We have had chickens for the last 5-6 years, and they have been enjoyable little workers for our tiny homestead. Awhile ago I was one of the Trustees for our large plot subdivision, that prohibits having chickens. My wife wanted chickens, and she ignored my dislike of the idea, and spoke with the other Trustees. She was asking for a variance to the subdivision rules, and followed their direction getting signatures from a portion of the other homeowners. Once complete, then they had other hoops for her to jump through just to get a vote to change the rules. What??? She just wanted a variance, not to change the rules, or to jump through more hoops to be told no. She asked what would happen if she just got them, and they replied they would sue (with a grin on his face, because he know there were much bigger fish to fry than a pretty girl’s chickens).
So, now we had to build a coop. The coop measured about 8 foot by 4 foot, and about 5 foot high at the top of the angled roof. The floor of the coop is layered with wood shavings and a nesting box provides access into the coop to grab the eggs. My wife built a run measuring 8 foot by 20, out of regular lumber and covered it with chicken wire. The chickens were ordered in a group of 25 baby hens, and she raised them, then found a new home for half of them, as she originally only wanted about a dozen birds.
The birds are allowed to free range throughout the day, and they find their way back into the coop as the sun is setting. We will go out in the evening to close the run and the coop, and open it all up the next morning. A couple of times, the run gets closed before they retire for the night, and we have had to hunt them down roosting in trees and behind bushes in the middle of the night. There is chicken feed to supplement the food they can find free ranging. Their egg production for the first few years was great, we would net about 8 eggs every day. We could had more if we ran a light 16 hours a day in the coop. Now that the remainder of those chickens are older, egg production has dwindled to almost none. She has a couple of new batches of hens (and a rooster, hope the neighbors aren’t too annoyed) that she has raised since May.
The chickens help the yard by scratching around looking for bugs. They are entertaining to watch how they interact with each other and handle their “pecking order”. One bit of advice though, don’t let your wife name them after her aunts, because it is difficult to tell the family that a stray dog, or another predator has killed the chicken named after them. The chickens we have are basically pets that luckily have a small production quality, rather than just being consumers. We have considered getting birds to raise for meat, but we are not ready for handling the day the culling would happen just yet, although the quality of meat would be far superior to what the grocery stores offer.
We also realized how little is known about chicken reproduction. We have been asked numerous time about why we get eggs when we (at the time) did not have a rooster. We also were surprised when someone couldn’t believe we would eat brown eggs that came out of a chicken’s butt. So I asked where the white eggs she buys at the store come from (and watched a blank stare of realization happening). The eggs are very fresh and look much richer than eggs bought from the store, and likely they are a month or two fresher.
If you have some space and the desire to raise chickens, they will be an asset to your little homestead too. Please feel free to comment with your questions or tell us about your flock.
SP
Baby Chickens Habitat in
Bayonne, New Jersey
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Bayonne New Jersey,
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. Bayonne
New Jersey also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Bayonne New Jersey, 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 Bayonne NJ.
Baby Chickens As Pets in
Bayonne, New Jersey
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Bayonne New Jersey
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
Bayonne New Jersey * 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 Bayonne
New Jersey * 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 House in
Bayonne, New Jersey
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
Bayonne New Jersey 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 Bayonne,
New Jersey Baby chicks are very
adorable and also
challenging to withstand,
however it's best to prepare for their
arrival prior to you obtain them. Prepare initially
by gathering not only the
correct products, yet
additionally the appropriate
knowledge to look after
them. Raising baby chicks is relatively
basic, you just have to provide them with the following: A tidy and warm
habitat Lots of food and water Focus and also
love Environment Your environment can be an easy box, fish tank,
pet cat provider, or guinea
porker cage. Line it with old towels and also
blankets (with no loosened
strings!) to start, as well as after a
couple of weeks make use of straw over paper.
Note: Avoid utilizing only
paper or various other slipper
surfaces-- or your chicks legs could expand
misshapen. You additionally require
something to provide food and also
water in, such as a chicken feeder and water
dish from the feed store, or a pickle container
lid for food and also a pet bird water dispenser from a
pet dog store. Additionally, as the chicks grow older you can present a perch
right into the environment to get them
trained on perching. Heat To
maintain your chicks warm you have to
supply them with a heat resource.
This could be as basic as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp from a
hardware store, or an infrared reptile heat
light bulb also function very
well (my
recommendation). Chicks need this
heat 24/7 till their downy fluff is
changed with feathers (which could occupy to 2 months). The freshly
hatched out require a temperature
in between 90 and also 100 levels,
as well as weekly this can
be decreased by
roughly 5 levels or
so. The heat resource ought
to be on simply one side of the cage
to permit chicks a variety of
temperature levels. The chicks are your ideal
thermometer- if they are hiding in the
other edge of your warmth
light, you need to
lower the temperature. If
they are surrounding each various other under the
heat (not merely snuggling),
you should add some heat.
House cleaning
Sanitation is vital as
well as it keeps your chicks healthy and
balanced. Make sure to alter
the bed linens
usually as well as
always give tidy
food as well as water Food and water.
Chicks expand really quick
which calls for plenty of clean
food as well as water. Offer
sufficient at all times and examine
usually to avoid dehydrated and also
hungry chicks. Chick food is various compared
to adult chicken food, as well as it can be found in both medicated as well as non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
first two months, then
change to a raiser food (~ 17 %
healthy protein) for another 2 months,
and afterwards to a slightly
reduced protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have levels). Soil Some chicks want
to obtain a running start on taking
filth baths, while others will not occupy that activity till they are
older. If you have the room in your chick
room, present a tray of sand or
filth for them to bathe in.
Interest as well as love There are a
few advantages to spending quality time with your chicks. First off, they will certainly most
likely bond with you and
not run away as grownups. Second, if you
examine your chicks daily and also
see their actions, you can
catch ailment or various
other problems previously. Keep an
eye out for hissing, hopping, or
various other harmful
indicators. Make sure to
also check out
their poop, as diarrhea could lead
to matted feathers and clogged up cloaca.
Lastly, it is necessary to keep an eye out for social problems, such as the
smallest chick obtaining badgered. Vacant nest disorder So your
chicks are currently totally feathered
as well as its time for them to leave the
security of your residence
and also relocate outside into a cage. Look into our
area on chicken cages to get more information
about cages as well as
appropriate coop environments.
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