horses - I add water to it and let it expand. The chicks like to eat it out of curiosity, it doesn’t take too long before they realize it’s not tasty though, lol!

I also use mine for coop bedding, it makes clean up soooo much easier!

 

[Zantechick]

Ive always had golden comets friendly birds and lay lots of eggs. (Breed specifically as egg breeds) we buy them at 20ish days old so easier to start with and still young enough to be tame handle them as often as u can makes it easier to keep a eye on them for any problems or injuries. Have honey in ur chicken first aid box ive delt lots of injuries ,eye infections and bumble foot infection with honey always have it on hand now its natural antibotic just watered down in cool boiled water and used as a wash worked everytime when caught early. By the sound of if ur only issue is to fully preditor proof the coup and run . Good luck you'l never look back xxx

 

[CNJ]

My young Australorp rooster attacked my feet and drew blood yesterday. I beat him up until he submitted and this morning he was acting up with my feet again behind the coop fence. I was temping him to bite my hand, but he remembered something. I was beginning to think he was an idiot. The Australorp hens are docile, but bloody mean to new chickens. My Jersey Giants are late to mature, the other Roosters began crowing a month before them. The Jersey Giant Roosters are interesting. They haven't challenged me yet. The hens are docile to humans and mean to new chickens like the Australorps. My Buff Orpington hen is the lowest in the pecking order, but the males matured earlier than the other breeds and one of them became the dominant rooster. I had to work with the Dominant Buff Orpington until he clearly understood, I was the boss, but he was to bloody mean to the other roosters , so I butchered him. The same teen age hen chicks that were bullied by the other breeds, bullied my one and only Buff Orpington hen (Sweetie), in their separate coop.
When I put sweetie in the separate coop with my two teen age hen chicks, I thought she was going to be the boss since she is two months older, but it didn't turn out that way, poor thing.

 

[Shezadandy]

oh, i use mine the way they use it for horses - I add water to it and let it expand. The chicks like to eat it out of curiosity, it doesn’t take too long before they realize it’s not tasty though, lol!

I also use mine for coop bedding, it makes clean up soooo much easier!

Oh, that makes sense! I use it dry knowing the chicks will at some point tip over their waterer and just plain being lived in breaks it down. For the coop floor, it depends on the season and the weather. If it's dry of course the pellets will stay intact for a lot longer. This time of year with the rain/mud they drag in on their feet, usually much is converted to the expanded form in about a month. Love how easily it breaks down in the waste pile too compared to shavings.

 

[RIR chicks]

Hi all!
I was wondering what the essentials are for raising chicks? Also, what are the essentials for caring for adult chickens? What are the maintenance schedules like for both chicks and chickens? What is a good number of chickens to start with? How much land would they need? Can you guys recommend any useful products? Sorry for the question overload, I just really want to learn. Does anyone have some good point/reasons to get chickens so that I can convince my mom? Thanks!

If you want to convince your mom what I told my parents is when the chicks grow up will we have farm fresh eggs. A good number of chicks to start with is about 4-6. you need to have at least 3. A grown chickens needs about 3-4 square acres of land In the coop. Chicks well I don’t know just are sure the brooder box isn’t crowded. chick schedule: feed them, clean waterer, and if you have abut 4-6 chicks put new pine shavings at least once a week, if the chicks have pasty-butt/PB you need to treat them for that. For Chickens I don’t know. If you get chicks you need to get a heat lamp or a heating pad thing. IMPORTANT: buy grit! They need grit to digest their food. If you have chicks as long as they are only eating chick feed then they don’t need grit but, if you feed them treats like seeds, veggies, fruit, meals worms and other worms then they need grit, you can give them boiled eggs without grit But, just in case you should give them a bit of sand to help them digest. If you get adult chickens then get a heated waterer, in the winter it is cold and will freeze the water so, if its heated it will keep it warm and ice free, you don’t have to turn on the build in heating thing in summer (unles its cold). Chicks don’t need a hater hint in their water because they should be away from the cold and also have the heat lamp or if they are in a house there might be a heater in the house/room. I hope this wasn’t too much for you to read

 

[RIR chicks]

No. I wouldn't eat them. I'd raise them for eggs. What do you recommend for bedding? What do you recommend for food?

Pine shavings for bedding NEVER use cedar shavings they are bad for your chicks. For food you need to decide if you want medicated or unmediated. Medicated is feed that will prevent your chicks from Getting an illness form eating dirt or another chick/chickens poop. Chick feed is also called chick starter/grower so, look for that

 

[the3quail]

What kind of chicks? like breed? and how old.?

 

[Lizmom]

How would I heat the coop when it is winter?

You are near San Francisco. You never get extremes of weather there. I took the same clothes there in January and August and was comfortable.