Baby Chickens for Sale in West Hartland, Connecticut
Baby Chickens for Sale in West Hartland, Connecticut
How to build a Chicken Coop for under $50
How to build a Chicken Coop for under $50
Why Raise Chickens?
Really, the question you should ask is “Why not raise chickens?” Raising chickens can be a really rewarding experience. These amazing animals eat a small amount of feed a day, and yet produce one egg about every day of the year. (Out of 365 days a year, they lay about 335 eggs.) They take a couple days off here and there, but for the most part they are great layers. Having complete control over the food you feed your family is also really rewarding. Knowing our chickens eat non-GMO, Organic feed, and are allowed to free-range on our acre yard somehow just makes the eggs taste better. There are many benefits to free-ranging your chickens. First of all, they don’t develop diseases because they are out in the fresh air and not living in their poop. Second, they eat a LOT more bugs and let me tell you, you WANT your chickens to eat bugs. Not only does it help keep your bug(& scorpion) population down, it also increases the amount of Omega-3’s per egg. There are just some things that nature does better! The added bonus of letting your chickens eat bugs is that they will eat less of your store-bought feed which helps bring down your overall cost.
FYI, chickens that are locked up in small spaces are SUPER mean to each other. Like cannibal mean. By cannibal, I mean they will literally eat each other. Seriously. They will gang up on the weakest and peck at it incessantly until it dies and then eat it. It’s all Mean Girls up in there, I’m telling you. So, definitely free-range, okay?
How Much does it Cost to keep Chickens
If you buy “regular” chicken feed, it will only cost you about $11.00 for a 50 lb. bag. Pretty good deal, huh? Well, not really. “Regular” feed is chock full of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) which are KNOWN for making chickens sick. Genetically modified organisms are also called Roundup Ready. GMO’s require massive amounts of pesticides, herbicides & fungicides. Yum. “Regular” feed is also usually pre-packaged with antibiotics. Wasn’t that nice of the feed company? Gosh, they are so nice to give our chickens anti-biotics after making them sick with GMOs. So thoughtful. When all’s said and done and your chickens stop going diarrhea, it will only cost you 82 cents a dozen. Organic, Non-GMO feed is about $24.00 for a 50 lb. bag but the benefits are amazing. Our feed is full of clean grains, as they should be, with no pesticides in them or on them. We also supplement their diet with dinner table scraps. It costs us about $1.75 a dozen. At the store, you can expect to pay $5.99 a dozen for ORGANIC, FREE-RANGE eggs. A Plan is Hatched (I’m freakin’ hilarious) The chicken coop I’m about to show you is one for FREE-RANGE chickens. This means your chickens should only be in the coop to eat feed, lay eggs, and roost/sleep at night. For the rest of the day they should be allowed in a yard so they can stay nice and healthy. I can’t take full credit for this idea. Okay, I can’t take ANY credit for this idea. Kevin and I were talking about how to get rid of our old crib. We couldn’t really give it away to Goodwill because it has that old school drop side that has totally been recalled now for safety issues. Then Kevin mentioned on how that sliding door would come in handy for a chicken coop. YES! Totally! I’ve been wanting to build a new chicken coop, and this thing was pretty much built for me! Well, I took Kevin’s idea and ran with it. I first drew a picture of how I wanted it to look. Yes, I’m a very visual person. (Lydia said it was the best drawing of a crib she’s EVER seen, so that means it’s pretty dang good.) The crib. Ah, crib you’ve served us well. You’ve kept our sweet little babes safe and sound as they have sweetly slumbered. Well, except for that one time when the drop side malfunctioned and Ethan tumbled out when he was 8 mo. old. But let’s forget about that one issue. You have been a great crib and we’re thankful for all your service. Aaannd now you will be a pooping ground for our chickens, mmkay? Ta-da! Here’s the coop all finished! It was SUPER easy. We lined two sides with chicken wire, two sides with wains coating, slapped a roof on that mutha’ and called it a day. Okay, okay. It took a little longer than that. I had to paint it, which actually takes way more spray paint than you’d think. I was actually embarrassed at how many times I kept underestimating the amount of spray paint I needed. It was becoming a problem, how bad I was at estimating my spray paint needs. I kept going back to the store and I totally felt like the checkout lady was thinking, “Really? MORE spray paint?” And I, feeling stupid for being the worst spray paint estimator ever, imagined yelling, “Yes, it’s for my chickens, OKAY?!!” The drop side comes down just enough to gather eggs and fill the feeder. I totally cut these pieces myself. I also cut the table I was using but we won’t dwell on that. Sorry Kevin! You’re still “not mad”, right??? A chicken coops not a chicken coop ’till you put an actual picture of a chicken on it, right? I thought so. It has a simple roof made of wains coating and trim. Underneath is a simple frame of 1x2s. Did I mention it was simple? Super cute, right? And cheap, which makes the Mr. Husband happy.
P.S. My friend Claire from wrote an excellent guide on (and raising chickens in the winter in general). I highly recommend it!
Do you own chickens? Have you ever thought of raising chickens? You should! And you should totally use your old crib because, well, it’s super cheap and super cool.
Baby Chickens How To Raise in West Hartland, Connecticut
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in West Hartland Connecticut, 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. West Hartland Connecticut also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in West Hartland Connecticut, 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 West Hartland CT.Baby Chickens For Sale Near Me in West Hartland, Connecticut
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in West Hartland Connecticut 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
West Hartland Connecticut * 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 West Hartland
Connecticut * 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 Mail Order in West Hartland, Connecticut
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 West Hartland Connecticut 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 West Hartland, Connecticut Baby chicks are extremely adorable and also difficult to resist, however it's finest to prepare for their arrival prior to you get them. Prepare first by compiling not only the right products, but additionally the correct knowledge to care for them. Raising baby chicks is fairly straightforward, you just have to supply them with the following: A tidy and warm and comfortable environment A lot of food and also water Interest as well as love Environment Your environment could be a basic box, fish tank, pet cat provider, or guinea porker cage. Line it with old towels and blankets (without any loosened strings!) to start, and after a few weeks utilize straw over newspaper. Note: Avoid using just newspaper or other slipper surfaces-- or your chicks legs could grow malformed. You also need something to serve up food and water in, such as a chicken feeder and also water dish from the feed store, or a pickle jar lid for food and also a family pet bird water dispenser from a pet store. Additionally, as the chicks grow older you could introduce a perch into the environment to get them trained on setting down. Warmth To keep your chicks warm you have to offer them with a heat resource. This can be as simple as a 100 watt light bulb in a reflective clamp style light from a hardware store, or an infrared reptile warmth light bulb additionally function effectively (my recommendation). Chicks require this heat 24/7 up until their downy fluff is replaced with feathers (which could occupy to two months). The newly hatched out require a temperature level in between 90 as well as 100 levels, and every week this could be decreased by around 5 degrees or so. The warmth resource should get on merely one side of the cage to allow chicks an array of temperatures. The chicks are your best thermometer- if they are concealing in the other corner of your heat light, you should reduce the temperature. If they are surrounding each other under the warmth (not just snuggling), you need to put some warmth. House cleaning Cleanliness is essential as well as it maintains your chicks healthy. Be sure to alter the bedding typically and consistently give clean food and water Food and water. Chicks grow extremely fast which requires plenty of tidy food as well as water. Provide sufficient at all times as well as examine typically to avoid dehydrated and starving chicks. Chick food is different than grown-up chicken food, as well as it is available in both medicated and non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the initial 2 months, after that switch over to a grower food (~ 17 % protein) for one more 2 months, then to a somewhat lower protein feed or a layer feed (if you have layers). Dirt Some chicks like to get a running start on taking dirt bathrooms, while others will not use up that task until they are older. If you have the room in your chick enclosure, present a tray of sand or filth for them to wash in. Attention as well as love There are a few benefits to spending time with your chicks. First of all, they will certainly probably bond with you and also not flee as grownups. Second, if you examine your chicks daily as well as watch their habits, you can catch illness or other issues earlier. Keep an eye out for hissing, hopping, or other unhealthy signs. Make sure to likewise take a look at their poop, as looseness of the bowels can bring about matted feathers and clogged cloaca. Last but not least, it is very important to look out for social issues, such as the littlest chick getting badgered. Vacant nest disorder So your chicks are now completely feathered and its time for them to leave the safety of your residence as well as relocate outside into a cage. Have a look at our section on chicken cages to find out more regarding cages and also correct cage habitats.Baby Chicks Names Baby Chickens Hatching
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