Baby Chickens for Sale in Gardner, Illinois
Baby Chickens for Sale in Gardner, Illinois
Backyard Chickens – Oh My!
We finally did it! We ordered our first chicks today to be delivered in February! I am super excited that we will finally have our own chickens and sooner or later have our own fresh eggs!
This is something that we have been planning for some years now. We will be raising these beauties right here on our .5 acre patch of land – ahem, yard. But that’s okay. You don’t need a lot of land to raise chickens and our fenced in back yard will provide plenty of space for them to range freely. My father so graciously gave us his brooder that he built when he had his chicks so we already have it ready for the sweet chicks when they arrive. We will begin building our coop next weekend and I will be sure to post a picture of it along with our baby chicks when they come in.
We ordered a variety of breeds. I wanted to have some that my father always had great success with and some that we have not had experience with yet but have been interested in and also have a reputation for being great egg layers. So the breeds we will have this round will be: Ameraucanas, Rhode Island Reds, Cuckoo Marans, Black Australorps, Black Star, Red Star, White Rock, Pearl White Leghorn, Buff Laced Polish, and Golden Laced Wyandotte.
With the different type of breeds we will have, we should have a beautiful variety of colored eggs with a mixture of different shades of brown, including a chocolate brown color, white, and pastel “easter colored” eggs as well. It will be nice to not have to buy our eggs anymore. Although, we have always bought our’s from other local farmers, there nothing better than really knowing where our eggs are coming from (right from our own backyard), knowing what they really are eating, and what kind of environment they really are in. We want our children to grow up knowing where their food really comes from and appreciate the beauty of growing and raising our own food as much as possible.
Because we live in the city, we are not getting any males (roosters) at this time. We do plan to eventually get some in the future, but for our neighbor’s sanity, we will stick with females for now. Roosters are supposed to make great hen protectors, so since we will not have any, I am hoping and praying that our dog, Precious, will take the role of protecting the hens. She has never been around chickens, but has been around many other animals (including kittens, etc.), and has always been very gentle with all of them. She has a very gentle, motherly, and protective type personality and we are hoping that we can help her understand what we expect of her as these chicks arrive. We will slowly introduce them to her and get her used to them before they actually start ranging freely in our yard. Our hopes and prayers are that the natural predatory instincts of dogs will not be the case for Precious with our chicks. I really don’t think it will be an issue with her and of course, we will be closely monitoring for a while. There are many dogs though that are great protectors of the family chickens and I’m sure Precious will be one of them.
Our younger boys are so excited to get our baby chicks and are already thinking up names for them. We have a lot of names to come up with and I told them it would be best to wait and see how each of their personalities and traits are before naming them. They agreed.
On top of the chicks we ordered, a friend of our’s is also giving us a couple eggs to put in an incubator so that we can try to hatch them. I think it will be a neat experience for the children to be able to watch happen and it will also make a great Science and Nature Study lesson! We should be getting the eggs sometime this week and I will post updates on the process.
So, here goes to raising chickens! I look forward to sharing this adventure with you and hope you will share your experiences too!
Baby Chickens Breeds in Gardner, Illinois
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Gardner 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. Gardner Illinois also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in Gardner 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 Gardner IL.Baby Chickens Hatching in Gardner, Illinois
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Gardner 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
Gardner 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 Gardner
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 Chicks Facts in Gardner, 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 Gardner 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 Gardner, Illinois Baby chicks are quite cute and also hard to resist, yet it's finest to plan for their arrival before you get them. Prepare initially by compiling not only the right products, yet also the correct understanding to take care of them. Raising baby chicks is fairly straightforward, you just should offer them with the following: A clean and also cozy habitat A lot of food and water Focus and love Habitat Your environment can be a simple box, fish tank, feline provider, or guinea porker cage. Line it with old towels as well as blankets (with no loose strings!) to begin, as well as after a few weeks make use of straw over newspaper. Note: Avoid utilizing only newspaper or various other sandal surfaces-- or your chicks legs can grow misshapen. You likewise need something to serve up food and water in, such as a chicken feeder and water recipe from the feed shop, or a pickle jar cover for food as well as a pet bird water dispenser from a pet dog store. Also, as the chicks grow older you can introduce a perch into the environment to get them trained on perching. Heat To keep your chicks warm you need to supply them with a heat source. This can be as straightforward as a 100 watt light bulb in a reflective clamp style light from an equipment store, or an infrared reptile heat bulb likewise function very well (my suggestion). Chicks require this heat 24/7 up until their downy fluff is changed with feathers (which can occupy to two months). The freshly hatched out require a temperature between 90 and 100 degrees, and also weekly this could be lowered by about 5 degrees approximately. The warmth source ought to be on just one side of the cage to allow chicks an array of temperatures. The chicks are your finest thermometer- if they are concealing in the other corner of your heat light, you need to lower the temperature. If they are smothering each other under the heat (not just cuddling), you have to add some warmth. House cleaning Sanitation is key as well as it keeps your chicks healthy and balanced. Make sure to change the bedding typically and constantly offer tidy food and also water Food as well as water. Chicks grow extremely quick which requires lots of clean food as well as water. Offer sufficient in any way times and also inspect often to stop parched and starving chicks. Chick food is different than adult chicken food, and it can be found in both medicated and non-medicated ranges. Feed chick food for the first two months, after that switch over to a grower food (~ 17 % healthy protein) for another 2 months, then to a slightly lower protein feed or a layer feed (if you have levels). Dirt Some chicks prefer to get a head start on taking dust bathrooms, while others won't use up that activity up 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 also love There are a couple of benefits to hanging out with your chicks. First of all, they will most likely bond with you and not run away as adults. Second, if you analyze your chicks daily and see their behavior, you could catch disease or various other troubles previously. Watch out for wheezing, hopping, or various other harmful indicators. Make sure to likewise check out their poop, as looseness of the bowels could bring about matted plumes as well as stopped up cloaca. Last but not least, it is necessary to watch out for social issues, such as the littlest chick obtaining badgered. Empty nest syndrome So your chicks are now completely feathered and also its time for them to leave the security of your residence and also move outside right into a coop. Look into our area on chicken cages to learn more regarding coops and also proper coop habitats.Raising Baby Chickens Baby Chickens Raising
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