Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 15:25:35 GMT -5
I don't remember - what's the interim home? With their biological parents at my aunt's house. She has a pen ready for them, so whenever we're ready to part with them they can go. I just need to string up the heat lamp there.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on May 20, 2014 15:26:49 GMT -5
Ok, then when they'll fun grown are you getting them back?
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 15:28:54 GMT -5
We gave them some worms this weekend and it was the funniest darn thing you ever saw (unless you were a worm). They would get one and just madly dash around the pool with it trying to keep the others away, but of course, all they did was attract a lot of attention and others would chase, steal the worm and do the exact same thing.
Here I am sitting on the side, trying to explain to chickens to just calmly go to the corner and enjoy their find and not run around screaming "LOOK WHAT I GOT! LOOK WHAT I GOT!!!"
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 15:30:40 GMT -5
Ok, then when they'll fun grown are you getting them back? We would like to have a few hens, but we need a coop first. I could probably rig something up, but we have to wait to tell which are hens and which are roosters anyhow.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 15:31:20 GMT -5
I already have people wanting me to hatch out more. They sell for about $5/each at the age they are now.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on May 20, 2014 15:32:23 GMT -5
Ok, then when they'll fun grown are you getting them back? We would like to have a few hens, but we need a coop first. I could probably rig something up, but we have to wait to tell which are hens and which are roosters anyhow. Ok, are they going to be egg producers or pets? 'cause if they're just pets they can live in your barn ok, right? I'm trying to figure out how this all works (and get work done) so forgive me for asking city girl questions.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on May 20, 2014 15:32:56 GMT -5
I already have people wanting me to hatch out more. They sell for about $5/each at the age they are now. Huh. The things I learn from this board....
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on May 20, 2014 15:34:39 GMT -5
We picked up our chicken coop last night and now I'm waffling on waiting until next season for chickens. We don't have the time or energy right now, but they're just so cute and I want EGGS!
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 15:36:07 GMT -5
We would like to have a few hens, but we need a coop first. I could probably rig something up, but we have to wait to tell which are hens and which are roosters anyhow. Ok, are they going to be egg producers or pets? 'cause if they're just pets they can live in your barn ok, right? I'm trying to figure out how this all works (and get work done) so forgive me for asking city girl questions. Egg producing pets. I could do something in the barn instead of a separate coop, but either way something needs to get built. They need to be kept safe from predators more so than they need to be contained. Coyotes, racoons, even the barn cats would kill them if they weren't in a safe enclosure. I just like the ones you can move around to different parts of the yard. Once they're older we'd let them run loose during the day, they go back to the coop at night and then we'd close them in.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 15:38:25 GMT -5
We picked up our chicken coop last night and now I'm waffling on waiting until next season for chickens. We don't have the time or energy right now, but they're just so cute and I want EGGS! If you get chicks it will be a year before you get eggs, so better get them now! Where do you live? I'll deliver! LOL (50/50 shot on hens or roosters though)
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on May 20, 2014 15:38:47 GMT -5
I just assumed barn cats would leave a full grown chicken alone. Racoons and Coyotes never crossed my mind.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 15:39:58 GMT -5
Full grown, yes, but it will be a while before they're safe from cats.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 15:42:52 GMT -5
I just assumed barn cats would leave a full grown chicken alone. Racoons and Coyotes never crossed my mind. Weasels and possums too. Our neighbor (owner of the rooster) started out with 4 chicks last year and only one made it to adulthood and they were penned up. Just not secure enough pen.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on May 20, 2014 15:43:43 GMT -5
We picked up our chicken coop last night and now I'm waffling on waiting until next season for chickens. We don't have the time or energy right now, but they're just so cute and I want EGGS! If you get chicks it will be a year before you get eggs, so better get them now! Where do you live? I'll deliver! LOL (50/50 shot on hens or roosters though) My FIL was telling me this, but the 2 people who have eggs in our area right now are getting eggs when the hens are about 3 months. So if we got them now they might be laying by winter. That seemed so fast, but they both started last spring and had eggs all winter. We need 3 hens, and our coop can only have 4 birds so I can't really risk a rooster but if we had more room I'd be fine either way. I don't have a problem sending the roosters to the butcher.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 15:43:54 GMT -5
Oh, and hawks. Hawks will swoop down and take them right out of their pen if there isn't at top on it. If you whistle around baby chicks they'll go silent and hunker down because they think a hawk is nearby.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 15:45:57 GMT -5
If you get chicks it will be a year before you get eggs, so better get them now! Where do you live? I'll deliver! LOL (50/50 shot on hens or roosters though) My FIL was telling me this, but the 2 people who have eggs in our area right now are getting eggs when the hens are about 3 months. So if we got them now they might be laying by winter. That seemed so fast, but they both started last spring and had eggs all winter. We need 3 hens, and our coop can only have 4 birds so I can't really risk a rooster but if we had more room I'd be fine either way. I don't have a problem sending the roosters to the butcher. I guess I was figuring that they don't lay much over winter to begin with so next spring would be when they kicked in. My aunts go from 5-6/day (8 hens) to 1-2 over the winter, but they don't leave lights on or anything.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on May 20, 2014 15:53:29 GMT -5
I'm going to have to see what breed they each have. One of them does heat his coop in the winter, so that might have something to do with it. I don't think we'll heat ours, but I am hoping to have a greenhouse of sorts set up that the coop will be in so a bit warmer.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 15:55:47 GMT -5
The light is the most important thing. They shut down when the days get shorter.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on May 20, 2014 17:27:14 GMT -5
This weekend, we were at the local farm store to pick up bird feed, catfud and they had trays of baby chicks. OMG!! They were soooo cute, I was trying to figure out if there was any way we could put up a coop here.
Unfortunately, in this area there are enough predators that it would probably wind up being a bad idea. But for a minute......
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milee
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Post by milee on May 20, 2014 17:39:47 GMT -5
I'm going to have to see what breed they each have. One of them does heat his coop in the winter, so that might have something to do with it. I don't think we'll heat ours, but I am hoping to have a greenhouse of sorts set up that the coop will be in so a bit warmer. You might want to do a little research on breeds because there's a huge variation in friendliness and egg production between breeds. FWIW, I think the Rhode Island Reds (old breed, but I had great luck with them) and Buff Orphingtons are a good combination of friendly pets and great egg layers. There are a few that may lay more consistently but aren't friendly, others that are more friendly but don't lay eggs and others still that aren't friendly and don't lay many eggs. Worth knowing the breeds.
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justme
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Post by justme on May 20, 2014 17:49:34 GMT -5
I kinda want to see a video of that worm action. Sounds hilarious!
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 18:38:53 GMT -5
I'm going to have to see what breed they each have. One of them does heat his coop in the winter, so that might have something to do with it. I don't think we'll heat ours, but I am hoping to have a greenhouse of sorts set up that the coop will be in so a bit warmer. You might want to do a little research on breeds because there's a huge variation in friendliness and egg production between breeds. FWIW, I think the Rhode Island Reds (old breed, but I had great luck with them) and Buff Orphingtons are a good combination of friendly pets and great egg layers. There are a few that may lay more consistently but aren't friendly, others that are more friendly but don't lay eggs and others still that aren't friendly and don't lay many eggs. Worth knowing the breeds. Ours are Brahmas. The parents are VERY friendly. They follow you around like dogs. They are good layers, not the best of the best if you're researching, but usually considered every other day hens which is pretty good. They are also very good cold weather breed (small comb and feathered feet) and are pretty.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 18:46:52 GMT -5
This weekend, we were at the local farm store to pick up bird feed, catfud and they had trays of baby chicks. OMG!! They were soooo cute, I was trying to figure out if there was any way we could put up a coop here. Unfortunately, in this area there are enough predators that it would probably wind up being a bad idea. But for a minute...... DO IT! I need to have chicken converts so I'm not the only crazy one.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 19:15:00 GMT -5
I kinda want to see a video of that worm action. Sounds hilarious! I made a video today although it wasn't quite as dramatic as last time. I had the garage door open to get enough light and they were kind of mesmerized by that and not as focused on the "bird with the worm". Still funny though. If I can figure out a way to post it without using Dropbox I will. Last time I posted the hatching video they suspended my account for using too much bandwidth.
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milee
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Post by milee on May 20, 2014 19:27:23 GMT -5
You might want to do a little research on breeds because there's a huge variation in friendliness and egg production between breeds. FWIW, I think the Rhode Island Reds (old breed, but I had great luck with them) and Buff Orphingtons are a good combination of friendly pets and great egg layers. There are a few that may lay more consistently but aren't friendly, others that are more friendly but don't lay eggs and others still that aren't friendly and don't lay many eggs. Worth knowing the breeds. Ours are Brahmas. The parents are VERY friendly. They follow you around like dogs. They are good layers, not the best of the best if you're researching, but usually considered every other day hens which is pretty good. They are also very good cold weather breed (small comb and feathered feet) and are pretty. I had one that I believe was a white Brahma - mostly white with a little bit of black accent and white feathered feet. She was very calm and sweet. Not a fantastic layer, though - about 3 a week and unless I'm misremembering they were a light pinkish color. The Rhode Island Reds on the other hand were machines - hardly ever missed a day and their eggs were huge double yolkers.
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milee
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Post by milee on May 20, 2014 19:54:18 GMT -5
Oh, and thinking more about it, maybe my Brahma wasn't a great layer because she was hot. If they do well in Minnesota and other cold areas, maybe Florida isn't their cup of tea. Find out what breed likes your area.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 21:59:51 GMT -5
We went over and checked out the temporary digs for the chicks. It would be nice if it still had an outside run attached, but that was taken down years ago, so they'll have to stay in the barn, but they'll have roosts to hang out on and probably bugs in there. The lamb does not live in there. He just follows the kids everywhere.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 23:37:48 GMT -5
Here's a couple with worms. In the beginning a black one in the lower left has one, and later a yellow one finds one. They're pretty distracted by the garage door being open though!
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on May 22, 2014 8:02:58 GMT -5
They are so damn cute. So what's with the yellowy-orange water? And how does it stay upright when they're running around?
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2014 8:13:02 GMT -5
They are so damn cute. So what's with the yellowy-orange water? And how does it stay upright when they're running around? There are electrolytes in the water which make it orange. They never tip it over, but they empty it twice a day. Luckily there's a bigger one at the new home...which I think they will be going to tonight. They're not normally all crazy like that. Between the worms and the open garage door they were a little whacko.
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