Why even try to control myself?

[ChicksNPigs]

Hey everyone! I haven't posted in a while, but I have been reading through.
I got 25 EEs in February, and all are happy and healthy and well. They spent the first 3 months in a brooder in my living room... and I will NEVER do that again!
But we got the coop built (when everyone tells you to build it BEFORE you have chicks, they know what they're talking about!), and have fenced in a good-sized yard for their run.
So now that we've all settled and the boys are learning to crow, naturally I needed more chicks.
I'm going to sell or give away all but one rooster, which leaves me with about 14 hens. We built the coop for 25, so naturally when I realized I'd have more room I ordered some buff orpingtons.

Throughout this first batch of chickens, I have learned a few things.
I do not ever want to brood chickens in my house in the winter, ever again.
Having the room for them before you need it is essential.
Chickens are really funny!
Planning to expand while still building the first coop is probably a sign of mental illness.
The people here are so full of wonderful advice!

 

[cuckoo_orpington13]

I learned my lesson as well about keeping chickies inside. They create bit of dust. Funny thing is I only had five. I can't imagine twenty - five.

You'll learn a lot from the friendly people here. Hope you have fun with the fuzzy butts.

*edited because I fail at spelling*

 

[lottastuff9]

I learned my lesson on the indoor brooder also. Dust was bad, but whenever one had that cecal poo

I didn't realize how much more smelly those were we were blaming our poor dog

and grilling the children on what exactly had they fed her. But now they are in a much larger outdoor brooder...not a coop yet but the "big girl brooder".

 

[boogiedog]

Ditto on the dust. I unfortunately put the brooder in my home office (!) and proceeded to get 40 chicks...the pyroclastic flow from Mt St Helen's had nothing on the dust I had in my office. That my computer still works is a miracle. It did, however, really put the fire under me for getting that coop built, and fast. In the future I will brood in my garage, with lots of heat lamps. Dust in there I can handle.

And yes, I too got way to many chicks. It started so innocently..."oh, just a few"... and now 40 chickens later (in an urban area - still within code - but still clearly insane) I find I am still wanting to get different breeds. (I'm up to 13). Perhaps a healthier addiction than most, but wow...

 

[gryeyes]

I'm up to 19 chickens now, 9 grown ups, 6 adolescents, and 4 chicks. I got the most recent chicks 3 weeks after I put the brooder and heat lamp away. What the heck??!!??? That was my first SOLID clue I was addicted.

Oh, plus the fact that I'm 11 birds over the legal limit here.... because I ALSO bought 2 ducklings at the same time I bought the 6 chicks currently outside in their own segregated coop. (But not for long, I've started letting them mingle.)

 

[ChicksNPigs]

Luckily I live in a very rural area- in fact, many years ago my property was a giant chicken farm, and many local families still refer to it as such. I guess I'm just reverting it back to its original purpose?
The real "issue" for me is that I can't convince the kids that a yard is a non-essential, and we'd be better off having chicken runs taking up the majority. If we didn't have such a huge hawk population, I'd just let them out, but that's not an option I want to consider.
The only other thing is that there are too many kinds of chickens, and I want them all! I swear the buff orps will be all for this year, but there's no telling which kinds I'll "need" next spring!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

...(when everyone tells you to build it BEFORE you have chicks, they know what they're talking about!),...
...(when everyone tells you to build it BEFORE you have chicks, they know what they're talking about!),...
...(when everyone tells you to build it BEFORE you have chicks, they know what they're talking about!),...
...(when everyone tells you to build it BEFORE you have chicks, they know what they're talking about!),...
...(when everyone tells you to build it BEFORE you have chicks, they know what they're talking about!),...
...(when everyone tells you to build it BEFORE you have chicks, they know what they're talking about!),...
...(when everyone tells you to build it BEFORE you have chicks, they know what they're talking about!),...
...(when everyone tells you to build it BEFORE you have chicks, they know what they're talking about!),...
...(when everyone tells you to build it BEFORE you have chicks, they know what they're talking about!),...
...(when everyone tells you to build it BEFORE you have chicks, they know what they're talking about!),...
...(when everyone tells you to build it BEFORE you have chicks, they know what they're talking about!),...
...(when everyone tells you to build it BEFORE you have chicks, they know what they're talking about!),...

Just thought I'd repeat that for you...

Yes, I've made that mistake a number of times myself. Each time I said "I'm NEVER going to get more chicks than I have housing for BEFORE they arrive!"

I finally learned my lesson. We'll see if it sticks.

 

[bakerjw]

And I have 10 lil friends in my garage now too!!!! Will I ever learn?

 

[Whispering Winds]

Dang. . .. I just finished my FIFTH order to Meyer, and this one is it (couldn't make up my mind, would read on here about how someone just loved their so and so's, and I would think, I gotta have 2 of those, and before you know it I had an order for 35 and only room for 20!) . . .but we don't have the coop built yet, and I was going to use a big freezer box I altered for the brooder in MY home office, and now you have me scared about the dust . . .I don't have a computer in there yet, so that is a plus . . .but if I would keep a lid on it to a degree would that help, or is it just invasive dust and nothin' you can do about it? I don't have anywhere else to keep them that would be safe . . .I have the coop but no run yet, and I can do a lot of that myself. . .was going to have them delivered June 1 or 7th . . .then I would have several weeks to get that run done. But, I am gonna order them regardless . . . I have to get chicks and that is all there is to it.

 

[kaylakian]

i brought 4 welsummer chicks 5 weeks ago and i thought that would be enough but ive caught the bug and i now want more