Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[fordmommy]

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So far. So good. No major problems except the guinea is driving ME nuts. I call her "Squeeky". But if I whistle to her, she stops. Poor girl. I know she just wants to go home. I read up on them....cuz that's what I do when I get a new pet.......if can take 6 weeks or longer for her to think of this as home. She's the only reason I would want spring to come. Then I can let her run free.

Today I let everyone into the run. They seem happy with that. They are getting used to the snow, but not the cold. 21 degrees here now. It's a heat wave!

 

[ZohBug]

Hello everyone... the time has come, the time is now... it's my first call for HELP!

Our Nankin banty hens are ready to come home with us according to the breeder.

I've been reading like crazy and now that we're actually going to have our very own hens in our very own home, I'm totally panicked and have forgotten everything I know about chickens except for how to cook the eggs!

They're a month old and since we have a ton of snow outside and our coop isn't insulated yet, we're going to have them indoors (I don't quite trust myself to do an adequate heat lamp set up just yet). We have an xl dog cage/crate with a tray at the bottom and I can get hay or straw or whatever else I need, but my mind is drawing a great big blank here. Help please! Can someone hold my hand here and walk me through it? And, please, don't make toooo much fun of me? Cuz, yeah, my kids will cover that even though they're right here alongside me (they're 7 and 3). Okay, okay, if it gets me the info I need, you can make fun of me.

Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you!!

 

[Nemo]

Happy New Year! Hope you had a Merry Christmas, too.

We made the loop around Lake Michigan... To Detroit to visit my family, then to Chicago to visit my wife's.

I just got a call from her saying I'm (potentially) a grandpa, again. I bought a dozen Red Stars from MyPetChicken in September, and one is already laying!

They just turned fifteen weeks old yesterday. We were gone ten days, and noticed they're all making big-girl sounds when we returned. One squatted for me yesterday, but I thought I still had at least another month, if not until spring. Guess not.

Not that I'm complaining too loud... Our sixteen Buff Orps have been pretty stingy the last six weeks or so. We're only getting about four eggs per day.

Guess I'll have to knock out a few nest boxes this weekend. And clean out the poop-pits.

@ZohBug... At a month old, they should have a modest amount of feathers, be and comfortable at room temperature, so you don't need to provide too much warmth for them. You can take a look at the breeder's setup and ask what temp they have it at. You didn't mention how many you had coming, so I can't comment too much about the dog crate. A little straw in the bottom would be good to catch droppings. Conifer woods shavings would be better. Pine, spruce, fir, but definitely NOT cedar. If it's more like a cage, you might want to line the outside with flat cardboard to stop drafts. They will need chick grower feed. They should be able to eat off a plate or bowl or feeder. They won't need grit until you start feeding them something other than regular chicken feed. Like day-olds, I would prob'ly dunk their beaks into the water as you put them in, just to be sure they know where it is. You might also want to provide a roost of some sort soon, so they get used to roosting at night. Just don't stress out too much... At one month old, they're pretty self-sufficient.

 

[Dr HaHa]

Laura asked about guinea's before we got the chicks and I told her no way! Too noisy for me. I remember I rode my HD dresser to the farm one time and they flocked around it. I figured out it was the chrome side panels on it. They thought there were other hens around. Try a mirror for Squeaky for company. Poor Zohbug! Don't panic it'll be OK! I too painiced when I brought my one day old chicks home but soon found out it was a lot eaiser than what I was freakin on. Food, water, and a clean bed. That's all you need. Oh and you have to pet them, talk to them and hold them every day or else they die a horrible painful death. Na! But it does help both them and you. Don't worry I'm sure everyone will help. Nemo if their making big girl sounds and starting to squat it won't be long. Sounds like you had a nice vacation! Potentially congrats on the G'pa thing. Don't know if I'll ever be one both daughters are so wrapped up in their lives. But you never know.

 

[ZohBug]

Thanks! I'd originally thought I'd get a pair of hens, but it turns out we can get a trio which is a good thing as it turns out because the kids want to name them after the Chipettes since we saw the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. It's a x-large metal dog crate, but it'll be in our big basement which is actually carpeted and somewhat warm since we use it for a playroom sometimes when the kids are making me nutty. What could I use as a roost? Where can I get the world's best-est shavings? Yikes! I'm feeling like an unprepared first time mama!! Should I just turn myself in now?

My almost 8yo daughter is already telling me she won't have kids because it's just too hard to raise 'em right. Kids don't listen and just don't want to behave so being a parent is hard work whereas being a kid is easy and fun. She wants my son (her brother) to have kids so she can be the doting aunt. How's that for trouble?

 

[bigzio]

Good Evening to All...

Great help from you guys for ZohBug.

Fleet Farm or any farm store near you will carry the pine bedding. At 4 weeks old straw will work too. Only not as absorbant as pine shavings.

The cardboard lining around the inside, will help to keep the bedding in the pen as well as keeping the chicks from sticking their head through the pen. Once they grow some, the heads no longer will fit through.

I use one of the dog pens for my emergency/isolation pens when needed in the basement too. They work great.

Glad the flock moved in nicely for you fordmommy.

I've been on all the hatchery sites lately....gnawing at what and how many!

~ bigzio

 

[ZohBug]

Of course! Farm & Fleet! See, told ya I forgot everything! There's one not too far away from me. Thanks again and again! You all are wonderful!

Ah, bigzio, can I send my kiddos to your place to get hatchery lessons someday?

I'm sure that's somewhere on their list down the line. It's so dark out and they were acting so crazy after dinner I sent them to bed and they went to sleep. It wasn't till afterwards that I realized it's not 7pm yet. Oopsie!

 

[Terri O]

Hello all--I guess I must be at the right place since I am in WI! I am Terri O aka goatlady. (that was taken) I just added to my flock 2 weekends ago--40 various birds and 1 rooster. I am glad that I did--the coop is toasty warm (almost) even though it is too small! I will be building a bigger one this spring I hope.
I originally found this group because my Charlie (the house chicken with no legs) was poorly. He is now doing better and I am staying! This is SO fun! They are not kidding when they caution that this site becomes addicting! I really have to go out and water --again...hopefully there will be a response when I get back! Terri O--between Madison and Milwaukee

 

[Nemo]

Hello, Terri O, and welcome to the thread.

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I was talking about chickens. I was able to hatch two of our Buff Orp eggs last spring. Maybe next spring when I integrated the Orps and Reds, I might try again.

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That's my wife's plan, too. We got married in September 2008... She's 42, I'm almost 39, and we don't *plan* on having kids. Good thing her younger sister took care of the big wedding and grandchildren for us, so we're off the hook. My wife is trying to spoil her niece and nephew. Luckily, they live in Chicago, so she can't go too crazy.

Here's a pic of the first Red Star eggs, compared to four of our Orp eggs...

 

[ZohBug]

Welcome Terri O. My kids want goats next. Nigerian Dwarf goats to be exact though they're fond of Saanens too and probably would really fall in love with any goat that came their way to be honest.

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A friend of mine just had her second at age 44 and another at age 42. Ya never know!

We're back and forth to Chicago rather frequently. We made 3 round trips in our first week in WI. Besides, at least that's a healthy way to go crazy if ever there was one.

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Those are some beautiful eggs! My kids love "egg hunting" on our friends' farms. I don't know how I'd feel about eating our own chickens' eggs, though I'd imagine I'd get used to it pretty quickly considering how much I spend on eggs!