Our new chicks (from left) Cruella, Susie and Phyllis.
There are few things as exciting for owners of backyard chickens as getting new chicks. They are just so cute and fuzzy. We picked up our little girls on Tuesday, January 29 from the breeder we bought Zsa Zsa from. This time we had some complications with our chicks. In the first few weeks we wound up losing two of the four chicks to what appeared to be cocci. Following is a bit of information about our two survivors and some lessons learned.
This is Susie (Susan B. Anthony) our blue cochin who will be large and silver.
My wife can come up with some clever names. Our Blue Cochin will grow into a very large blue/silver colored chicken. She is the largest of our chicks and is probably between 1-2 weeks old. She has a very loud chirp. She was loud enough that she woke me up overnight with her chirping. You will notice that she is feathered down her legs. This is a unique trait of the Cochin breed of chickens.
Cochins grow into large, fluffy chickens. Most of them weight 8-10lbs and look like they weigh about 20lbs with all their feathers. They are a very friendly breed and like to play mother hen, sitting on any eggs they find. The Cochin variety of bird lays approximately 3-4 eggs a week. The eggs are a creamy brown color. Cochins became world famous when a Chinese delegation gave some Cochins to Queen Victoria of England, who adored these chickens. They have been in America since around 1850 and are known to be especially friendly, although our chick is the bully of the brooding box
Our Gold Laced Polish chick – we named her Joan McHENzie since she is going to look a lot like me.
We also have a Gold Laced Polish chick. This chick will grow into a friendly, unique looking hen. She will have a fluff of feather on her head that will be gold, black and brown. Polish chicks do really well in the heat. They lay a small to medium white egg.
The two chicks we lost were a White Crested Black Polish that would have been a beautiful bird. We also lost a Silver Polish. All the chicks were inoculated against cocci but wound up getting sick and the symptoms were amazingly similar to cocci. When chicks have been inoculated against cocci they are usually fed non-medicated feed. After we lost our first two chicks I went ahead and switched to medicated feed and haven’t had a problem since. The only reason I could find for the non-medicated feed was that it was a waste of money since they had already been treated for this issue. Here are the two chicks we lost, and the names we came up with:
Our extra chick – a Silver Polish named Phyllis.
Cruella Deville, our White Crested Black Polish chicken.
We keep our chicks in the house when they are young. They hang out in the office in a breeding box that I made. They sleep for the first few days because they have been through A LOT! Chicks are shipped via express shipping to breeders and individuals in special boxes. Our breeder had at least 100 chicks in her garage. The extra travel to our house puts a bit more strain on them and they need to rest, eat and drink.
Chicks stay under a heat source that keeps the temperature in that portion of the box between 95-98 degrees. They are good about moving themselves around the box to regulate their temperature. They eat a special form of starter feed that is crumbled and easy to digest.
Getting to know the chicks.
In 1-2 weeks the chicks will start to pop out some feathers. They will begin those awkward weeks when they look like teenagers going through puberty. Frankly they are pretty ugly when they are pullets. Once they have fully feathered out and temps warm up outside, they will be introduced to the big chickens in the coop. I will let the young pullets out in the kennel portion of the coop so they are protected but not in with the big chickens. They can look at each other and get used to each other. Slowly they will be introduced to each other. We’ve never had a real problem with chickens get along since we tend to buy friendly breeds.
A lot of people ask how much chicks cost. If you already have all the gear (coop, brooding box, feeder, water, heat lamp) or can borrow it, the cost is pretty low. These unique chicks cost $18 all together. Their starter feed runs about $10. There are cleaning costs too…
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Baby Chickens Diet in
Bossier City, Louisiana
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Bossier City Louisiana,
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. Bossier City
Louisiana also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Bossier City Louisiana, 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 Bossier City LA.
Baby Chickens On
Sale in
Bossier City, Louisiana
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Bossier City Louisiana
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
Bossier City Louisiana * 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 Bossier City
Louisiana * 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 How To Care For Them in
Bossier City, Louisiana
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
Bossier City Louisiana 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 Bossier City,
Louisiana Baby chicks are very
adorable and also
challenging to withstand,
however it's ideal to plan for their
arrival before you get them. Prepare initially
by collecting not just the
right products, however
likewise the appropriate
knowledge to look after
them. Raising baby chicks is fairly
straightforward, you merely need
to provide them with the following: A tidy and warm
environment Plenty of food as well
as water Focus and
love Habitat Your environment could be a
simple box, fish tank,
cat service provider, or guinea
porker cage. Line it with old towels and also
coverings (without loosened
strings!) to begin, and also after a few weeks utilize straw over paper.
Note: Avoid using just
newspaper or various other slipper
surface areas-- or your chicks legs can grow
malformed. You likewise require
something to serve up food and
water in, such as a chicken feeder and water
dish from the feed store, or a pickle container
cover for food and a pet bird water dispenser from a pet store. Likewise, as the chicks grow older you can introduce a perch
into the environment to get them
trained on perching. Warmth To
keep your chicks warm you should
provide them with a warmth resource.
This could be as easy as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp design lamp from a
hardware shop, or an infrared reptile heat
bulb additionally work very
well (my
recommendation). Chicks require this
warmth 24/7 until their downy fluff is
changed with feathers (which could occupy to 2 months). The freshly
hatched require a temperature
in between 90 and 100 degrees,
as well as weekly this could
be decreased by
roughly 5 levels or
so. The heat source need to get on merely one side of the cage
to permit chicks a variety of
temperature levels. The chicks are your best
thermometer- if they are concealing in the
opposite edge of your heat
light, you should
lower the temperature. If
they are surrounding each various other under the
heat (not merely curling up),
you should put some warmth.
Home cleaning
Cleanliness is vital and it keeps your chicks healthy and
balanced. Be sure to alter
the bed linen
frequently and also
consistently supply clean
food and water Food and also water.
Chicks grow very quickly
which calls for lots of tidy
food and water. Give
enough at all times and also examine
often to
stop parched as well as
hungry chicks. Chick food is different than grown-up chicken food, and it is available in both medicated and
also non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
first two months, after that
switch to a raiser food (~ 17 %
protein) for an additional 2 months,
and afterwards to a somewhat
reduced healthy protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have levels). Soil Some chicks want
to obtain a head start on taking
filth bathrooms, while others will not occupy 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 shower in.
Attention and love There are a
few benefits to spending quality time with your chicks. First of all, they will more than likely bond with you as well as
not escape as adults. Second, if you
examine your chicks daily as well as
view their behavior, you can
catch health problem or other problems earlier. Watch out for wheezing, limping, or
various other undesirable
indicators. Make sure to
additionally take a look at
their poop, as looseness of the bowels could bring about matted feathers as well
as clogged up cloaca.
Finally, it is important to watch out for social concerns, such as the
smallest chick getting badgered. Vacant nest disorder So your
chicks are currently fully feathery
and also its time for them to leave the
safety of your home
and relocate outside right into a
coop. Have a look at our
area on chicken coops for more information
concerning coops and
appropriate coop habitats.
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