Spring 2017 first timers post!

[collie1470]

I thought it was so considerate.

 

[KABerries]

Man, I love the post offices around here. The stop before ours called to let me know my babies were peeping away and would be at my post office in the morning.

Awesome!!

 

[fangedknight]

You know you've got chicken fever when you fall asleep in class and all you're dreaming about is your chickens you're waiting for

 

[Treerooted]

I kept going back and forth on whether to build one big MHP or 2 smaller ones and in what configuration.

Thank you! If I have a questions I will PM you! My chicks are coming at the end of April; I'll be working on the brooder starting in a couple weeks.

I was thinking the same thing about the 2 vs 1 MHP; I figured 1 big one would be better as well, as I believe chicks like to stick together if possible - I wouldn't want one left out in the cold because it couldn't find a spot in the MHP it liked.

 

[Blooie]

Someone on the MHP thread last year tried to use two separate caves, and found that all the chicks tried to get under one and totally ignored the second one. Over on that thread, @Fire Ant Farm gave some really good instructions and posted photos of a setup for larger numbers of chicks...I think it's toward the last pages of the thread.

 

[beela]

Well, the girls moved out to the coop last night, and I was a nervous wreck, but they did fine! It of course dipped down in Temps unexpectedly, but the girls were running around in there eating, drinking, and trying out their new roosts.

 

[fangedknight]

Okay! GOOD NEWS! Keith and I finally found the plans for the coop. I'm going to be posting pictures of them to my build thread momentarily. I'll make sure I'll link it here if anyone has a problem finding it.

EDIT: The pictures are up! Here is the link if anyone needs it!

 

[KABerries]

So our 6 chicks are around 8 or 9 days old and adjusting very nicely. They are starting to grow teeny tiny little bumpy ridges of comb! They still get a little nervous when I get close to the brooder, but when they realize it's just me, they relax. They are much more comfortable with getting picked up (I discovered the trick is to put my hand low and slowly scoop them up from underneath). Some even just hang out on my hand when I go to put them back in the brooder.

One smart girl has figured out that she gets first pickings if she pecks treats out of my hand. The others definitely know that I have food, but just stay a few inches back and eagerly wait for me to sprinkle the treats down for them to peck at. We eat a lot of produce, so once or twice a day I give them 1 tbsp of super finely chopped fruit or vegetable. They love zucchini!

No health problems so far, but I've been reading that unpasteurized apple cider vinegar might be a good thing to add to their water.

I am looking forward to pics of everyone's babies as they arrive and grow!

 

[haunani]

I almost got hit by chicken math this morning. I found the list of breeds that will be available at our local farm store, and they had a few that I wanted. I scoured their website and didn't see any minimum order numbers. Oh yay!! I couldn't call to verify as I work nights, so I stopped on my way home to get my order in.

... only to be told it was a minimum of 5 chicks per breed.

No chicken math for me.

 

[collie1470]

Our babies are here!!!!! All peeping away in their brooder. I'll get pictures of them once they calm down. They're a bit on edge, but all 3 are moving around, have drank water, and have checked out the feeder (no takers yet lol). I had forgotten just how tiny they are at this age