How To Raise Chickens in the City ~ DIY Chicken Coop & Feeders
How to Raise Chickens in the City ~ DIY Chicken Coop & Feeders
Happy Fall Ya’ll! I just couldn’t WAIT to say that and the time has finally come! I hope that wherever you are in the world you are having wonderful weather! Ever wonder How to Raise Chickens in the City? Well, I am about to tell you our experience…
I don’t know if you guys remember a few months back, but my husband decided it would be a great idea to buy 2 little chicks for Missy Prissy. I had no idea that a trip to our ‘new’ store would be the start of our journey to raising city chickens.
You see folks, I am about as city girl as you are ever going to see and I had no intentions of raising chickens, but the little girls grew on me and I have become very fond of the little ladies and wanted to share how we are raising them here in the heart of the city!
As the little girls started to grow and outgrow their rubbermaid home, I insisted my darling husband build a coop for them. We had a chicken a few years ago and she was truly a ‘free-range’ chicken and made messes EVERYWHERE. Being the amazing craftsman he is, my hubby whipped up a chicken coop one Saturday, complete with ramp, hen house and egg box and door.
There was only 1 slight problem…My husband went a few weeks later and bought 2 more chicks, so now we have a total of 4!! And just like children, it seems that the new ones grew faster than the first two and pretty soon the coop wasn’t big enough for all 4 young ladies. My husband my some modifications to make the coop bigger and moved it to a different part of the yard.
In order to make an automatic waterer for the chickens, he cut open a bucket and placed a swamp cooler float inside. This way whenever the water gets too low, the float activates the water line to add more water. Boy, can I tell you that this is a lifesaver!
And having been a country boy and raising chickens when he was younger, Mr.Chaos knew that chickens like to scratch at their food, so we elevated their food, so the ladies can still reach it, but not scratch it out. Genius!
This is the ladies in their house!
Here you can see the ramp and the hen house, where they go to lay their eggs.
This is the side door to the coop. We use this door to get into the coop for whatever reason necessary.
This is the egg box with a latch, so we can get to the eggs easily.
The inside of the egg box. No eggs today. 🙁
But let me tell you that these Organic Brown Eggs are delicious!!
I hope you enjoyed my first installment of Raising Chickens in the City. Coming soon is a post on some facts about layer chickens and what I have learned since having my girls the last 10 months!
Baby Chickens For Sale in
Artesia, California
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Artesia California,
including Sussex Chickens, Welsummer Chickens, Turken Chickens and more.
Be sure to check out the Bargain Specials, as you can combine different
egg layers in smaller amounts and buy as an assortment. Artesia
California also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Artesia California, bantams for sale, ducks for sale, geese for sale,
turkeys for sale, guinea for sale, peafowl for sale, pheasant for sale,
chukar partridge for sale, bobwhite for sale, many different breeds of
baby chicks for sale in Artesia CA.
Baby Chickens For Sale Online in
Artesia, California
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Artesia California
catalog is a yearly traditions in many houses. My kids and I eagerly await
the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog. We love looking at all the cool and
different chicken breeds available. Catalogs are free so head on over to
their site and request one if you are interested.
Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
and bantams. Bantams are fun hardy little chickens, they lay tiny eggs
that kids especially love collecting. Bantams typically weigh less than 2
pounds when full grown. Just like ordering anything online there are pros
and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in
Artesia California * Big Selection - If you are wanting a large
variety of different chicken breeds and egg colors, you will find the best
selection at an online hatchery. * Both Bantams and full sized chickens
available * You get to choose what sex you want. If you want a mixture of
both male and female then choosing a "straight run" will save you money
and you will get a mixture of male and female chicks. You can also choose
all males or all females too. * Weekly specials. Hatcheries have sales on
chicks, you are likely to get a good deal if you are flexible with the
breeds you are wanting. Cons of buying baby chicks in Artesia
California * Order early to get the best selection. Certain breeds sell
out fast, sometimes as early as 6 months in advance of shipping! If you
are wanting a certain breed it's best to order your chicks in the fall
before their orders sell out.
Baby Chickens Hatching in
Artesia, California
Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries
will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is
necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put
in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce
enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to
buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you
choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship
and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in
Artesia California is easy and has always been a very pleasant
experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks
but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all
those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait
was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Artesia,
California Baby chicks are quite
cute and
hard to withstand,
yet it's finest to plan for their
arrival prior to you obtain them. Prepare first
by collecting not only the
right materials, however
likewise the proper
expertise to take care of
them. Raising baby chicks is fairly
straightforward, you simply should supply them with the following: A
clean as well as warm
habitat A lot of food as well
as water Attention and also
love Environment Your habitat could be an easy box, aquarium,
pet cat provider, or guinea
pig cage. Line it with old towels as well as
blankets (with no loose
strings!) to begin, and after a few weeks make use of straw over newspaper.
Keep in mind: Avoid using only
paper or various other slipper
surface areas-- or your chicks legs can grow
malformed. You also require
something to provide food and
water in, such as a chicken feeder and also water
dish from the feed store, or a pickle container
cover for food as well as a pet dog bird water dispenser from an animal store. Additionally, as the chicks age you can introduce a perch
right into the environment to obtain them
trained on perching. Warmth To
keep your chicks warm you should
offer them with a warmth resource.
This can be as straightforward as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp from an equipment shop, or an infrared reptile warmth
bulb additionally work effectively (my
suggestion). Chicks need this
warmth 24/7 till their downy fluff is
replaced with feathers (which can occupy to 2 months). The freshly
hatched out require a temperature
between 90 as well as 100 levels,
and each week this could
be lowered by
approximately 5 degrees or
so. The heat source must be on merely one side of the cage
to enable chicks a range of
temperatures. The chicks are your ideal
thermometer- if they are concealing in the
other edge of your heat
light, you have to
lower the temperature. If
they are smothering each various other under the
warmth (not just curling up),
you need to put some warmth.
Housekeeping
Sanitation is key and it maintains your chicks healthy and
balanced. Be sure to alter
the bedding
usually and also
consistently offer tidy
food and water Food and water.
Chicks expand very quickly
which calls for lots of clean
food as well as water. Give
enough in any way times as well
as examine
usually to avoid dehydrated and also
hungry chicks. Chick food is various than adult chicken food, and it comes
in both medicated as well as non-medicated selections. Feed chick food for the
initial two months, after that
switch over to a grower food (~ 17 %
protein) for another 2 months,
and then to a slightly
reduced protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have levels). Dirt Some chicks want
to get a head start on taking
filth baths, while others won't take
up that task until they are
older. If you have the room in your chick
enclosure, present a tray of sand or
dust for them to bathe in.
Focus and love There are a
few advantages to spending time with your chicks. To start
with, they will certainly more than likely bond with you as well as
not run away as grownups. Second, if you
analyze your chicks daily and also
watch their actions, you can
capture health problem or other issues earlier. Keep an
eye out for wheezing, limping, or
various other harmful
indications. Make certain to
also check out
their poop, as diarrhea could cause matted feathers as well
as stopped up cloaca.
Lastly, it is essential to keep an eye out for social concerns, such as the
littlest chick getting badgered. Empty nest syndrome So your
chicks are currently fully feathery
and also its time for them to leave the
safety of your house
and move outside into a cage. Have a look at our
section on chicken coops to find out
more
about cages and
appropriate cage habitats.
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