who has chickens

Awwww!

What breeds did you get? They are fun to raise. They get over the cute fuzzy stage too quickly though.

Awwwww  
And tell us which kinds....
I love baby chicks

RC3291
Yes, I hear they grow incredibly fast. So far I'm taking a couple of pictures each day.
I'm amazed at the behavior difference over the past 3 days.  Today is day 3 and they are already into chasing the one holding a weedy tidbit.  I read around a week old they would use a little dirt/dust bath. Getting that ready tomorrow.  Picked mint leaves to throw in and some use it like little bed and sleep on it. Too cute.
Turan
2 Buff Orps
2 Speckled Sussex
2 Americauna (sp?) --  those blue egg layers
It's interesting to watch them.  No hen to show them the ropes. But they seem? to know what to do.  So full of energy. Then like a wind up toy that's done, they drop and go to sleep, for about 2 minutes. At night they are very quiet. The brooder is under a north window so I let natural light in during the day. Wonder if it helps their little bio rhythms adjust to natural light and darkness, even with the red heat lamp on 24/7.

Awwww  

Are you giving them baby size grit?  If they are getting green things they need grit.  Even if being fed only chick feed they have less incident of poopy butt when grit is sprinkled on hte their feed.

My barred rocks are now 6 weeks old. They have the run of the coop and chicken yard in the day but still sleep at night under the heat lamp in the dog crate.

Turan
So yours are 6 weeks old, are they fully feathered?

Thank you for checking up re: grit.  I enjoy all the advice anyone has.  Yes, as soon as I introduced outdoor things for them to peck at I added chick grit and also added a clump of soil(more grit I guess)  with weeds and grass attached.  There was a little alfalfa that grew outside of the pasture. They went for that also. I was impressed with the nutrition in dandelions. The chicks pull off little yellow petals and chase each other for that one tiny piece.

Going into day four I check for pasty butt twice a day. So far so good. Been changing their water and feed at least three times a day. Twice a day clean out the brooder floor.  I'm home all day and probably going overboard. I don't care, they are so cute. Also using a powdered probiotics and electrolytes, guess I'm throwing everything at them!  

Fresh Eggs Daily is a facebook page and website plus the author Lisa Steele has her two books with lots of fun information.

Today I am attempting to make little perches for them to enjoy. I'm all thumbs so we'll see about that.

Did you folks know you can rescue chickens? Egg farms kill hens when their production starts to decline, sometimes when they're less than 2 years old. These hens are still young and produce huge, delicious eggs. We rescued 3 a couple of years ago and they're still producing. If you want chickens, but aren't equipped with incubators, heaters, etc., you might want to look for an adoption agency in your area. These folks may be able to help.

https://animalplace.org/helping-hens-rescue/

Cutest thing I think I've seen but scared me at the time. One about 4 days old was running chasing another and just suddenly fell down and didn't get back up. Fell asleep that fast like someone flipped a switch and turned her off.

Countrynaturals
I never heard of this. This is wonderful.  Very interesting but they look so sad. Would have been nice to see these hens sometime after adoption with improved looks and perky behavior.  
I tried looking up a rescue organization here in Ohio. No luck yet but this is something I would certainly consider for the future. Hens still lay past the age of 2 at reduced amounts Right? That's ok by me, there's only 2 of us. 6 hens is going to be too many eggs I'm afraid.

RC3291 wrote:Cutest thing I think I've seen but scared me at the time. One about 4 days old was running chasing another and just suddenly fell down and didn't get back up. Fell asleep that fast like someone flipped a switch and turned her off.

I've noticed similar behavior. I thought they were dying. Eyes closed, laying on their sides looks the worst with a leg stretched out behind. They're messing with me

I would like to have a couple of chickens but Ottawa's bylaws prohibit such activity. However, there are some who are ignoring the bylaw.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawas-urban-farmers-cross-the-fowl-line-as-hobby-comes-home-to-roost

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=backyard%20chickens%20ottawa

Yup, mine are fully feathered and have been for a while now but they are still shedding out the odd bit of baby fluff.  They run around and try to fly.  I have seen some mock battles which make me wonder if I managed yet once again to find the roosters in a batch of 'all pullets'.  If they start crowing in a couple months I will have my answer  

We like having an over abundance of eggs, we give them away with extra veggies.  Also in the summer I could live off eggs and greens.  But when DH wanted me to get a dozen chicks I thought that was too much.  In a couple years I will get another 4.

How old hens can get and when they stop laying is some what individual and somewhat a breed characteristic.  My oldest hen ever was a Golden Wyandotte and was 15 when she died and layed an egg every couple of days until she was 12.  Right now I have a 10 yo Americana who lays an egg every other day or so.

llama momma wrote:Countrynaturals
I never heard of this. This is wonderful.  Very interesting but they look so sad. Would have been nice to see these hens sometime after adoption with improved looks and perky behavior.  
I tried looking up a rescue organization here in Ohio. No luck yet but this is something I would certainly consider for the future. Hens still lay past the age of 2 at reduced amounts Right? That's ok by me, there's only 2 of us. 6 hens is going to be too many eggs I'm afraid.

Here's one of our rescues. She thinks she's a cat and tries to come in through the cat door. We've had ours for 2 years and they still lay almost every day.

Turan wrote:Yup, mine are fully feathered and have been for a while now but they are still shedding out the odd bit of baby fluff.  They run around and try to fly.  My oldest hen ever was a Golden Wyandotte and was 15 when she died and layed an egg every couple of days until she was 12.  Right now I have a 10 yo Americana who lays an egg every other day or so.

Oh thank you this is good to know.  I can read info online but coming here talking to sfg friends is what I can trust. I'm glad I'm taking pictures as this fluffy stage will end too quickly.

Countrynaturals
 
She is gorgeous!  That's what the rescue site should include!   I will rescue some in the future for sure.  I was thinking all my master gardener contacts should be a good way to find older hens one day. Thanks again.

llama momma wrote:

RC3291 wrote:Cutest thing I think I've seen but scared me at the time. One about 4 days old was running chasing another and just suddenly fell down and didn't get back up. Fell asleep that fast like someone flipped a switch and turned her off.

I've noticed similar behavior. I thought they were dying. Eyes closed, laying on their sides looks the worst with a leg stretched out behind. They're messing with me

Worst scare was the first time I saw them dust bathing.

Texas just passed a law that prohibits cities from banning flocks 6 chickens and under. Hasn't gone into effect yet and we'll have to see how it works out.

llama momma wrote:I wanted chickens for several years. A simple mini flock of 6.  This year it happened and here is one who already knows how to pose at the tender age of 3 days -

They take frequent and very short naps of about 2 minutes.  Like this one-


Here are a few others admiring their own cuteness in the mirror-

OMG, how lucky are YOU?!?
It must be like having a new litter of puppies or kittens. Will they be able to ride the llamas when they get bigger?

I feel lucky.  Also feel they need a lot of tending. I'm a new Mom all over again. Checking temperature, food, fresh water, cleaning, checking little butts, adding little treats, and just spending time with them. Trying to be very careful to notice if anything is wrong.   This afternoon a couple were already looking at the top of the brooder and hopping straight up.  Already planning to escape?? Little twerps! Got the box cutter to score open a large hole in the lid and duct tape hardware cloth across the top. Now they're safely locked up.

I'll be picking up some chicken manure this weekend from friends who have chickens on their property.  I'm not sure if this poo will be composted already or I will have to compost it myself. I've read that chicken poo can contain some bad things. Should I be concerned?

trolleydriver wrote:.....not sure if this poo will be composted already or I will have to compost it myself. I've read that chicken poo can contain some bad things. Should I be concerned?

Someone else could give a better answer to this but I'll start off,  what I believe is true -- chicken manure is excellent as long as it is first composted.
If used fresh and un-composted,  it's too high in nitrogen and 'burns' plants.

In contrast rabbit and llama manure can be used fresh and will not burn. I still compost it anyway. The plants do very well and I feel better about it.


I don't know what you mean by "contain some bad things".  Anyone else ??

llama momma wrote:

trolleydriver wrote:.....not sure if this poo will be composted already or I will have to compost it myself. I've read that chicken poo can contain some bad things. Should I be concerned?

...


I don't know what you mean by "contain some bad things".  Anyone else ??

Thanks LM.

Bad things include pathogens, bacteria, salmonella, etc.  I suppose these will not be a problem if I hot compost.

Hey TD, LM, I like the post and the question, and the first answer. I too like chicken manure, since I have so much. I cannot tell you anything scientific, I have always made sure the cm was composted before I used it. I always take it and add it to other compost piles when adding to them, it gets the pile warm fast if the the other stuff has little nitrogen in it. I guess it is another way of building up a pile.

Chicken coop cleaning is a major component of my compost.  The chickens also apply it as a lawn fertilizer and I help by scattering some over lawn, around bushes, and over flower areas.  If you think of it as the strong nitrogen fertilizer that it is you won't burn anything.   It is best to use compost in the vegy garden, OR to mix it into the soil when you clean the garden in the fall.  Either way gives the manure time to be processed.  The guideline for any manure is 120 days between application and harvest, which a winter of being in the soil provides. 
I am about to take some chicken manure from under the roost and mix it with some partially composted stuff, which I will heap where I want to grow winter squash this year.  By the time I plant squash in a month the compost will be mellow enough (compost piles being squash's favorite habitat) and by harvest more than 120 days will have passed.

This University of Idaho publication, Composting and using backyard poultry waste in the home garden, is very good reading.

https://www.cals.uidaho.edu/edcomm/pdf/CIS/CIS1194.pdf

Thanks BDR and Turan. Good information.

All the mess from the chicken coop goes in my compost pile along with any vegetable scraps and raked leaves.  Started out with an overfull compost bin now it's only half full. Need to get the man that mows the yard to bag the grass clippings and drop them in too. More compartments in my bin for partly processed compost is another project. Neighbor's raking his backyard and has a pile big enough to fill a pickup bed. Brown gold!