Raising backyard chickens to gather your own healthy eggs is rewarding and rather easy. As long as you have a few basics taken care of, the chickens will do the rest. You don’t need to be an expert, and there’s no reason to be afraid. Take care of these basics and you will be gathering healthy, antibiotic and growth hormone free, pastured chicken eggs in no time. Continue reading “Raising Backyard Chickens for Eggs. Part 1 – Getting Baby Chicks”
Here it is the first week in March and I am listening to the sleet as it hits the windows…sigh. I refuse to dwell on winter things any longer. So, we will think on happy thoughts….like baby chicks! The chicks are two weeks old now and their feathers are starting to fill in.
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| Flappy – 2 Week Old Production Red Pullet |
Continue reading “Easter Egger and Production Red 2 Weeks Old Chicks”
We have caught chick fever!
Actually, we had planned to get some more chicks this year from Tractor Supply. Our rooster to hen ratio is off and we definitely need about 5 or 6 more hens to correct that. And of course now that we got our first chickens last year we really just wanted more. I’m sure you understand, right? Jon had been wanting to get some Buff Orpington chicks this year because they are supposed go broody easily. I really like Barred Rocks, but we had no plan of getting them. The plan was to check Tractor Supply each week of their Chick Days and hopefully get the Buff Orpinton’s.
Continue reading “Easter Egger and Production Red Day Old Chicks”
It’s been 14 days since our first egg and in that short time the four oldest hens are now all laying. They are getting the hang of laying in the nesting boxes.
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| In the Nesting Boxes |
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| The Older Gals – Commercial Black and Red | |
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| Left: The Older Gals – Commercial Black and Red. Right: Younger Girls/Guy – Barred Plymouth Rock | |
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| Left: Our Rooster is growing fast! Right: Just a little chicken butt. | |
The girls are now 6 weeks old. They are starting to get used to their coop and are beginning to venture out further into the chicken run. They will hop, scratch, and fly about outside. Then one will run back into the coop and they will all run back into the coop. A few minutes later, they are back outside. They are so funny.
The chickens are now 4 weeks old. Most of them are almost covered in feathers now. There is still our “runt” that has a lot more fuzz than the others. The weather today has been absolutely fabulous! It was so sunny and it got up to 60 degrees today. In the sun it felt even warmer. We decided to take the gals on their first field trip outside.
The chicks are growing so fast! There is very little fuzz left. We have started giving them treats like weeds to eat and play in. This started out as a pile, but they have done some damage. They all stopped as if frozen from the flash of the camera.
The baby chicks are growing so fast. It amazes me how long their wing feathers are getting. They have a fascination for pecking on the cardboard walls and floors of the box. We love to watch them scratch in the wood chips.
I took Monday off from work so that I could go with George to get his wisdom teeth cut out. That all went as well as can be expected and was even quite comical at times (gas and anesthesia). In the evening after Jon got home from work we all took a trip to Tractor Supply. I figured George would want to stay home and take it easy, but he wasn’t going to miss out on Jon and me buying our first baby chicks. He is a country boy and has had his own chickens and roosters for several years. I’m sure he figured we would need his guidance.
TSC got their first chicks and ducks supply in on Monday. By the time we got there, all the baby ducks were gone and one container of the baby chicks were empty as well. Oh, you could hear them cheeping as soon as we entered the store. They had 4 large metal tubs still left. Oh, they were all so cute! I wish I had thought to take a picture of them then. But we were so excited, that it never occurred to me.
All of the little yellow fuzz balls were a straight run of White Cornish. The sign said they were better for meat chickens.
Continue reading “Baby Chicks”