Life with Barred Rocks | Chickens with Personality
Last winter I read Joel Salatin’s . A great, very educational book about the benefits of keeping chickens in mobile coops rather than stationary coops (which I intend to get us closer towards). This book is set up for those who are looking specifically to go into the pastured poultry business, but I gleaned a lot of useful tips for us to use. After reading it and reading yet again about mass market chicken recalls, I conjured up a great plan. We would get new chicks every two years and the older chickens, who’ve made it past their egg laying prime, would become, well, soup. That would solve two problems. It would keep us well in eggs every year and we could have a safe and healthy meat harvest every two years. As with many great plans of mine, it looked great on paper and hasn’t really worked out so well in reality.
After having ‘taken care of’ three sick chickens in the past few months, Scott wasn’t nearly as eager to ‘harvest’ six extra birds. ‘They still will lay pretty well their third year, won’t they?’ What can I say? We aren’t eager animal harvesters. In fact it weighs us down quite a bit to bring death to a chicken, but we do it when we have to. It’s just a reality you have to face as a chicken owner.
The birds that ideally we’d like to harvest are pretty bland on personality. We gave up long ago naming our chickens and this batch didn’t really call out to be named. This mix of Rhode Island Reds and Golden Sexlinks have always been rather stand-off-ish and have left us feeling pretty neutral about them. But, they’ve been fantastic egg layers.
So while we haven’t yet followed the first part of my plan, we did follow through on the second part. Which was to acquire new chicks. We brought home and they are really messing with my plan! These chickens have so much personality that we’ve all grown incredibly fond of them. Whenever we come outside they run towards us and follow us around like puppies. They keep us laughing with how curious they are about everything. Hopping up into trees and onto trellises. How would we ever turn these girls into soup?
Well, I’ll keep you updated you as my chicken plan progresses.
Do you have any chicken breeds that are your favorite?
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Baby Chicks Supplies in
Hopeton, Oklahoma
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Hopeton Oklahoma,
including Sussex Chickens, Welsummer Chickens, Turken Chickens and more.
Be sure to check out the Bargain Specials, as you can combine different
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Baby Chicks Food in
Hopeton, Oklahoma
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Hopeton Oklahoma
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
Hopeton Oklahoma * 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 Hopeton
Oklahoma * 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 Eggs For Sale in
Hopeton, Oklahoma
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
Hopeton Oklahoma 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 Hopeton,
Oklahoma Baby chicks are very
adorable and
hard to withstand,
yet it's ideal to plan for their
arrival before you get them. Prepare initially
by collecting not only the
right products, yet
likewise the appropriate
expertise to look after
them. Raising baby chicks is fairly
basic, you merely have to give them with the following: A
clean and warm and comfortable
environment Plenty of food as well
as water Focus and also
love Habitat Your environment can be an easy box, aquarium,
feline carrier, or guinea
pig cage. Line it with old towels and also
coverings (without loosened
strings!) to start, as well as after a few weeks utilize straw over paper.
Keep in mind: Avoid using just
paper or other slipper
surfaces-- or your chicks legs can grow
misshapen. You additionally require
something to dish out food and
water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water
meal from the feed store, or a pickle jar
cover for food and also an animal bird water dispenser from a pet store. Likewise, as the chicks age you could introduce a perch
into the habitat to get them
educated on perching. Warmth To
maintain your chicks warm you have to
supply them with a warmth source.
This can 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 likewise function very
well (my
recommendation). Chicks need this
warmth 24/7 until their downy fluff is
replaced with plumes (which can use
up to two months). The newly
hatched require a temperature
in between 90 and 100 degrees,
and weekly this could
be minimized by
around 5 degrees approximately. The warmth resource should get on simply one side of the cage
to enable chicks an array of
temperature levels. The chicks are your best
thermostat- if they are concealing in the
contrary edge of your heat
lamp, you need to
reduce the temperature. If
they are surrounding each other under the
warmth (not simply cuddling),
you have to put some warmth.
Housekeeping
Sanitation is essential as
well as it maintains your chicks healthy. Make sure to transform
the bed linen
commonly as well as
constantly supply tidy
food as well as water Food and also water.
Chicks grow quite quickly
which calls for lots of tidy
food as well as water. Supply
enough at all times and also examine
frequently to
stop parched and also
starving chicks. Chick food is different than adult chicken food, and also it is available in both medicated and
also non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
very first two months, after that
switch to a grower food (~ 17 %
protein) for one more 2 months,
and after that to a slightly
reduced protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have layers). Dirt Some chicks like to get a head start on taking
dust baths, while others will not use up that task till they are
older. If you have the space in your chick
room, introduce a tray of sand or
dust for them to shower in.
Focus and love There are a
few advantages to hanging
out with your chicks. To start
with, they will certainly more than likely bond with you and
not run away as adults. Second, if you
analyze your chicks daily and also
watch their behavior, you can
capture health problem or other problems previously. Keep an
eye out for wheezing, hopping, or
various other harmful
indications. Make sure to
additionally take a look at
their poop, as diarrhea could result in matted plumes and also clogged up cloaca.
Lastly, it is necessary to keep an eye out for social problems, such as the
tiniest chick obtaining picked
on. Vacant nest syndrome So your
chicks are currently fully feathery
and also its time for them to leave the
safety and security of your residence
as well as relocate outside right into a cage. Have a look at our
area on chicken cages to get more information
concerning coops and
correct cage habitats.
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