The ups & downs of novice chicken owners.

LOL I know exactly what you mean. My house is a wreck. And guess what I do about it? I go outside and work in the yard or the coop or something. It's peaceful.
Oh, I do the same thing. I just got home from work and know I need to do some cleaning and organizing, but after I finish my lunch I'm headed out to the back to let the girls out of the run so they can have sometime pecking around the yard. I'm sure there are some weeds that need to be pulled and some veges that need to be harvested. I am so much happier out in the garden than I am running the vacuum.
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LOL I know exactly what you mean. My house is a wreck. And guess what I do about it? I go outside and work in the yard or the coop or something. It's peaceful.
Oh, me too. And I'm retired, so I have all the time in the world to clean house. Do I? Nahhhh.... I go watch the flock, enjoying it as a whole and all the different members in particular.... (I have chickens of many different breeds and sizes, two Toulouse Geese, a boatload of Cayuga ducks, and a couple of Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys.)

They make me smile all the time. Sometimes I get sad, when I lose one (especially a favorite). Sometimes I laugh out loud. Often I rest with a chicken in my lap.

Thank you for sharing your experiences and perspective.
 
We got our layer flock chicks today - FOUR DAYS AFTER THEY WERE SHIPPED! I can't believe any of them survived, but they were all alive on arrival, though I expected three to be dead in the morning. They sure were thirsty, and as hot as it was out today (95 degrees @ 5:00) I had a hard time turning on those brooder lights. When I went out to check them just awhile ago, they had cleaned up the food I had put out on a piece of feed sack and were going at the feeder. I am relieved about that. The three frail ones were up too, and looking some better (food & water does wonders, doesn't it?). I helped them drink again, and put a handful of feed at their feet. They'll just have to take it from there.

My old cat, Fat Cat - 18 years old and the only animal we had in San Antonio, just fell into the aquarium! We don't have any fish, thank goodness, but we didn't want the thing to dry out and not hold water, so filled it when we got here. Guess I'd better go get a towel and take care of her.

Brie.
 
Well, I am sorry you had to ax the silkies. I am sorry you were suckered. Some people. I probably would have given them the ax also if they were that bad. The people they were gotten from should be ashamed of themselves.

If its 95 degrees, you don't need to turn on the heat lamp. Put a thermometer in the brooder, and turn on the lights as needed.
 
I did put on one of the brooder lights, but the only chicks that got under it were the three sickly ones. I was out there three more times Friday, helping those three drink and I put a hand full of feed at their feet. By Saturday morning, one of the chicks was dead as I expected, but the other two could not be spotted among the other chicks. Food and water does great things for starving and dehydrated babies!

The only ones I can distinguish from the others are the Black Australorps I think my "blue" Cochins are going to be buff or white I would think if they were going to be blue, they'd be darker. They do have fuzzy feet, but they are yellow like everyone else. Oh well, they will let me know, I'm sure if that is indeed one of the breeds I want to deal with. I think the Buff Orpingtons are the ones that are a little bit bigger.

Mr. Welling says: "when you finally get your chicks, be prepared to spend a lot more time with them than you'd bargained for. They are like potato chips... you can't have just one! They are addictive. You can't quit them. They are a balm for the psyche. They are calming. They are comedians and make you laugh..." He's right. But, I think there must be a gene in the DNA of a person for them to be infected this way. A propensity for addiction. I have it, without a doubt, tho I don't know where it came from. My kids both have it. They both LOVE chickens. Bryan, I don't think possesses this gene. He can take them or leave them, tho he does support us.

This is the third day of having chicks in the brooder, and I am astonished at how much they eat! And how much of it comes out the other end! The brooder has a solid floor, (my M-I-L said they needed it for the first week until their feet could stand on the wire-that much I remember), so I roll up the feed sacks along with the straw and replace them twice a day. When they can be on the wire, it will be easier. I just hate them to walk around in their own poop. Therapydoglaldy made this brooder, though, and it is so easy to clean. It is "feed sack wide" and about 8 1/2 feet long, and up on stilts, so you just foll the feed sacks up. There are doors all the way down, so you don't have to stretch, and bend and be a contortionist. When they no longer need a solid footing and can be on the wire, there are removable trays. She thought of everything!

I was afraid that buying so much feed ahead that the weevils would hatch out in the feed. Not a chance. Those little boogers eat! We will go through that feed and then some in a month! I can only imagine that they will eat more as they get older!

As you can tell, I have got my own username and account now. It took long enough, Huh?

Until next time,
Brie
 
We have had the layer flock chicks since Friday. They probably hatched Monday or Tuesday, so that would make them a week old. I can already see a difference in them, in just 3 days! Those things GROW like they are radioactive! They are already taller, and plumper. And why wouldn't they be with the amount of food they put away? I must say, this impresses me more than anything! That and the amount of water they consume. They already have wing feathers, and are getting some little barrels on their little tails. I picked several of them up yesterday evening to inspect rear ends. A couple had poop stuck to down, but I think it's because there are just so many of them, and, with the feed sack/straw floor, they just can't get away from it. I think they are about ready to graduate to wire anyway, which should fix that. Most poop is firm, not runny.

I fill those (2) one gallon waterers twice a day. Neither of them are quite empty, but they would not last through the remainder of the night/day. And I can see that in another week, that will not be sufficient. My M-I-L has some wire hanging rabbit cages, each 24" deep and high, and 36" long. There are three cages in a "string." I will hang those and separate about 6 chicks into each cage. I can see that they are already a bit overcrowded. This should alleviate that problem until the Dom coop/run is finished (probably today, but, just in case It isn't, I want the "backup"). When the Doms move into the "Dominique Palace," these chicks will be moved into the layer coop which will be their home for the next two years.

I am going to Odessa to get necessary fencing to finish that run. Bryan was home yesterday, and did much hard labor on the coop, helping get the roof on, and handing metal R-Panel sheets up to me. I can't lift one up, shrimp that I am, or our rolls would have been reversed! But I can screw them into place with a drill. He also dug the trench for our two courses of cinder block (put in place by a dirty, sweaty-faced BJ with "annoying help from his little sister) to be buried to prevent critters from digging under the fence, and placed the fence posts. My mother-in-law, Therapydoglady, insisted on this on every coop. People dump dogs out there with alarming regularity. And if that's not enough, there are foxes, skunk, coyotes, not to mention bobcats, hawks, owls. There is predation from every direction! BJ has been very insistent on sticking to his grandmother's "rules," often quoting some pearl of wisdom that she had imparted to him. And we have learned to listen to him. He paid attention! When we ask him "why?" he can always tell us the reason. And more likely than not, it is wisdom learned from her experience, and the remedy that was borne from it. When she was through with a pen, coop, barn or whatever, about the only "predator" that could get in were snakes (not often), mice and the occasional rat. Something that would fit through chain link fence.

And let me tell you. When she built something, it was meant to last until the Second Coming! She did not like "do-overs!" So, we are trying to "do it right the first time!"

I haven't read from Mr. Welling's notebook since Saturday, so no pearl of wisdom from him today. I promise, soon.


Brie
 
OMG I just got goosebumps reading this! You are blessed with his wisdom and experience, and he has been blessed with someone to carry on his knowledge. Treasure this always :)
 
Your stories are great! I would hope that when you are done with your move you take the time to save everything you write to continue your own journal. With all the wisdom and information that has been handed down to you, and your own, your children and grandchildren will have generations of information and stories to cherish. :)
 

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