NotSoFair
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Post by NotSoFair on May 2, 2014 17:49:47 GMT -5
MPL, be prepared to turn into a crazy chicken lady. My mom started raising chickens last year and she is now completely obsessed with them. It's like an ongoing chicken soap opera over there where I hear all about the various members of the coop and what they're up to. The eggs are delicious though. Sounds like my son is on this forum. MPL, This is what I did when I got my chicks. They were in a fish tank (no water ofcourse) for the first couple of weeks with some pine shavings in there and a regular 60W bulb. I do not have cats or dogs, but you can put a couple of wood panels on top so that the cat won't get in there. I kept them in the living room at that time. You may have to change the pine shavings a couple of times in this period. Then I got an extra large cardboard box (I think my compost bin that I bought online came in this box), put some pine shavings in it, cut out a portion from the top and put a lamp (again not a heat lamp, they are too dangerous) in and moved them to the basement (garage is fine if you don't have a basement, the weather is getting warmer anyway). They won't need anything big the first few days, by then you would know how many you are going to keep and go from there. You might want to keep the water and food on an elevated platform otherwise they get filled with the pine shavings in no time.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2014 18:11:41 GMT -5
I forgot about backyardchickens.com I used to read that a couple years ago when I was thinking of getting some and wanted coop advice/ideas.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2014 18:18:06 GMT -5
I just checked.. they're not allowed where we live. Ok, so my plan of unloading them on YM posters is obviously not working out well. The "babies" day 15.
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Nazgul Girl
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Babysitting our new grandbaby 3 days a week !
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Post by Nazgul Girl on May 2, 2014 18:21:21 GMT -5
I don't have any chicken coop suggestions, but this is so cool ! I hope you have lots of little chicklets soon. Bawk !
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on May 2, 2014 18:28:50 GMT -5
I remember reading a story not too long ago about a chicken adopting an orphaned baby owl. Thing is, chickens don't feed their young and the poor thing starved to death.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on May 2, 2014 18:34:49 GMT -5
MPL, be prepared to turn into a crazy chicken lady. My mom started raising chickens last year and she is now completely obsessed with them. It's like an ongoing chicken soap opera over there where I hear all about the various members of the coop and what they're up to. The eggs are delicious though. Sounds like my son is on this forum. MPL, This is what I did when I got my chicks. They were in a fish tank (no water ofcourse) for the first couple of weeks with some pine shavings in there and a regular 60W bulb. I do not have cats or dogs, but you can put a couple of wood panels on top so that the cat won't get in there. I kept them in the living room at that time. You may have to change the pine shavings a couple of times in this period. Then I got an extra large cardboard box (I think my compost bin that I bought online came in this box), put some pine shavings in it, cut out a portion from the top and put a lamp (again not a heat lamp, they are too dangerous) in and moved them to the basement (garage is fine if you don't have a basement, the weather is getting warmer anyway). They won't need anything big the first few days, by then you would know how many you are going to keep and go from there. You might want to keep the water and food on an elevated platform otherwise they get filled with the pine shavings in no time. How and what do you feed them? Don't the mama chickens show them how to scratch around in the dirt?
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mmhmm
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Post by mmhmm on May 2, 2014 18:39:51 GMT -5
Be sure to get pics when they hatch! Little chicks are cute as buttons, and not much bigger, come to think of it. Good luck with your new hobby.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2014 18:46:59 GMT -5
How and what do you feed them? Don't the mama chickens show them how to scratch around in the dirt? As soon as baby chicks are hatched and dry they start wandering around scratching and pecking at stuff. They don't have to eat for a couple days but give them a feeder with chick starter and some water and they'll start pecking at it. If the hen is pecking at stuff, the chicks will too, but teaching them how to eat isn't her big responsibility. Keeping them warm and away from predators is what she does mostly.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2014 19:02:36 GMT -5
Be sure to get pics when they hatch! Little chicks are cute as buttons, and not much bigger, come to think of it. Good luck with your new hobby. For sure. By this time next week any that are going to hatch should be here. I hope we get some. The kids are super excited and older son has been learning a lot about the process, has been monitoring the temp and humidity and is better at checking the eggs than I am. We had a scare last Sunday where the temp spiked, but it was for a pretty short stretch and the eggs we checked after were still ok.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2014 12:55:12 GMT -5
You need to keep them in a large box, in a garage or somewhere. Chickens STINK. Ewww... even the babies. Dip their beaks into the water so they know where/what it is. Keep a heat lamp going all the time and they need to have enough room to get away from the lamp if they are too hot. Don't let kids "squeeze" the chicks or the next day they will be dead chicks. And, don't use wood shavings for them because they are dumb and will eat them. Absolute easiest way to raise chicks is to find someone with a broody hen. Eggs hatch and you put the chicks under the hen. She then raises them for you and keeps them warm. Unfortunately, broody has been bred out of most domestic chickens today. However, out of 10 chickens I typically have 1 that wants to be a chicken mom.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2014 21:59:57 GMT -5
Day 18, it's lockdown day! The day we take out the egg turner, crank the humidity and don't open the incubator again until after the hatch.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2014 22:01:37 GMT -5
Watch "The Egg and I"? READ The Egg and I
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2014 22:09:24 GMT -5
We're going to try the swim pool for the brooder at first. It was a mess, so I put the kids to work on it on Sunday. We still need to get waterers and feeders put in and I have to secure the heat lamp better, but we're getting there.
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ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ
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Post by ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ on May 5, 2014 22:15:50 GMT -5
LMAO at your chicken/school/principal's office story, Captain. Priceless!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2014 23:33:08 GMT -5
Chicks are dumb and will eat nearly anything. The litter in the bottom of your brooder can be a problem. They eat it and it plugs them up and kills them.
Best to leave the bottom of the pool empty.
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taz157
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Post by taz157 on May 6, 2014 0:56:21 GMT -5
Good luck MPL! Your kiddo pictures are adorable! Especially loved the one with kiddo and "his" temporary dog. Definitely want to see pictures of the chicks when they've hatched.
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taz157
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Post by taz157 on May 6, 2014 0:56:39 GMT -5
LMAO at your chicken/school/principal's office story, Captain. Priceless! Yeah that!
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milee
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Post by milee on May 6, 2014 5:47:38 GMT -5
OK, I love, love, love chickens, so don't want to derail this thread - but please tell me that isn't the ex's motorhome we can see in the picture in reply #51. If it is, stop screwing around with the chicks and start working on getting rid of that thing.
Back to the chickens.
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milee
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Post by milee on May 6, 2014 5:49:52 GMT -5
Watch "The Egg and I"? READ The Egg and I Wait, weren't you the one that was adamant that listening to a book on audio was the same as reading because it was all about absorbing the content?
Dang it, must get out of this thread and stop derailing it. I want some chickens (stupid ordinances allow them in our local city but not the county - not a typo - and I'm in the county), so maybe I'm just pissy because I can't have any. But I'm sure my long suffering neighbors are glad.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2014 6:01:30 GMT -5
Oh, you could also LISTEN to The Egg and I... You are correct.
But if you are watching the old Fred Macmurry movie, well it is completely different and vastly inferior to the book written by Betty McDonald... So read, listen, absorb the content however you like, but I'd suggest the content in the book (one of my all time favorites) versus the content of the movie...
Just some FYIs, Betty McDonald wrote the Mrs Piggle Wiggle books... The Egg and I is also the origins of Ma and Pa Kettle.
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milee
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Post by milee on May 6, 2014 6:13:28 GMT -5
Oh, you could also LISTEN to The Egg and I... You are correct. But if you are watching the old Fred Macmurry movie, well it is completely different and vastly inferior to the book written by Betty McDonald... So read, listen, absorb the content however you like, but I'd suggest the content in the book (one of my all time favorites) versus the content of the movie... Just some FYIs, Betty McDonald wrote the Mrs Piggle Wiggle books... The Egg and I is also the origins of Ma and Pa Kettle. I'm completely unfamiliar with this series but it sounds absolutely riveting. Obviously the movie was unable to capture the subtle nuances of such an erudite author.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2014 6:21:44 GMT -5
Series? Mrs Piggle Wiggle? She is getting a bit dated, but kids generally love her... She is very silly. I think they are similar to Pippy Longstockings in some ways, but Mrs PW is always coming up with 'unique' cures for misbehaving children...
Of Betty's adult books I like The Egg and I and Onions in the Stew best, I think because of the scenery really, the Pacific Northwest and Vashon island (before it became the drug haven my sister tells me it is now) ...
You do need to be prepared for some of the definitely not current PC ways in which she sometimes discusses the native populations though, although that's a sign of her age and times I think.
As far as the kettles, I never watched that tv show, but my grandparents did... I was amused when I read Egg the first time to see that's where they originated.
The Egg movie is just not at all like the book, which sometimes happens, although it might share a few elements, which is better that another favorite of mine, Cheaper by the Dozen.. In which case the old movies are ok, but the new ones share only a title in common...
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mollyanna58
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Post by mollyanna58 on May 6, 2014 7:32:05 GMT -5
Yes, the book is much different than the movie. They are both entertaining.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2014 7:36:09 GMT -5
Chicks are dumb and will eat nearly anything. The litter in the bottom of your brooder can be a problem. They eat it and it plugs them up and kills them. Best to leave the bottom of the pool empty. I had heard that from a few places, but I've been hanging out at backyardchickens.com and it seems like they all use shavings and don't have issues. Then we went to the zoo a couple weeks ago and they had newly hatched chicks there all on shavings. They are so much easier to keep things clean with bedding so I'll take a chance on weeding out the dumb ones.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2014 7:37:03 GMT -5
OK, I love, love, love chickens, so don't want to derail this thread - but please tell me that isn't the ex's motorhome we can see in the picture in reply #51. If it is, stop screwing around with the chicks and start working on getting rid of that thing.
Back to the chickens. It's gone.
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taz157
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Post by taz157 on May 6, 2014 7:57:20 GMT -5
OK, I love, love, love chickens, so don't want to derail this thread - but please tell me that isn't the ex's motorhome we can see in the picture in reply #51. If it is, stop screwing around with the chicks and start working on getting rid of that thing.
Back to the chickens. It's gone. Good going!
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milee
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Post by milee on May 6, 2014 8:17:32 GMT -5
OK, I love, love, love chickens, so don't want to derail this thread - but please tell me that isn't the ex's motorhome we can see in the picture in reply #51. If it is, stop screwing around with the chicks and start working on getting rid of that thing.
Back to the chickens. It's gone. Go, girl!!! You seem to be on the upswing and some things are starting to click for you.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on May 6, 2014 8:36:09 GMT -5
<abbr>deleted at response was already covered. Yeah, keep us updated on the chicks. I'm enjoying this. </abbr>
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2014 8:37:35 GMT -5
Go, girl!!! You seem to be on the upswing and some things are starting to click for you. eh...not really. But I'm good at creating distractions. Nothing like some chickens to shake things up. This is the last place I saw the motorhome. I left it with the keys above the visor.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2014 8:38:58 GMT -5
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