The baby chickens are here! Last Thursday we received a new batch of baby chickens. The order from My Pet Chicken, , was delivered to my door step via overnight mail. Inside the box were 5 chirping little baby chickens consisted of 2 Easter eggers, 1 Welsummer, 1 Dominique, and 1 Australorp. The babies will be living in a brooder (large plastic container with a heat lamp, chick feed, and water) insider our house for the next 4 weeks or until they have their adult feathers. We will be recording their development so keep checking out the Chicken Chronicles.
Two years ago we decided to get our own flock of backyard chickens for fresh eggs. We had been buying fresh eggs at our local seasonal farmers market, but from October to May when the farmers market was closed, we couldn’t get fresh eggs. I did some research about our local city ordinances pertaining to chickens and found out we could have chickens, but no roosters. So I started looking around for how to raise chickens, and where to get chickens and found Backyard Chickens, , and My Pet Chicken, . Backyard Chickens is a fantastic forum on everything you will ever need to know about caring for your chickens. My Pet Chicken is a wonderful place to order chickens. They have an excellent bird profile that helps you select birds for your part of the country, color of eggs, personality of the birds, gender selection, and you can order as few as three birds for shipment.
Backyard chickens use to be common. Less than fifty years ago, everyone had backyard chickens. Both my parents and my husband’s parents grew up with chickens. Nowadays, backyard chickens are a rare and sometime illegal occurrence. We are fortunate enough to live in a city where backyard chickens are legal, but no roosters. Granted, the neighbors dog is louder and more obnoxious than any rooster I have ever met.
So why did the backyard chicken disappear? The industrialization of farming lead to the low cost, mass production of factory farmed chickens and eggs. This movement toward industrialized food not only separated us from the source of our food, it also stripped us of our knowledge for raising and keeping backyard chickens. Yes, it’s much easier to go to the big box store to buy 99 cent eggs. But 99 cent eggs come at a much larger price, not only at the expense of our health, but also the welfare of our local farmers.
Now let me dispel some rumors about chickens. Rumor 1)They smell. Like any animal, if you don’t care for them and don’t clean up after them they will smell. Our girls have free range of our backyard and I clean their coop every five days. They do NOT smell. Rumor 2) Chickens are loud. If you have a rooster, yep they can be pretty loud, but hens are not loud. They will announce to the world when they lay an egg, or when they are crabby (usually hungry or getting ready to lay an egg). Our next door neighbors know we have chickens, but two houses down or across the street people don’t even know that we have chickens. Rumor 3) You need a rooster to get eggs. False, hens will happily lay unfertilized eggs as long as they get proper nutrition and 12 to 14 hours of sunlight. Rumor 4) Chickens lay only extra large white eggs. Hens lay eggs in a variety of colors from chocolate brown to pale blue and can vary in size. Rumor 5) Chickens can fly out of your backyard. Possibly, but they don’t really fly. They sort of jump and flap which can get them about 3 feet off the ground. Large birds, like our Welsummer can’t fly, but our little Cochin bantam, can jump over our 3 foot garden fence when on the hunt for tasty arugula.
Now that you know the truth about backyard chickens, consider raising up your own flock of hens. They are low maintenance, produce wonderful free fertilizer, will bring you hours of entertainment, and most importantly they can make you the most healthy and delicious eggs you’ve ever had for breakfast.
Baby Chicks Supplies in
East Parsonfield, Maine
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in East Parsonfield Maine,
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. East Parsonfield
Maine also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
East Parsonfield Maine, 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 East Parsonfield ME.
Baby Chickens By Mail in
East Parsonfield, Maine
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in East Parsonfield Maine
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
East Parsonfield Maine * 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 East Parsonfield
Maine * 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 Incubator in
East Parsonfield, Maine
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
East Parsonfield Maine 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 East Parsonfield,
Maine Baby chicks are extremely
cute as well as
tough to resist,
however it's best to prepare for their
arrival before you obtain them. Prepare first
by gathering not only the
correct materials, yet
also the proper
knowledge to care for
them. Raising baby chicks is fairly
basic, you merely should give them with the following: A tidy and cozy
habitat A lot of food and water Interest as well as
love Environment Your habitat could be a basic box, fish tank,
cat provider, or guinea
porker cage. Line it with old towels and
blankets (with no loosened
strings!) to start, and after a few weeks utilize straw over paper.
Note: Avoid using just
newspaper or various other sandal
surface areas-- or your chicks legs could expand
misshapen. You also need
something to provide food and also
water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water
meal from the feed shop, or a pickle jar
lid for food and also a pet dog bird water dispenser from an animal store. Also, as the chicks age you can introduce a perch
into the habitat to get them
trained on perching. Heat To
keep your chicks heat you should
give them with a warmth resource.
This could be as basic as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp design light from an equipment store, or an infrared reptile warmth
bulb also function effectively (my
suggestion). Chicks need this
heat 24/7 till their downy fluff is
changed with plumes (which could take up to two months). The freshly
hatched require a temperature level
between 90 and also 100 levels,
and each week this could
be reduced by
approximately 5 degrees approximately. The heat source ought
to be on just one side of the cage
to enable chicks a variety of
temperature levels. The chicks are your finest
thermostat- if they are hiding in the
opposite edge of your warmth
lamp, you need to
decrease the temperature level. If
they are surrounding each various other under the
heat (not merely curling up),
you have to include some heat.
House cleaning
Sanitation is essential as
well as it keeps your chicks healthy. Be sure to change
the bed linen
typically and
constantly give tidy
food and water Food and also water.
Chicks grow quite fast
which requires a lot of clean
food and also water. Give
enough in any way times and also examine
commonly to
stop thirsty as well as
hungry chicks. Chick food is various than adult chicken food, and also it can be found in both medicated and
also non-medicated ranges. Feed chick food for the
initial 2 months, then
change to a grower food (~ 17 %
protein) for an additional 2 months,
and after that to a somewhat
lower protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have layers). Soil Some chicks prefer to get a head start on taking
dirt baths, while others won't occupy that activity until they are
older. If you have the room in your chick
room, introduce a tray of sand or
dirt for them to shower in.
Focus as well as love There are a couple of advantages to spending quality time with your chicks. To start
with, they will certainly more than likely bond with you and also
not run away as adults. Second, if you
analyze your chicks daily as well as
view their habits, you could
capture ailment or various
other troubles earlier. Watch out for wheezing, limping, or
various other undesirable
signs. Make sure to
likewise take a look at
their poop, as looseness of the bowels could bring about matted feathers and stopped up cloaca.
Last but not least, it is necessary to look out
for social concerns, such as the
littlest chick obtaining teased. Vacant nest disorder So your
chicks are now fully feathered
as well as its time for them to leave the
safety of your house
and relocate outside right into a cage. Have a look at our
section on chicken coops to find out
more
about coops and
correct coop environments.
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