Hey folks! Even though we had backyard
chickens before (briefly) and learned quite a bit before and while we
had them, I figured we would still learn a lot more about chickens
going into it this time too. I had no idea! We've been learning a lot
of things the worst kind of way lately: the hard way. So today, I
would like to share some of our shenanigans with you in hopes to help
you out in the future if you're thinking about getting chickens of
your own!
The biggest one that is flashing in my
head right now? GET MORE BIRDS THAN YOU THINK YOU WANT OR NEED! I
know this might seem counter-intuitive, but hear me out. First of all,
even if you are purchasing pullets (that's a fancy word for female
baby/teenager chickens), you still run the slight chance of having a
rooster and even more so if you purchase “straight run” chicks.
(That means they are not sexed and you get what you get.) Some people
like roosters, others don't. But just know that YOU DO NOT NEED A
ROOSTER FOR YOUR HENS TO LAY EGGS. To cut to the chase, if you don't
want roosters, you might consider buying an extra bird or two just in
case one of them needs to go to “freezer camp” early.
You might also consider getting more
than you want or need because, well, shit happens. Our first casualty
was one of our Easter eggers who got splayed legs (not uncommon in
chicks, but sometimes fixable) and also stopped eating and drinking.
It passed away less than two days after we got it.
This past week has been nuts as far as
chickens kicking the bucket go. One of our Silver-laced Wyandottes
just disappeared Monday. John thinks a hawk or falcon may have
gotten it. I went out to let the girls out this morning and check
things out and discovered both of our new Silver-laced Wyandottes had
passed away in the night as well as our new Silver Hamburg. John
thinks the first two just stopped eating for whatever reason and the
Hamburg looked like it had gotten squashed by the others. :(
We have bought chicks 4 times this
spring. FOUR. How ridiculous is that? We bought 10 originally, one
died, one got picked off. Then we decided to get two Brahmas and a
replacement Easter egger...Then a Silver Hamburg and two Silky
bantams, just because...Then another Silver Hamburg so the first one
would have a friend, two Silver-laced Wyandottes to make up for the
ONE that got picked off, and two Easter eggers, just because they are
fun and pretty and because we can! 3 of the last 5 are the ones that
died last night, so we are at a grand total of 16. Now, am I telling
you you should go as overboard as we have? No. But I still recommend
buying some extras, the amount dependent on how many you are wanting
originally.
Other than buying extras, what else
have we learned? I learned that when in doubt, turn the heat lamp on
for the little chickies. It could just be coincidence, but I thought
it would be ok last night temperature-wise and like I said, one of
the Hamburgs looked like he got squashed. I can't help but think
maybe he was on the bottom of the pile of them trying to huddle
together for warmth! :/
Don't try to separate chicks that you
brought home together. We tried to do this with our Brahmas and their
Easter egger friend and they all basically went into panic mode. We
were wanting to put the Brahmas with the big chickens because they
are going to be huge and were already too big for the “baby area”,
but alas, they wanted their little buddy with them, so now they all
get to free range with the big girls already, as much as I don't like
it.
Chickens will attack (and eat) lizards
and snakes. In fact, I just watched my older girls gang up on a small
snake in our own yard the other day. Don't believe me? Look it up on
YouTube. I loathe snakes and it was the most awesome thing ever to
watch. Lol
Many breeds of chickens are good with
kids. And those that are skittish (at least ours) will at least
tolerate them. Our friendly Buff Orpington, Bertha, let Myka pick her
up the other day and it was just about the cutest thing ever!
Even if you let your chickens free
range during the day, they still eat an absurd amount of feed. We
just bought a 50 pound bag Wednesday. I am writing this on a Sunday
night and they are damn near through half the bag already. O.o But,
there are 11 of them eating from it now. (The little babies still get
special baby chick feed.)
I'm sure there are some things I'm
forgetting and there are certainly other things I could include, but
I think I'll stop there. If you're reading this and considering
chickens I don't want to overwhelm you. ;)
Do you have backyard chickens? What
did you learn about them that surprised you most?
No comments:
Post a Comment