Baby Chickens for Sale in Cottage Hills, Illinois
Baby Chickens for Sale in Cottage Hills, Illinois
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Posted By on March 1, 2016
We were so busy last year taking care of our new chicken flock…that we never even put out a blog about them! Well here is our announcement. We’ve had chickens since last spring! By now they are fully grown and doing great. We have 10 hens and 2 roosters and they all get along very well most of the time. Egg production is picking up after the last few dark and cold months. In January we got 70 eggs and in February we got 116 eggs. March will probably bring over 150 eggs! Lots of hard boiled eggs are consumed for lunch these days.
For anyone who is interested we got some uncommon varieties.
5 Blue Andalusians –
These are the black, gray and white chicks.
5 Cuckoo Marans –
These are the black with yellow spot on the head. They lay super dark brown eggs.
5 Easter Egg Chickens –
These are the tan/brown with stripes. They will lay pastel blue and green eggs (hence the name).
1 Dark Brahmas –
Murray McMurray always sends on free exotic chick with each order and this is the one we got!
Here’s a photo from last spring when they arrived.
Baby Chicks!
Cute!
They grew up very quickly.
Stanley – Blue Andalusian
Humphrey & Bee
Gem
Eventually they reached full size!
Blue Andalusian Rooster – Stanley
Bee – Dark Brahmas Rooster
Then we started getting eggs….and eggs….and more eggs…. I think we have collected over 500 eggs now since they started laying back in August.
We also named all of our chickens. The two roosters are named Stanley (Blue Andalusian) and Bee (Dark Brahmas). The hens are named Penelope, Gertrude, Delilah (Cuckoo Marans), Gem, Opal, Lucy (Blue Andalusian), Rosie, Myrtle, Mable and Hazel (Easter Eggers).
Every one of them is great and has their own special personality. Last year I spent a lot of time sitting with them and feeding them all sorts of treats from the garden. Winter time has brought this to a minimal time but I still go out every day to see them and make sure they have food and water. We set up a large heated container for water and a large bin for food so we don’t need to fill either for a long time. We also have the door on a timer. I’ll post about that later on.
Sadly we also learned how to butcher live chickens. We had 4 other roosters that didn’t make list of chickens to keep. 5 roosters is way too many for 10 hens! Even 2 is pushing it but they get along alright. They were named Tweedledee, Tweedledum, Cristo and Humphrey. Of all of them we miss Humphrey the most and will never forget him. He was a gorgeous bird. They just got too aggressive toward our hens so they ended up in the pot. It was an invaluable skill to learn as a homesteader and we have plans to raise meat birds later on so will be putting it to use again someday. We won’t be naming those birds though. It makes it much more difficult.
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Baby Chickens Facts in Cottage Hills, Illinois
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Cottage Hills 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. Cottage Hills Illinois also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in Cottage Hills 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 Cottage Hills IL.Baby Chickens Bedding in Cottage Hills, Illinois
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Cottage Hills 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
Cottage Hills 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 Cottage Hills
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 Cottage Hills, 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 Cottage Hills 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 Cottage Hills, Illinois Baby chicks are quite charming and also hard to stand up to, but it's finest to prepare for their arrival before you obtain them. Prepare first by gathering not just the proper materials, yet additionally the correct understanding to care for them. Raising baby chicks is reasonably basic, you just have to supply them with the following: A tidy as well as warm and comfortable habitat Plenty of food and water Attention as well as love Environment Your habitat could be an easy box, fish tank, feline provider, or guinea pig cage. Line it with old towels and coverings (without any loose strings!) to begin, as well as after a few weeks utilize straw over newspaper. Note: Avoid using only newspaper or various other slipper surface areas-- or your chicks legs could grow misshapen. You likewise need something to dish out food and water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water recipe from the feed shop, or a pickle jar lid for food as well as an animal bird water dispenser from an animal store. Likewise, as the chicks get older you can introduce a perch right into the habitat to obtain them educated on setting down. Heat To maintain your chicks heat you have to offer them with a heat resource. This can be as easy as a 100 watt light bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp from a hardware shop, or an infrared reptile heat bulb also work extremely well (my referral). Chicks need this warmth 24/7 till their downy fluff is changed with feathers (which can take up to two months). The newly hatched require a temperature between 90 as well as 100 degrees, and every week this can be minimized by roughly 5 levels or so. The warmth resource must be on simply one side of the cage to permit chicks a range of temperature levels. The chicks are your finest thermometer- if they are concealing in the other edge of your warmth light, you should minimize the temperature. If they are smothering each various other under the heat (not simply cuddling), you have to put some heat. House cleaning Sanitation is crucial and it keeps your chicks healthy and balanced. Make certain to change the bed linen commonly and always offer tidy food and water Food as well as water. Chicks expand really fast which calls for a lot of clean food and water. Offer enough in any way times and also inspect frequently to prevent parched and hungry chicks. Chick food is different than grown-up chicken food, as well as it can be found in both medicated and also non-medicated selections. Feed chick food for the first 2 months, then switch over to a raiser food (~ 17 % healthy protein) for another 2 months, and then to a slightly reduced healthy protein feed or a layer feed (if you have layers). Soil Some chicks prefer to get a running start on taking filth baths, while others will not occupy that activity until they are older. If you have the area in your chick unit, introduce a tray of sand or dust for them to shower in. Focus and also love There are a couple of benefits to spending time with your chicks. Firstly, they will certainly most likely bond with you as well as not flee as adults. Second, if you examine your chicks daily and also see their habits, you can catch health problem or various other issues earlier. Watch out for wheezing, limping, or other unhealthy indications. Be sure to also look at their poop, as diarrhea can lead to matted feathers and blocked cloaca. Finally, it is necessary to look out for social concerns, such as the smallest chick obtaining badgered. Vacant nest syndrome So your chicks are currently totally feathered and its time for them to leave the security of your home and also relocate outside into a cage. Check out our part on chicken coops for more information about coops and also correct coop environments.Baby Chickens For Sale Baby Chicks For Easter
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