Tis Time for a March 2020 Hatch-a-long!

[hysop]

We sell the chicks we incubate. I give away eggs usually to my friends, family, husband's coworkers, and doctors offices.

Ooo do you sell them as a small business or as a hobby for pocket change?

 

[FortCluck]

Ooo do you sell them as a small business or as a hobby for pocket change?

Just a hobby. We have sold big orders though. Usually people ask for 20 at a time. We have a list of people who want chickens once the ones I hatched in January are bigger. Most people want them when they're at POL. Plus most of them want me to handle them so they're friendly like my layer flock. When I start handling them that's when I find the special ones I keep.

 

[gmjarvi]

I had to keep my chickens in their coop&run for a few weeks to teach em to lay in their nesting boxes because I kept finding them all over the place and half the time they were bad by the time I found them. But now, as far as I know, they are all laying in their nesting boxes, even the new ones that don’t even sleep in that coop haha

When some of my younger pullets were starting to lay, they would lay just anywhere! I found those ceramic eggs to be super helpful in teaching them where to lay. I keep one in one of the nest boxes just in case anyone needs a reminder lol.

I don't know what made me put these 3 eggs in, but I wanted polish eggs and I think I finally have them. I think she has been hiding them on me she's my stubborn chicken.

My local chicken friend had every single one of her hens laying in the woods at the end of last summer ! She even kept them locked up in the coop until 2 PM and they would STILL lay in the woods. Sometimes chickens are just mean! Haha.

 

[hysop]

Most people want them when they're at POL.

I’m still new to chicken terminology. What does POL mean? Like pullets?

 

[FortCluck]

When some of my younger pullets were starting to lay, they would lay just anywhere! I found those ceramic eggs to be super helpful in teaching them where to lay. I keep one in one of the nest boxes just in case anyone needs a reminder lol.


My local chicken friend had every single one of her hens laying in the woods at the end of last summer ! She even kept them locked up in the coop until 2 PM and they would STILL lay in the woods. Sometimes chickens are just mean! Haha.

Thankfully most of mine lay in the nest. The Polish was a wild chicken, she had never been handled by people. It's taken so long to gain her trust and she's still not fully there. I'm just glad she is laying her eggs in the coop if it's her eggs. I have so many chickens that are going to start laying soon.

I would feel like a kid on an Easter egg hunt if I was your friend everyday would be a new egg adventure.

 

[FortCluck]

I’m still new to chicken terminology. What does POL mean? Like pullets?

Point of lay... Sorry I don't know all the terminology either, but I'm learning it slowly.

 

[hysop]

My local chicken friend had every single one of her hens laying in the woods at the end of last summer ! She even kept them locked up in the coop until 2 PM and they would STILL lay in the woods. Sometimes chickens are just mean! Haha.

Yeah mine were like that. That is when I decided to lock the run for weeks until they got the hint. Then I let em go back to free ranging and so far they understand where to lay still.

I’m about to move all my coops and runs to a different location because we had a mild storm and it flooded where they were at. Only for a day, but that was enough for concern. I’m still debating where I am going to put them.

 

[gmjarvi]

Thankfully most of mine lay in the nest. The Polish was a wild chicken, she had never been handled by people. It's taken so long to gain her trust and she's still not fully there. I'm just glad she is laying her eggs in the coop if it's her eggs. I have so many chickens that are going to start laying soon.

I would feel like a kid on an Easter egg hunt if I was your friend everyday would be a new egg adventure.

She definitely did not have that attitude about it but loved her birds despite the agitation.

I have several birds in my flock that were only rarely handled before I got them. Most of them have started to trust me enough to allow me to stroke them, but a couple still aren't even there yet. Sigh. Another benefit to hatching my own chicks this year!

Yeah mine were like that. That is when I decided to lock the run for weeks until they got the hint. Then I let em go back to free ranging and so far they understand where to lay still.

I’m about to move all my coops and runs to a different location because we had a mild storm and it flooded where they were at. Only for a day, but that was enough for concern. I’m still debating where I am going to put them.

My friend that had the involuntary Easter egg hunt had recently moved to an entirely new property, so she was thinking the huge sudden change just made them think they could do whatever they wanted . Hopefully it won't be an issue for you again! I'm building a new coop this season and am a little concerned about the birds getting confused as well.

 

[hysop]

I have several birds in my flock that were only rarely handled before I got them. Most of them have started to trust me enough to allow me to stroke them, but a couple still aren't even there yet. Sigh. Another benefit to hatching my own chicks this year!

How do you get them to begin trusting you? With my first flock I didn’t know much about anything and so I didn’t handle them at all really except to clean them when they had pasty butt. I thought we weren’t suppose to mess with them so I let em be. Now I realize too late that I should have handled them every day! But too late. They are now 2 years old and I see them as strangers. They come to me when I have food, but their rooster thinks he has to protect them from humans. They are now in a run permanently until the rooster can be domesticated.

 

[FortCluck]

She definitely did not have that attitude about it but loved her birds despite the agitation.

I have several birds in my flock that were only rarely handled before I got them. Most of them have started to trust me enough to allow me to stroke them, but a couple still aren't even there yet. Sigh. Another benefit to hatching my own chicks this year!


My friend that had the involuntary Easter egg hunt had recently moved to an entirely new property, so she was thinking the huge sudden change just made them think they could do whatever they wanted . Hopefully it won't be an issue for you again! I'm building a new coop this season and am a little concerned about the birds getting confused as well.

That's why I like hatching chicks or getting day old chicks. You get more of a relationship with them and they trust you a lot more. All of the ones I got last spring are amazing when I handle them. The only one I don't handle is the black jersey giant cockerel. He's so big that I doubt handling would be fun for either of us. I do hand feed him and he's very gentle.