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
Diet in
Wayland, Massachusetts
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Wayland Massachusetts,
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. Wayland
Massachusetts also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Wayland Massachusetts, 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 Wayland MA.
Baby
Chicks Order in
Wayland, Massachusetts
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Wayland Massachusetts
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
Wayland Massachusetts * 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 Wayland
Massachusetts * 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 Names in
Wayland, Massachusetts
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
Wayland Massachusetts 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 Wayland,
Massachusetts Baby chicks are very
cute and
hard to stand up to,
but it's finest to prepare for their
arrival prior to you get them. Prepare initially
by gathering not only the
correct products, yet
also the correct
knowledge to take care of
them. Raising baby chicks is relatively
straightforward, you merely should provide them with the following: A
clean and warm
habitat Plenty of food and also water Interest as well as
love Environment Your habitat can be an easy box, aquarium,
pet cat service provider, or guinea
pig cage. Line it with old towels and also
coverings (without loose
strings!) to begin, and after a few weeks make use of straw over paper.
Note: Avoid making use of just
paper or various other sandal
surfaces-- or your chicks legs could expand
misshapen. You also require
something to dish out food and
water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water
dish from the feed store, or a pickle container
lid for food and also a family
pet bird water dispenser from an animal shop. Also, as the chicks grow older you could introduce a perch
right into the environment to get them
trained on setting down. Heat To
keep your chicks warm you need to
supply them with a heat resource.
This could be as easy as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp from a
hardware shop, or an infrared reptile warmth
light bulb also function very
well (my
recommendation). Chicks need this
heat 24/7 up until their downy fluff is
changed with plumes (which could occupy to 2 months). The newly
hatched require a temperature level
in between 90 and 100 levels,
and also weekly this can
be decreased by
about 5 levels approximately. The warmth source should get on just one side of the cage
to enable chicks a variety of
temperature levels. The chicks are your finest
thermometer- if they are concealing in the
opposite corner of your warmth
light, you have to
decrease the temperature. If
they are surrounding each other under the
warmth (not just cuddling),
you should add some warmth.
Housekeeping
Tidiness is crucial as
well as it maintains your chicks healthy and
balanced. Be sure to change
the bedding
commonly and also
constantly supply clean
food and water Food and water.
Chicks grow extremely quickly
which calls for lots of clean
food and also water. Give
sufficient at all times and examine
commonly to prevent parched and also
hungry chicks. Chick food is various than adult chicken food, as well as it is available in both medicated and non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
very first 2 months, then
switch over to a raiser food (~ 17 %
protein) for an additional 2 months,
and afterwards to a somewhat
reduced protein feed or a level feed
(if you have levels). Soil Some chicks want
to get a head start on taking
dust bathrooms, while others will not use up that activity till they are
older. If you have the room in your chick
enclosure, present a tray of sand or
dirt for them to wash in.
Attention and love There are a
few advantages to spending time with your chicks. Firstly, they will most
likely bond with you and also
not flee as grownups. Second, if you
analyze your chicks daily and
enjoy their actions, you could
catch disease or other problems earlier. Watch out for hissing, limping, or
other undesirable
signs. Make certain to
likewise take a look at
their poop, as diarrhea can bring about matted feathers and also blocked cloaca.
Lastly, it is important to watch out for social issues, such as the
tiniest chick obtaining badgered. Empty nest syndrome So your
chicks are currently totally feathered
and its time for them to leave the
security of your residence
and also relocate outside right into a
coop. Check out our
part on chicken coops for more information
concerning cages and also
appropriate cage environments.
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