EP Rabbitry and Homestead
Chirping
I never had or knew anything about chickens until March 2021. My husband had been talking for months about getting chickens. He even worked over the winter to transform an old hunting shed into a chicken coop. He was firm on what breed he wanted - Rhode Island Reds. This was due to their dual purpose, egg laying, and ability to adapt to the various climates in West Virginia.
Not knowing how to go about purchasing chickens for our flock, we went to a Chicken Swap that was being held locally. Not ready to buy, but wanted to see what was out there and get information on where to purchase. We knew that we didn't want chicks, but rather hens that were just starting to lay. We found a vendor that had RIR's and some were laying. We came home with 6 hens, and had to be quick about finishing our coop.
The RIR's have been a joy to own. I never knew that chickens had their own personalities, much like domestic pets. A few weeks after getting our flock, we went to another Chicken Swap. There we met a wonderful woman who had a beautiful RIR Roo. We ended up getting him as we had been told that Roos will protect your girls.
During this time, a neighbor had gotten 6 Golden Comets (we think), but lost 2 right away. They also had chicks and when they tried to integrate their flock, the Comets were mean to the littles. They gave us the 4 remaining, so our flock grew to 10 hens.
We then decided that we would try our hand at incubating and hatching. We struggled with knowing which eggs were laid by the RIR's and which were the Comets. We figured out that the Comets eggs were darker, so we gathered all the light brown eggs. To keep a long story short, we ended up hatching 3 batches of chicks, all 3 weeks apart. The first batch we ended up with 8 chicks, the second 5 chicks, and the last batch 4 chicks. This has been a great experience especially for my 11 year old granddaughter. We have ended up with 6 additional Roos that we will be looking to gift to others.
Here are some pics:
Not knowing how to go about purchasing chickens for our flock, we went to a Chicken Swap that was being held locally. Not ready to buy, but wanted to see what was out there and get information on where to purchase. We knew that we didn't want chicks, but rather hens that were just starting to lay. We found a vendor that had RIR's and some were laying. We came home with 6 hens, and had to be quick about finishing our coop.
The RIR's have been a joy to own. I never knew that chickens had their own personalities, much like domestic pets. A few weeks after getting our flock, we went to another Chicken Swap. There we met a wonderful woman who had a beautiful RIR Roo. We ended up getting him as we had been told that Roos will protect your girls.
During this time, a neighbor had gotten 6 Golden Comets (we think), but lost 2 right away. They also had chicks and when they tried to integrate their flock, the Comets were mean to the littles. They gave us the 4 remaining, so our flock grew to 10 hens.
We then decided that we would try our hand at incubating and hatching. We struggled with knowing which eggs were laid by the RIR's and which were the Comets. We figured out that the Comets eggs were darker, so we gathered all the light brown eggs. To keep a long story short, we ended up hatching 3 batches of chicks, all 3 weeks apart. The first batch we ended up with 8 chicks, the second 5 chicks, and the last batch 4 chicks. This has been a great experience especially for my 11 year old granddaughter. We have ended up with 6 additional Roos that we will be looking to gift to others.
Here are some pics: