Baby Chickens for Sale in Colfax, Illinois
Baby Chickens for Sale in Colfax, Illinois
Important Terms To Know About Raising Chickens
Important Terms To Know About Raising Chickens
Raising chickens is incredibly fun and very rewarding. They are amazing pets and are unfortunately underrated and not thought of as first options by people looking to buy pets. They are very friendly, deliver fresh eggs and also make great gardeners. Your chickens will fertilize your plants and kill pest and bugs in your yard for you. I have put together a list of common words used when talking about chickens that will be important to know if you are getting into the wonderful world of chicken raising.
Bantam – A small chicken that is roughly half the size of normal chicken breeds. These are often raised for ornamental reasons.
Bedding – The main reason for bedding in your chicken coop is to absorb the chicken droppings and their smell. You will also want something soft enough that will cushion the eggs as they are laid by your chickens. You can use wood shavings, newspaper, hay or other soft and absorbent materials.
Brood – Hens incubating their chicks or a flock of baby chicks.
Candling – The process of using a candle or light bulb to shine through an eggs to find out if it is fertilized or not. If you don’t own a rooster you won’t have to worry about eggs being fertilized, but if you do you will want to be able to separate the eggs you can eat or sell and the eggs that will be come chickens.
Capon – A castrated rooster.
Cockerel – A young rooster.
Comb – The rubbery, flat piece that is on top of the chicken’s head. Roosters generally have larger combs than hens.
Coop – A chicken house.
Dust Bath – When chickens dig a hole in the ground and then climb in. They will get themselves nice and dirty to protect themselves from lice and mites that will feed off their blood.
Feeder – Where you will place your chicken feed.
Fertilized Egg – an egg that is laid after a hen has mated with a rooster and will become a baby chick.
Grit – Bits of rock or sand that your chickens will eat that stay in their digestive track to help digest food.
Hackles – Feathers on their neck.
Hen – Female chicken.
Incubation – Using heat to help hatch fertilized eggs. Using constant heat and turning the eggs are very important to the eggs hatching properly. This process usually takes about 3 weeks.
Molting – When a chicken sheds its feather and re-grows them, this process happens once a year and chickens will not lay eggs during this period.
Nest Box – Where you chickens will lay their eggs.
Non-Setter – These breeds of chickens have no interest in taking care of baby chicks.
Pullet – A young hen.
Roost – A pole or branch, something up high in the coop that your chickens will sleep on.
Rooster – A male chicken.
Run – An area connected to the coop that chickens can roam freely in.
Scratch – food made for chickens out of different grains, which is often scattered around the yard.
Shanks – The part of a chicken’s leg that can be seen at the bottom.
Sickles – A roosters tail feathers.
Wattle – The rubbery flesh found under the chicken’s neck.
Hopefully this list of chicken related terms will help you in your efforts to raise happy and healthy chickens.
The Author:
John Locke is an expert on chickens and everything related to chickens, come over to his site on blueprints for chicken coops to find blueprints for all types of coops.
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Raising Baby Chickens in Colfax, Illinois
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Colfax Illinois, 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. Colfax Illinois also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in Colfax Illinois, 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 Colfax IL.Baby Chicks In The Mail in Colfax, Illinois
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Colfax Illinois 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
Colfax Illinois * 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 Colfax
Illinois * 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 Habitat in Colfax, Illinois
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 Colfax Illinois 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 Colfax, Illinois Baby chicks are really charming and tough to resist, yet it's ideal to prepare for their arrival before you obtain them. Prepare initially by collecting not just the proper products, yet also the appropriate expertise to care for them. Raising baby chicks is reasonably simple, you simply need to offer them with the following: A clean and also warm and comfortable habitat Lots of food and also water Interest and also love Environment Your habitat could be a straightforward box, aquarium, pet cat provider, or guinea porker cage. Line it with old towels and blankets (with no loose strings!) to begin, as well as after a few weeks utilize straw over newspaper. Note: Avoid making use of only newspaper or other sandal surface areas-- or your chicks legs could expand malformed. You likewise require something to provide food as well as water in, such as a chicken feeder and water dish from the feed store, or a pickle container lid for food as well as a pet bird water dispenser from a pet dog store. Additionally, as the chicks age you can introduce a perch into the habitat to obtain them educated on perching. Warmth To maintain your chicks heat you need to provide 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 heat light bulb also work extremely well (my suggestion). Chicks require this heat 24/7 up until their downy fluff is changed with feathers (which could take up to 2 months). The freshly hatched need a temperature between 90 and also 100 degrees, and every week this can be lowered by around 5 levels approximately. The warmth source need to be on just one side of the cage to allow chicks an array of temperatures. The chicks are your best thermometer- if they are hiding in the other corner of your heat lamp, you have to lower the temperature. If they are surrounding each various other under the warmth (not just snuggling), you need to put some heat. Housekeeping Sanitation is vital as well as it maintains your chicks healthy. Make certain to transform the bed linen commonly as well as consistently supply tidy food as well as water Food and water. Chicks grow really quick which requires a lot of tidy food and also water. Give enough whatsoever times and also check typically to stop thirsty as well as starving chicks. Chick food is different than grown-up chicken food, and it is available in both medicated as well as non-medicated selections. Feed chick food for the first 2 months, then switch over to a raiser food (~ 17 % healthy protein) for one more 2 months, then to a somewhat reduced protein feed or a level feed (if you have layers). Dirt Some chicks like to obtain a head start on taking dust baths, while others will not use up that activity till they are older. If you have the space in your chick room, introduce a tray of sand or dirt for them to shower in. Interest as well as love There are a few advantages to spending time with your chicks. First of all, they will more than likely bond with you as well as not flee as grownups. Second, if you analyze your chicks daily as well as watch their behavior, you could catch disease or other troubles previously. Watch out for hissing, hopping, or other undesirable signs. Make sure to additionally check out their poop, as looseness of the bowels could result in matted plumes and also blocked cloaca. Last but not least, it is very important to watch out for social issues, such as the smallest chick obtaining badgered. Empty nest disorder So your chicks are now fully feathery and also its time for them to leave the safety of your house as well as move outside right into a cage. Look into our area on chicken coops to read more regarding cages and also proper cage habitats.Baby Chickens Food Baby Chickens For Sale Free Shipping
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