Baby Chickens for Sale in West Chatham, Massachusetts
Baby Chickens for Sale in West Chatham, Massachusetts
Baby chicks…what were we thinking
Early Sunday morning the post office called me and told me our chicks had arrived. Yup, you read that right. I did say Sunday. I’ve never gotten mail on a Sunday before. So Lee and I sprinted out of bed and rushed over to the post office. While we were waiting, we could hear little chicks scream peeping through the post office walls.
We drove carefully home with the heater going full blast hoping to warm the little guys up. They didn’t care and continued their scream peeping.
Only thing is, we weren’t prepared at all for the chicks. Yeah, I knew they were supposed to come sometime this week. Technically McMurray did list Sunday in the range of dates they might come, but who thinks of mail on a Sunday? So while the chicks were waiting in their box, we erected a high walled cardboard box pen on top of some scaffolding (so our cats couldn’t James Bond their way in). I got the chick feeders bleached out and ready. We searched like crazy until we found the chick heater light. I scrounged up some paper to line the chick pen floor and TaDa…we were in business.
My Hand Of Terror started the process of dipping their beaks into the water before they were released to roam their new fancy box home.
“Whoa! What just happened to me?”
All of the chicks figured out the water and chick feed pretty fast but we soon discovered three problems. One chick had a little bloody scrape by its beak that the others would peck, our scratch corn was mostly too large, and they wouldn’t stop scream peeping. That is when we realized the light we had wasn’t a red heat light. Two years ago when we had our first batch of chicks their 250W infrared light burned out before it should have and we brought it back to the store and exchanged it for a 125W white heat light. It didn’t put out as much heat, but it didn’t matter as those chicks were older at the time. Getting a red heat light would solve the chick pecking problems too. So off we rushed to the only farm store still open.
Once we got the new heat light screwed in it was amazing how fast they all settled in.
On Monday we went to our local farm store and got some chick corn. We had wanted to feed only corn for the first two days, as recommends it to help avoid paste butt problems. Since our chicks only had chick starter and their journey was a little rough we ended up getting quite a bit of pasty bottoms on them. The problem has mostly resolved itself by now but a couple of the chicks view my hand as The Hand Of Doom And Butt Rubbing Agony.
Yesterday as we were watching all the chicks do their chick business we both were thinking, “Oh my goodness, what did we do!” There are just so many of them. I’ve counted multiple times and I keep coming up with 27 chicks. I think we were given two free chicks by the hatchery. Either that or I can’t count. If there are no fatalities we are going to have 36 chickens on our place. EEEEEKS!
Most of the chicks we got were straight runs, so we are finally going to have some roosters on our place. What this means is we are going to have to cull some of our old hens and some of the new roosters when they get older. That should be an interesting experience when the time comes.
So…what breeds did I get and why? I decided to go for some smaller breeds this time. Our original chickens are of the egg and meat homestead combo sort. It seemed like a good choice at the time. The thing is, we never ate any of our chickens. We have been using them for their eggs only. Since bigger chickens eat more it would make sense for us to get smaller chickens as they will cost us less in feed. I also wanted chickens that could forage well. So I ended up getting 14 .
Since the Lakenvelders lay white eggs (and white eggs are boring) I got 8 . They aren’t as small as the Lakenvelders, but they are lighter then our current fatty pants Barred Rocks.
Just for fun (I couldn’t help myself) I got two female chicks. They are light in weight, but unfortunately they also lay boring white eggs. They are going to have big poofy bouffant heads and aren’t really foragers (probably because they can’t see anything).
I didn’t want the two Golden Polish chickens to get lonely so I got one female . The Cochin is meant to be my setter for the other birds as they are all basically non-setters. She will lay brown eggs.
Baby Chickens Raising in West Chatham, Massachusetts
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in West Chatham 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. West Chatham Massachusetts also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in West Chatham 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 West Chatham MA.Baby Chicks Breeds in West Chatham, Massachusetts
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in West Chatham 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
West Chatham 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 West Chatham
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 Sale in West Chatham, 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 West Chatham 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 West Chatham, Massachusetts Baby chicks are quite adorable as well as difficult to withstand, but it's ideal to plan for their arrival before you get them. Prepare initially by collecting not just the proper materials, however also the correct knowledge to take care of them. Raising baby chicks is relatively easy, you just need to provide them with the following: A tidy and also cozy habitat A lot of food and water Interest and love Environment Your habitat can be a simple box, aquarium, pet cat service provider, or guinea porker cage. Line it with old towels and also coverings (without loose strings!) to start, as well as after a couple of weeks utilize straw over newspaper. Keep in mind: Avoid making use of only newspaper or other sandal surfaces-- or your chicks legs could expand malformed. You additionally require something to provide food and also water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water dish from the feed shop, or a pickle jar lid for food and also a family pet bird water dispenser from a pet store. Additionally, as the chicks grow older you can present a perch into the habitat to get them educated on perching. Heat To maintain your chicks warm you need to provide them with a warmth source. This can be as easy as a 100 watt light bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp from an equipment shop, or an infrared reptile heat light bulb also function very well (my recommendation). Chicks require this heat 24/7 up until their downy fluff is replaced with feathers (which could take up to 2 months). The freshly hatched out need a temperature level between 90 and also 100 degrees, as well as each week this can be decreased by approximately 5 degrees approximately. The warmth resource ought to get on simply one side of the cage to permit chicks an array of temperatures. The chicks are your ideal thermostat- if they are hiding in the opposite edge of your heat lamp, you need to lower the temperature. If they are surrounding each other under the warmth (not merely cuddling), you have to add some heat. House cleaning Sanitation is key and also it keeps your chicks healthy and balanced. Be sure to transform the bed linen commonly and consistently offer clean food and also water Food and also water. Chicks expand quite fast which calls for plenty of clean food and also water. Give sufficient at all times and examine usually to stop thirsty and also hungry chicks. Chick food is different compared to adult chicken food, as well as it comes in both medicated as well as non-medicated selections. Feed chick food for the initial 2 months, then switch to a grower food (~ 17 % protein) for one more 2 months, and then to a somewhat reduced protein feed or a layer feed (if you have layers). Soil Some chicks prefer to obtain a running start on taking filth baths, while others will not use up that activity till they are older. If you have the room in your chick room, introduce a tray of sand or dust for them to wash in. Attention as well as love There are a couple of benefits to hanging out with your chicks. First off, they will more than likely bond with you as well as not run away as adults. Second, if you examine your chicks daily and also watch their behavior, you could capture disease or various other troubles earlier. Keep an eye out for wheezing, hopping, or various other harmful signs. Make certain to likewise look at their poop, as diarrhea can result in matted feathers as well as blocked cloaca. Finally, it is very important to look out for social problems, such as the tiniest chick getting picked on. Vacant nest syndrome So your chicks are now totally feathery and also its time for them to leave the safety of your residence and relocate outside into a coop. Look into our section on chicken coops to find out more concerning cages as well as correct cage environments.Baby Chicks Baby Chickens Baby Chickens For Sale Near Me
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