Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[jvls1942]

good morning,

Firstchic, you are making it way too complicated for just starting out..
take it one step at a time.. get your small chicks and raise them,,
you have plenty of time before you will be hatching chicks..
I suggest you wait until next spring to do any hatching..
You are not set up to be brooding chicks when it is going to be cold this fall..

my main suggestion is this..
get ONE breed of rooster.. to match the same breed of a few hens..
in time you will learn to recognize those hens' eggs..
you will not have to make any breeding pens..
when you want to start collecting eggs for hatching, just pick out the ones laid by the chosen hens.
eat the rest of the eggs laid by the rest of your other hens..

that tote sized pen is OK for small chicks, but they will grow..

they will not start to roost until they are about 3 to 4 weeks old..

here's where CC and I part ideas.. I mix all ages of chickens together.. Once they are 4 weeks old, they can learn to avoid the older chickens.. and most likely the older chickens won't give the younger chicks a sideways glance.

sex link chicks is for the convenience of the hatcheries.. You do not benefit from it other than when you order pullets or roosters, they can tell which is which ..
If you breed sexlink chickens, you won't get sexlink chicks..

stick to your RIR until you get used to having chickens.. then branch out to other breeds if you feel you must ..

IMHO .....jiminwisc.........

 

[Celtic Chick]

good morning,


that tote sized pen is OK for small chicks, but they will grow..

here's where CC and I part ideas.. I mix all ages of chickens together.. Once they are 4 weeks old, they can learn to avoid the older chickens.. and most likely the older chickens won't give the younger chicks a sideways glance.

Great advice Jim.

I don't see a problem with mixing different age chicks Jim, provided that they have ample room to be able to run & escape the older ones. But I would never try mixing different aged chicks in that little brooder she is getting, that's all I meant. The younger ones will need way more heat/warmth than the older ones will.

If she knew what to expect & had her coop set up accordingly, she could possibly mix the older chicks with the adults without much trouble. But since she is just starting out, I think she should take it slow & be cautious to avoid a potentially bad situation. I wouldn't add chicks to the adults in a tractor.

 

[Celtic Chick]

Here is what I am now getting....4 RIR hens and 1 rooster. Plus these: Are they sexlink? I don't have a delivery date yet, I know it will be after July 14 for sure tho. So, let me know, cause if they are the sexlink, I don't want them. This way I will only have one rooster and will not have to worry about all that other stuff.
One other thing: the RIR were hatched on April 27. When will they be old enough to go with the 4 adults I have now?

Brown​

The males are buff color with a few dark feathers and weigh 5-6 lbs. at 20-22 weeks. The females are reddish-brown similar to the Rhode Island Red and weigh 5 lbs. at maturity. The Browns lay well, are easy to handle, extremely hardy and have excellent egg quality.

Chick Prices For 2015
St. Run $1.13 each
Pullets $1.79 each
Cockerels $.65 each
Add $6.00 on any order less than 100 total chicks
Add $10.00 on any order less than 10 total chicks
Available year round.​

Special Black​

Sunnyside's Special Black is now sexable. The Special Black is solid in color, with both the males and females predominately black. The Special Black has a reputation for great livability and hardiness. The females are excellent brown egg producers. The females will weigh 5-5 1/2 lbs. at maturity and the males 6-7 lbs. at 20-22 weeks making Sunnyside's Special Black an excellent dual purpose bird.

Chick Prices For 2015
St. Run $1.13 each
Pullets $1.79 each
Cockerels $.65 each
Add $6.00 on any order less than 100 total chicks
Add $10.00 on any order less than 10 total chicks
Available year round​

Yes, I believe these are the sexlink hybrids. If I were you, I would follow Jim's advice and stick with one breed, the RIRs. That will make things so much easier until you have a little more experience under your belt.

If your coop is ready for chickens, you might be able to mix your hens & chicks hatched in April right after the 30 day quarantine.

In case noone mentioned quarantine to you, it is when you want to add birds from someone elses flock to yours, you first house the new birds separate from your birds for 30 days to make sure they are not sick. If after 30 days they appear healthy, you can introduce them to your flock. This does not always guarantee that either your birds or the new ones won't get sick though. Either group of birds could potentially be carriers of organisms that the other group has not been exposed to & may cause illness. Those are the dangers of adding new birds to a flock. Huntress has recently become the prime example of how serious and heartbreaking this issue can be.

Illness can also be spread to your flock from your shoes, wild birds, wild animals, etc. It is up to you to be attentive and vigilant to the personalities and behaviors of each of your birds in order to help keep them healthy. HTH

 

[jvls1942]

well, I am beck in.. sweating like a whore in church,,

I just tilled and hilled both rows of potatoes..

then I started up the big tiller and went through every row of corn..

I want to stake the tomatoes soon, and they need some weeding also..

.......jiminwisc..........

 

[Firstchic]

Yes, I believe these are the sexlink hybrids. If I were you, I would follow Jim's advice and stick with one breed, the RIRs. That will make things so much easier until you have a little more experience under your belt.

If your coop is ready for chickens, you might be able to mix your hens & chicks hatched in April right after the 30 day quarantine.

In case noone mentioned quarantine to you, it is when you want to add birds from someone elses flock to yours, you first house the new birds separate from your birds for 30 days to make sure they are not sick. If after 30 days they appear healthy, you can introduce them to your flock. This does not always guarantee that either your birds or the new ones won't get sick though. Either group of birds could potentially be carriers of organisms that the other group has not been exposed to & may cause illness. Those are the dangers of adding new birds to a flock. Huntress has recently become the prime example of how serious and heartbreaking this issue can be.

Illness can also be spread to your flock from your shoes, wild birds, wild animals, etc. It is up to you to be attentive and vigilant to the personalities and behaviors of each of your birds in order to help keep them healthy. HTH

Yes, I believe these are the sexlink hybrids. If I were you, I would follow Jim's advice and stick with one breed, the RIRs. That will make things so much easier until you have a little more experience under your belt.

If your coop is ready for chickens, you might be able to mix your hens & chicks hatched in April right after the 30 day quarantine.

In case noone mentioned quarantine to you, it is when you want to add birds from someone elses flock to yours, you first house the new birds separate from your birds for 30 days to make sure they are not sick. If after 30 days they appear healthy, you can introduce them to your flock. This does not always guarantee that either your birds or the new ones won't get sick though. Either group of birds could potentially be carriers of organisms that the other group has not been exposed to & may cause illness. Those are the dangers of adding new birds to a flock. Huntress has recently become the prime example of how serious and heartbreaking this issue can be.

Illness can also be spread to your flock from your shoes, wild birds, wild animals, etc. It is up to you to be attentive and vigilant to the personalities and behaviors of each of your birds in order to help keep them healthy. HTH

Yes, I believe these are the sexlink hybrids. If I were you, I would follow Jim's advice and stick with one breed, the RIRs. That will make things so much easier until you have a little more experience under your belt.

If your coop is ready for chickens, you might be able to mix your hens & chicks hatched in April right after the 30 day quarantine.

In case noone mentioned quarantine to you, it is when you want to add birds from someone elses flock to yours, you first house the new birds separate from your birds for 30 days to make sure they are not sick. If after 30 days they appear healthy, you can introduce them to your flock. This does not always guarantee that either your birds or the new ones won't get sick though. Either group of birds could potentially be carriers of organisms that the other group has not been exposed to & may cause illness. Those are the dangers of adding new birds to a flock. Huntress has recently become the prime example of how serious and heartbreaking this issue can be.

Illness can also be spread to your flock from your shoes, wild birds, wild animals, etc. It is up to you to be attentive and vigilant to the personalities and behaviors of each of your birds in order to help keep them healthy. HTH

I did know about the quarantine thing. I also, cancelled my order for the hybrids, I called Sunnyside and that is all they sell. But, this fellow dropping off birds to me tomorrow only has RIR and we have decided to just go that route. I do have 3 hens that are sexlink, just have keep them separate from the rooster, I guess. The Delaware I have I guess will have to be separate also. I'll get it done. My coop that I have now will only hold 7 birds, but, I am getting a deep brooder tonight that I can keep the new chicks in. At least I hope I can. We will be building a larger coop in the next couple of weeks. It is 3' high and 4' long or maybe longer. so, finger cross. Thanks for all the info guys, it did make me make up my mind at least. I was floundering like a fish outta water.

 

[Firstchic]

Jim, that is mighty hot.

 

[Firstchic]

So, Jim, you are saying after the quarantee time right? So, these RIR that I am getting was hatched April 27, so they are already 8-9 weeks old. And, you are saying, if I am reading right, that I could put them in with the adults?

 

[glarnerchicks]

Exciting -- cleaned the coop this morning and one of my girls (my most developed RIR) gave me a submissive squat! From what I understand, that means likely egg within a week or so?

My Silver Laced Wyandotte has had a nice red comb and wattle for several weeks, but nothing... /shrugs

My boys are singing with their traditional Swiss children's choir at the Saengerfest here in New Glarus tonight. Very fun.

 

[Firstchic]

Pretty birds, glarnerchick.

 

[Firstchic]

I think I will play it safe and not add the newbies to the tractor. We can throw together a make shift area if need be in the shed. Our garage has 1/2 concret floor where we park the car, and the other half is dirt. So, I'm sure we could put together something in there on the dirt side, if need be.