South Carolina

[tressaRuth]

Hi everyone,
We are new chicken owners, having recently purchased 10 Buff Orpingtons from a friend. They are really cute and fun. They are three weeks old tomorrow. Should I be concerned that a couple of them are smaller and have a little fewer feathers than the others? They were hatched over a 2-3 day period, so a few are younger but I would't think it would really matter too much. They don't seem sick or anything.

Also, We are hoping to have our coop ready in about a week. Would they be ready to go outside at 4 weeks in our South Carolina climate by then(we are in the Columbia area?) My husband is concerned about a risk of fire using a light for warmth. Any thoughts?

Tressa

 

[emptynester]

Quote:
Hello Tressa

Buff orpintons were my first kind of chicken, and they are awesome

Don't worry about some having fewer feathers than others. My girls all seemed to feather out before my boys.

At three weeks old they should be kept about 85 degrees, and you can lower it 5 degrees a week. I am in southern SC and we are supposed to be in the upper 50s for lows this week, I"m sure you will be a few degrees cooler than me.

It is still a bit cool at night, so if you are worried about a risk of fire you could keep them inside until they have all feathered out, about 6 weeks

 

[Jetiki]

Well today I figured out which dog was killing my chickens. He's currently crated in the house. Fortunately he's small enough to do so, but sheesh he's been with them for a long time guess he just can't be trusted and will only have supervised outside time. Last October he had to have surgery on his leg where are horse kicked so I have way too much money in this dog to just give him away and he's happy inside as well as outside. Just a shame that I can't leave him out when I am not home but oh well live and learn I guess.

found a dead hen next to the coop this morning, I think the heat got her, she was a little lethargic yesterday but not a whole lot different than everyone else but found her dead this morning, no other sign of illness other than being a little slower than the others yesterday. Then this afternoon, I had some older chicks, that were getting up in size and I put them in general population they had been isolated for 2 weeks and stupid dog got one, fortunately one of the boys but still bad bad dog so he promptly got kenneled away from everything and everyone.


I hope everyone else had a great weekend.


Karen

 

[tressaRuth]

Quote:
Hello Tressa

Buff orpintons were my first kind of chicken, and they are awesome

Don't worry about some having fewer feathers than others. My girls all seemed to feather out before my boys.

At three weeks old they should be kept about 85 degrees, and you can lower it 5 degrees a week. I am in southern SC and we are supposed to be in the upper 50s for lows this week, I"m sure you will be a few degrees cooler than me.

It is still a bit cool at night, so if you are worried about a risk of fire you could keep them inside until they have all feathered out, about 6 weeks

Thank you. That is helpful. The bird in your profile photo is adorable.

Karen, I'm sorry about the dog getting at the chickens. That must be hard. I don't know how I'll handle it if one of ours dies, but it's bound to happen one day...

 

[phoneman]

Quote:
john if any is crossed it will be with a light sussex. that will never happen again. i do have a light sussex hen in the pen. she is now setting on w/bl wheaten eggs. when we see each other i will make this mistake right thanks for bringing this to my attention

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Well, my big brooder is almost finished. I only have to put the plastic fencing on the doors and I am done. The doors are already on it, too. I don;t know why I bothered, most of the chicks are all out of the brooder room and playing in the barnyard!

They love the grass and dirt and the big birds do not bother them. But then when there is about 50 wild youngin's of all ages running around I guess they get confused over which to peck!
That is what I get for leaving the screen door open in beautiful weather.

Photos coming.

 

[FarmerJohn3285]

It's no big deal. I was just cuious if you knew what they were because they are a reddish brown with black unlike the other 2 SS. Each pair just look totally different. BUT on a good note, those 2 true SS are both roosters! So thank you for those!

 

[carolinagirl58]

Quote:
john if any is crossed it will be with a light sussex. that will never happen again. i do have a light sussex hen in the pen. she is now setting on w/bl wheaten eggs. when we see each other i will make this mistake right thanks for bringing this to my attention

5 of the 6 I got are mixed up too. They look like the are going to be solid red with some darker feathers in their hackles. And the SS I got from Nadine all had to be euthanized due to some unknown respiratory problem that would not respond to treatment. Looks like I am destined to not have Specked Sussex.

The BLRDs are gorgeous though.

 

[phoneman]

Quote:
john if any is crossed it will be with a light sussex. that will never happen again. i do have a light sussex hen in the pen. she is now setting on w/bl wheaten eggs. when we see each other i will make this mistake right thanks for bringing this to my attention

5 of the 6 I got are mixed up too. They look like the are going to be solid red with some darker feathers in their hackles. And the SS I got from Nadine all had to be euthanized due to some unknown respiratory problem that would not respond to treatment. Looks like I am destined to not have Specked Sussex.

The BLRDs are gorgeous though.

no you are not destined not to have s sussex i will also give you 5 to replace the five that you have. i now have some that i can give you i will call you and set up a time ti bring them to you thanks jack

 

[DickGJ]

Quote:
john if any is crossed it will be with a light sussex. that will never happen again. i do have a light sussex hen in the pen. she is now setting on w/bl wheaten eggs. when we see each other i will make this mistake right thanks for bringing this to my attention

@Phoneman - Is there a swap that goes on in the Sumter area? I hadn't heard of one... I don't have anything to swap, but I sure would like to peruse one without having to drive across the state!