Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[CPerales05]

Hey there we cannot get there till like Wednesday are you able to bring him part way?

Where would you like to meet? I can meet part way - I’m on COVID lock down working from home, with my two kiddos...

 

[RoosterWhisperer]

Welcome @RoosterWhisperer

Thank you @drstratton!

 

[pennyJo1960]

If you get other birds better to get 2 or 3 at a time

 

[CPerales05]

If you get other birds better to get 2 or 3 at a time

Okay, so if I get two, I can raise those two then introduce them into a new flock?

 

[pennyJo1960]

Do you know the Nisqually hill there is a big lot's we could meet in

 

[CPerales05]

Okay, so if I get two, I can raise those two then introduce them into a new flock?

I should state - our current chicks are 12-13 weeks.. we got them the first week of August, and they were about 4-5 days old..

 

[CPerales05]

Do you know the Nisqually hill there is a big lot's we could meet in

I know where that is - off of I-5 right?

we’re right along I-5

 

[pennyJo1960]

Yes much better to introduce 2 or more that is chicken math
there is gal in Tacoma not on here but have sold birds to her
see if I can find her also

 

[pennyJo1960]

Yes what day would work best for you?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Okay... like I said, I’m following this book because I didn’t know websites with real people about chickens existed until I was googling.
Good to know. I thought they’d freeze or something.. who knows.

I guess the next question is - can we get another baby, raise it separate until bigger and then introduce into the flock?

Nope, chickens are far better than you or I at keeping themselves warm, thanks to the down coats they carry with them at all times. Chickens deal much better with cold than with heat... they can survive well below freezing temperatures (super extreme example: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-cold-is-too-cold-check-this-out.1345546/ ).

Best to get 2 or more chicks, IF you have the space to integrate new birds... integrating 1 is difficult, and 1 chick is even worse because they get lonely and start calling for their hatchmates. Integration works best with some pre-planning... for example I brood outdoors and integrate early, so chicks join the flock at 4-5 weeks: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/short-on-time-recycle-a-prefab-brooder.73985/

You may want to consider waiting until next year to add more birds, to stagger ages, if eggs are a priority for you. Reason being if all the birds are the same age, they'll all boom with eggs at the same time, then all slow laying for molt at the same time, and then start declining in production at the same time. My flock is staggered in 2 year increments.