At exactly 21 days, we made the trip up to Monroe to pick out some new baby chicks that Midnight would hopefully raise as her own. Monroe Farm and Feed had an incredible selection of chicks; some pullets, some straight-run. Some of them were very young, some of them were starting to develop their combs already! I would have gladly taken one of each but settled for four; two araucanas, one welsummer and one cuckoo maran. These were all pullets at the baby stage — it seemed that Midnight would be most likely to adopt babies, and I like a little peace of mind that there’s more than a 50% chance they’ll be hens. My mother-in-law, Trudy, was with me for the excursion. When I mentioned my grand surrogate plan earlier in their visit, her eyes lit up since she was going to be here to see it all go down.Early Saturday afternoon, we were on our way home with four tiny chicks peeping away in a box in the back seat of the car. I was so excited!
, a photo by on Flickr.
Too excited, maybe. When we got home, I went ahead and tucked them in with Midnight. That didn’t go so well. Midnight pecked at the little maran and seemed agitated, so we moved the babies to the other end of the coop, making sure they couldn’t get out, and others couldn’t get in. Naturally we couldn’t help but peek in on them throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening.
, a photo by on Flickr.
As it started to get dark, I decided it was time to try it again. We barricaded Midnight into the nesting box, and placed the peeps under/around her. She didn’t immediately reject them, so we sat outside for a while so that we could hear any troubling squawks and squeals. Everything sounded good so we checked on them one last time for the night and headed inside.
, a photo by on Flickr.
The next morning, I headed right outside to see what was going on. Mama and babies were all together and everyone made it through the night. Whew! Hooray! I rather-obsessively checked on them throughout the day, and we removed the barricade and took measures to make sure that no one would fall through the trap door.
, a photo by on Flickr.
It’s now Tuesday and the five of them are one happy little family. This little project has caused some upset for the other birds. The red birds (Ginger and Penney) and the two old birds (Jazzy and Yogi) don’t get along, so sharing a coop is out of the question. G+P have their coop to themselves, and J+Y are sleeping in a cardboard in the ‘downstairs’ area of their coop. For now, this will have to work. I am thinking that I will move Midnight and her brood to the other coop and give them half of the upstairs, and the red birds the other half. I just want to make sure that she’s not going to abandon her flock and I would think that a week is long enough for them to form that bond.
, a photo by on Flickr.
Raising Baby Quail Chicks in
Germantown, Illinois
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Germantown 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. Germantown
Illinois also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Germantown 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 Germantown IL.
Baby Chickens Facts in
Germantown, Illinois
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Germantown 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
Germantown 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 Germantown
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 On
Sale in
Germantown, 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
Germantown 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 Germantown,
Illinois Baby chicks are quite
adorable and
challenging to resist,
however it's finest to plan for their
arrival before you obtain them. Prepare initially
by gathering not only the
proper materials, yet
also the proper
expertise to care for
them. Raising baby chicks is fairly
basic, you just need
to offer them with the following: A tidy as well as warm and comfortable
environment A lot of food and water Interest and also
love Habitat Your environment could be a
simple box, aquarium,
cat service provider, or guinea
porker cage. Line it with old towels and
coverings (without loosened
strings!) to begin, as well as after a
couple of weeks make use of straw over newspaper.
Note: Avoid making use of only
paper or other sandal
surface areas-- or your chicks legs can grow
malformed. You likewise require
something to serve up food and also
water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water
dish from the feed shop, or a pickle jar
cover for food and a family
pet bird water dispenser from a pet shop. Additionally, as the chicks age you could present a perch
right into the habitat to obtain them
trained on perching. Warmth To
maintain your chicks heat you should
supply them with a warmth source.
This can be as easy as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp design lamp from an equipment store, or an infrared reptile heat
bulb also work extremely well (my
suggestion). Chicks require this
warmth 24/7 up until their downy fluff is
replaced with plumes (which could take up to two months). The newly
hatched out need a temperature level
between 90 and 100 degrees,
as well as every week this can
be minimized by
roughly 5 degrees approximately. The warmth resource ought
to be on just one side of the cage
to enable chicks a variety of
temperature levels. The chicks are your ideal
thermostat- if they are concealing in the
other corner of your heat
light, you should
reduce the temperature. If
they are smothering each other under the
heat (not merely cuddling),
you have to put some warmth.
Home cleaning
Sanitation is key as
well as it keeps your chicks healthy and
balanced. Make sure to change
the bedding
often as well as
consistently provide tidy
food and water Food as well as water.
Chicks expand quite quick
which requires a lot of tidy
food and also water. Supply
enough whatsoever times and also inspect
usually to
stop thirsty as well as
hungry chicks. Chick food is various compared
to adult chicken food, as well as it comes
in both medicated and non-medicated ranges. Feed chick food for the
initial 2 months, after that
change to a grower food (~ 17 %
protein) for one more 2 months,
and after that to a somewhat
reduced protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have layers). Dirt Some chicks prefer to get a running start on taking
dirt baths, while others won't use up that task up 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 couple of advantages to spending quality time with your chicks. First of all, they will certainly probably bond with you and
not flee as adults. Second, if you
analyze your chicks daily and
see their actions, you could
capture disease or other issues previously. Watch out for hissing, limping, or
other unhealthy
indications. Make certain to
likewise consider
their poop, as diarrhea can bring about matted plumes as well
as blocked cloaca.
Last but not least, it is necessary to watch out for social problems, such as the
smallest chick getting teased. Vacant nest syndrome So your
chicks are now completely feathery
as well as its time for them to leave the
safety and security of your house
and move outside right into a
coop. Take a look at our
part on chicken cages to get more information
concerning cages and
appropriate cage habitats.
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