Early Sunday morning the post office called me and told me our chicks had arrived. Yup, you read that right. I did say Sunday. I’ve never gotten mail on a Sunday before. So Lee and I sprinted out of bed and rushed over to the post office. While we were waiting, we could hear little chicks scream peeping through the post office walls.
We drove carefully home with the heater going full blast hoping to warm the little guys up. They didn’t care and continued their scream peeping.
Only thing is, we weren’t prepared at all for the chicks. Yeah, I knew they were supposed to come sometime this week. Technically McMurray did list Sunday in the range of dates they might come, but who thinks of mail on a Sunday? So while the chicks were waiting in their box, we erected a high walled cardboard box pen on top of some scaffolding (so our cats couldn’t James Bond their way in). I got the chick feeders bleached out and ready. We searched like crazy until we found the chick heater light. I scrounged up some paper to line the chick pen floor and TaDa…we were in business.
My Hand Of Terror started the process of dipping their beaks into the water before they were released to roam their new fancy box home.
“Whoa! What just happened to me?”
All of the chicks figured out the water and chick feed pretty fast but we soon discovered three problems. One chick had a little bloody scrape by its beak that the others would peck, our scratch corn was mostly too large, and they wouldn’t stop scream peeping. That is when we realized the light we had wasn’t a red heat light. Two years ago when we had our first batch of chicks their 250W infrared light burned out before it should have and we brought it back to the store and exchanged it for a 125W white heat light. It didn’t put out as much heat, but it didn’t matter as those chicks were older at the time. Getting a red heat light would solve the chick pecking problems too. So off we rushed to the only farm store still open.
Once we got the new heat light screwed in it was amazing how fast they all settled in.
On Monday we went to our local farm store and got some chick corn. We had wanted to feed only corn for the first two days, as recommends it to help avoid paste butt problems. Since our chicks only had chick starter and their journey was a little rough we ended up getting quite a bit of pasty bottoms on them. The problem has mostly resolved itself by now but a couple of the chicks view my hand as The Hand Of Doom And Butt Rubbing Agony.
Yesterday as we were watching all the chicks do their chick business we both were thinking, “Oh my goodness, what did we do!” There are just so many of them. I’ve counted multiple times and I keep coming up with 27 chicks. I think we were given two free chicks by the hatchery. Either that or I can’t count. If there are no fatalities we are going to have 36 chickens on our place. EEEEEKS!
Most of the chicks we got were straight runs, so we are finally going to have some roosters on our place. What this means is we are going to have to cull some of our old hens and some of the new roosters when they get older. That should be an interesting experience when the time comes.
So…what breeds did I get and why? I decided to go for some smaller breeds this time. Our original chickens are of the egg and meat homestead combo sort. It seemed like a good choice at the time. The thing is, we never ate any of our chickens. We have been using them for their eggs only. Since bigger chickens eat more it would make sense for us to get smaller chickens as they will cost us less in feed. I also wanted chickens that could forage well. So I ended up getting 14 .
Since the Lakenvelders lay white eggs (and white eggs are boring) I got 8 . They aren’t as small as the Lakenvelders, but they are lighter then our current fatty pants Barred Rocks.
Just for fun (I couldn’t help myself) I got two female chicks. They are light in weight, but unfortunately they also lay boring white eggs. They are going to have big poofy bouffant heads and aren’t really foragers (probably because they can’t see anything).
I didn’t want the two Golden Polish chickens to get lonely so I got one female . The Cochin is meant to be my setter for the other birds as they are all basically non-setters. She will lay brown eggs.
Baby
Chicks Male in
Vallecito, California
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Vallecito 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. Vallecito
California also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Vallecito 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 Vallecito CA.
Baby Chicks Gender in
Vallecito, California
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Vallecito 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
Vallecito 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 Vallecito
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
Chicks In A Box in
Vallecito, 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
Vallecito 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 Vallecito,
California Baby chicks are very
adorable and
challenging to resist,
but it's ideal to prepare for their
arrival prior to you get them. Prepare initially
by gathering not only the
right materials, yet
likewise the proper
knowledge to care for
them. Raising baby chicks is reasonably
straightforward, you just need
to provide them with the following: A
clean and warm
habitat Lots of food as well
as water Interest as well as
love Habitat Your habitat could be a basic box, aquarium,
pet cat service provider, or guinea
pig cage. Line it with old towels and
blankets (without any loose
strings!) to begin, and after a few weeks make use of straw over paper.
Note: Avoid making use of only
newspaper or various other sandal
surface areas-- or your chicks legs can expand
misshapen. You also require
something to provide food as well as
water in, such as a chicken feeder and also water
meal from the feed store, or a pickle jar
cover for food and an animal bird water dispenser from a family pet shop. Likewise, as the chicks get
older you can present a perch
right into the environment to get them
educated on setting down. Heat To
maintain your chicks heat you have to
give them with a warmth resource.
This can be as straightforward as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp design lamp from an equipment shop, or an infrared reptile heat
light bulb also function extremely well (my
suggestion). Chicks need this
heat 24/7 until their downy fluff is
changed with feathers (which could take up to two months). The freshly
hatched require a temperature
in between 90 as well as 100 degrees,
and also weekly this could
be lowered by
approximately 5 degrees approximately. The warmth resource ought
to be on merely one side of the cage
to permit chicks a variety of
temperature levels. The chicks are your best
thermometer- if they are concealing in the
other edge of your heat
light, you have to
minimize the temperature level. If
they are surrounding each other under the
heat (not just cuddling),
you should include some warmth.
Housekeeping
Sanitation is vital as
well as it maintains your chicks healthy and
balanced. Make certain to transform
the bedding
often and
constantly offer clean
food and water Food and water.
Chicks grow quite fast
which needs plenty of clean
food and water. Supply
sufficient whatsoever times and check
typically to
stop thirsty and
starving chicks. Chick food is various compared
to grown-up chicken food, and also it can be found in both medicated and non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
first two months, then
switch to a grower food (~ 17 %
protein) for an additional 2 months,
and after that to a slightly
reduced protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have layers). Soil Some chicks prefer to get a head start on taking
filth baths, while others will not take
up that task up until they are
older. If you have the space in your chick
enclosure, introduce a tray of sand or
filth for them to shower in.
Focus and love There are a couple of advantages to spending time with your chicks. Firstly, they will probably bond with you and
not run away as grownups. Second, if you
examine your chicks daily and
watch their behavior, you could
catch health problem or various
other problems previously. Watch out for wheezing, limping, or
other unhealthy
signs. Be sure to
likewise consider
their poop, as diarrhea can bring about matted feathers and also blocked cloaca.
Finally, it is essential to look out
for social concerns, such as the
smallest chick getting badgered. Empty nest syndrome So your
chicks are currently completely feathered
as well as its time for them to leave the
security of your house
and relocate outside into a cage. Check out our
part on chicken cages to read more
about coops as well as
proper cage environments.
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