Raising our first batch. (A kid's journey)

[kajira]

I have some of mine out in a dog crate that's wrapped in chicken wire to keep them in, and that's in a coop with bigger chickens so they get used to their future environment. It's a handy way to keep them contained, and easy to move if needed. Glad I'm not the only one doing that!

Great video, so cute!!

We have a huge dog kennel (that was meant for 100+lbs dogs) that I'm going to be turning into their chicken coop. I may even add an addition fenced off area around it, so they can free-range a little more freely at some point, as long as they don't try too hard to get away. LOL My other chickens stay in the goat pen, and have an open-wire coop to roost in with their nesting boxes. They free-range, but only because they stay in the goat pen and don't try to get away. (The dogs probably deter them from leaving, but still.)

I just haven't figured out yet, if I want to do like a little A frame building with 3-4 nesting boxes and a couple roosting bars, or what.

I was also thinking of building a bigger garden, and planting things chickens like to eat, like tomatoes, and other things that are half-way good for them and fencing it off with a big chicken coop too. Decisions, decisions! LOL

 

[Kiki]

I have some of mine out in a dog crate that's wrapped in chicken wire to keep them in, and that's in a coop with bigger chickens so they get used to their future environment. It's a handy way to keep them contained, and easy to move if needed. Glad I'm not the only one doing that!

Great video, so cute!!

This is a perfect idea for you K!
Why didn't I think of that!

 

[Kiki]

We have a huge dog kennel (that was meant for 100+lbs dogs) that I'm going to be turning into their chicken coop. I may even add an addition fenced off area around it, so they can free-range a little more freely at some point, as long as they don't try too hard to get away. LOL My other chickens stay in the goat pen, and have an open-wire coop to roost in with their nesting boxes. They free-range, but only because they stay in the goat pen and don't try to get away. (The dogs probably deter them from leaving, but still.)

I just haven't figured out yet, if I want to do like a little A frame building with 3-4 nesting boxes and a couple roosting bars, or what.

I was also thinking of building a bigger garden, and planting things chickens like to eat, like tomatoes, and other things that are half-way good for them and fencing it off with a big chicken coop too. Decisions, decisions! LOL

Decisions are never ending!
I can think of new ways and new things to try daily, especially from reading this site.
KoopOnTrucking is working on an awesome meat bird project.
I am fascinated about it.
He is the reason I am keeping track of everything with my new set of chicks.
There is no real rhyme or reason to me wanting to keep track..I just want to!
lol

 

[kajira]

Decisions are never ending!
I can think of new ways and new things to try daily, especially from reading this site.
KoopOnTrucking is working on an awesome meat bird project.
I am fascinated about it.
He is the reason I am keeping track of everything with my new set of chicks.
There is no real rhyme or reason to me wanting to keep track..I just want to!
lol

i have so many things I want to do - I'm waiting to see if our spanish goat is pregnant. I have to figure out how to make her tolerate being milked, since I still can't even get close enough to touch her yet. It kind of pisses me off Our billygoat Mr. PIckles won't let me touch him either. I'm very tempted to use him with my girls a couple of times, then eat him and keep a billy goat that I hand-raise and bottle feed so I can get close enough to him to deworm and do vaccines. Mr. Pickles is an idiot. He ran into a board and nearly knocked himself silly when I walked in there with a thing of grain.

Our spanish goat CAN be milked, but you have to CATCH her first... I'm going to have to get my lasso skills up.

My pygmies are friendly and I'd be able to get them into a milking stand easy enough but I wasn't planning on breeding them until nov-feb.

 

[Kiki]

I haven't started learning abut goats YET.
So I can't help you there.

When I first go into chickens I really wanted to just buy layers, I choose not to because I didn't want the kids to be "scared" of them.
I'm glad I did it that way...but poof chicks can be a lot of work! lol---I obsess over them and make it more work than is really needed I'm sure...I can't help it!

I would want baby goats in the future for the same reason.

 

[kajira]

I haven't started learning abut goats YET.
So I can't help you there.

When I first go into chickens I really wanted to just buy layers, I choose not to because I didn't want the kids to be "scared" of them.
I'm glad I did it that way...but poof chicks can be a lot of work! lol---I obsess over them and make it more work than is really needed I'm sure...I can't help it!

I would want baby goats in the future for the same reason.

Before I joined this board, I spent like 1000+ hours researching stuff. I happened upon this board, then spent 2-3 months reading everything I could get my hands on before I joined.. just so I could actually participate and ask questions correctly with out being a total moron.. (Okay, half a moron? LOL)

I like walking into a situation kind-of-knowing what I'm getting into! LOL

I had chickens growing up, but they were all adults. So we started with adults.. then once we could keep them alive and figure out basics like coop issues, climate issues, etc, and realized we couldn't really support meat-birds here since it's too hot, we went small birds and hoped they'd lay enough we'd be okay. I'm allergic to eggs, but I ate some of our chickens eggs, and didn't have a reaction.

I've never heard of being able to eat farm-fresh eggs like this if you're allergic, and not store bought eggs. I wanted to consider getting ducks because my allergies mild enough there's a possibility i wouldn't be allergic to duck eggs. I LOVE eggs.

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

My wife won't let me get a goat, but my neighbor has 2 and it's made me realize I don't want them as badly as I thought. They're cute as all get out (both males), but they climb on his police cruiser and everything he has in the backyard. I'm lactose intolerant, so goats milk seems like the perfect fit, but then it's also a lot of work. I've read that you have to milk RELIGIOUSLY 2-3 times a day, and if you skip you're screwed. I already have a lot on my plate with the dogs, bunnies and 3 sets of chickens, so unless I'm willing to quit my job (which I AM, but the wife isn't there yet...), I'll have to put that off a few years.

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

Before I joined this board, I spent like 1000+ hours researching stuff. I happened upon this board, then spent 2-3 months reading everything I could get my hands on before I joined.. just so I could actually participate and ask questions correctly with out being a total moron.. (Okay, half a moron? LOL)

I like walking into a situation kind-of-knowing what I'm getting into! LOL

I had chickens growing up, but they were all adults. So we started with adults.. then once we could keep them alive and figure out basics like coop issues, climate issues, etc, and realized we couldn't really support meat-birds here since it's too hot, we went small birds and hoped they'd lay enough we'd be okay. I'm allergic to eggs, but I ate some of our chickens eggs, and didn't have a reaction.

I've never heard of being able to eat farm-fresh eggs like this if you're allergic, and not store bought eggs. I wanted to consider getting ducks because my allergies mild enough there's a possibility i wouldn't be allergic to duck eggs. I LOVE eggs.

I love eggs too, they're a great protein source! Duck eggs are supposed to be better for people with allergies, so I've heard/read, but no duck eggs yet from my lady duck. Any day now... But I have a friend who buys 2-3 dozen chicken eggs a week from me because she has severe allergies and says my eggs (ie, farm fresh...) are the only ones she can eat without allergic reactions. She's my biggest salesperson!!

 

[kajira]

My wife won't let me get a goat, but my neighbor has 2 and it's made me realize I don't want them as badly as I thought. They're cute as all get out (both males), but they climb on his police cruiser and everything he has in the backyard. I'm lactose intolerant, so goats milk seems like the perfect fit, but then it's also a lot of work. I've read that you have to milk RELIGIOUSLY 2-3 times a day, and if you skip you're screwed. I already have a lot on my plate with the dogs, bunnies and 3 sets of chickens, so unless I'm willing to quit my job (which I AM, but the wife isn't there yet...), I'll have to put that off a few years.

Let me tell you, i'd rather milk 2-3x a day, then be attached to my pump. I pump every 2-3 hours for my toddler (he was a micro preemie born at 24 weeks, he nursed until almost 2, but weaned and stopped gaining weight... ugh. so I had his sister, started pumping and he gained 5lbs in 6 weeks after her birth.) ANYWAYS... milking a freaking goat, would make my life *easier* then how much I'm attached to my pump for him.

I nurse my kids to make my life EASIER - not harder! LOL He's worth it, don't get me wrong, but milking a goat will be WAY less work - none of my kids can drink cows milk with out green runny poo and throwing up... but they've all been able to drink goats milk okay.

We buy it at the store, and its 4-5 dollars a quart, to 8-9 dollars a gallon... at the rate my older kids drink it, it IS actually cheaper, to milk my own goats.

 

[kajira]

I love eggs too, they're a great protein source! Duck eggs are supposed to be better for people with allergies, so I've heard/read, but no duck eggs yet from my lady duck. Any day now... But I have a friend who buys 2-3 dozen chicken eggs a week from me because she has severe allergies and says my eggs (ie, farm fresh...) are the only ones she can eat without allergic reactions. She's my biggest salesperson!!

I had heartburn issues as a sign of allergy, and my intestines shed their lining and it was bad.... blood cell count thinking I had cancer causing an auto-immune attack... kind of bad. (Same reaction to gluten, i'm gluten intolerant too, and can't drink straight cows milk - but can drink goats milk.)

I wonder if it's the fact we don't feed gluten and other bad nasty crap to the chickens that makes the difference in reaction?

Normally, I get severe heartburn if I eat store bought eggs, feel like i'm dying my chest hurts so bad, and my gall bladder acts up.... I ate eggs from our farm fresh hens.. and i'm... still okay?