Any chicken people?

[parrotqueen]

Any chicken owners here? I am happy to announce that I'm getting chickens soon!

I was just curious if anyone had any tips that I should know, like the important things that most people don't know? I want to make sure that I give these little girls the greatest life a chicken could ask for. Help is greatly appreciated.

 

[KJS]

I've had chickens in the past.....they were beautiful, smart, and affectionate. I started because I saved a rooster from a dog attack and tended to his wounds. He used to dance to me across the yard and would follow me around, letting me pet and feed him. I then got my two kids each a chick (female) for Easter that year so he would have companionship......I ended up with 13 chicks......all of which had names and were very friendly. I always fed all lay mash, any left over or older fruits and veggies, breads, and they ate any bugs that appealed to them (kept them out of the house!!)......of course fresh water. The eggs were the best..........nice golden yolks that had a rich flavor. Mine were very easy keepers and lived about 8-10 yrs (a few were taken by hawks). Have fun and good luck!!

 

[parrotqueen]

Thanks for the sweet comment. I'll make sure that my coop is nice and safe, away from hawks. I live further in the city nowadays, so they aren't quite as much of a problem anymore. Having fresh eggs will be so nice.

 

[westwood]

I always buy from Murry Mc Murry hatchery and get a great meat and egg combo.
Do a google and have fun .
Make sure your coop is Safe from all critters even rats .
Kill a chicken fast with rat poop .
Drag in in the house on your shoes and you have a chance of hurting your parrots ,
I have seen the rat infested coop not too long ago all the chickens where sick.
Raccoons and weasels as well as possums eat chickens so Make the coop safe and send me some eggs when you get them laying .

PS was not my coop i am in the city now so pouts i miss my chickens

 

[parrotqueen]

Thanks for the info, I live further in the city now; so rats might become a problem. I'll see what I can do.

I wanted to get chickens off of the internet, but the smallest order of chicks that I've seen is five. If anybody else here is interested in ordering chicks off of the internet as well, I would recommend a WONDERFUL website called Mypetchicken.com. Great stuff!

If anybody has seen a smaller order of chicks, please tell me.

 

[parrotqueen]

I found a smaller shipping size for chicks today! As it turns out, Mypetchicken.com actually can ship as few as three chicks. The five chick minimum only applies for bantams (with good reasoning).

 

[KJS]

I guess my whole experience was drastically different.........at the time I lived on an acre, had horses, donkeys, a goat, birds, dogs, lizards, rats (pet kind!!), and chickens. The chickens had the run of the yard and went into the "coop" (off the ground, opened on side, chicken wired with a few rungs, and a roof) whenever they felt like it or when they roosted. I never saw or worried about wild rats.....but, like I said before, I worried about hawks. I also bought my first two chicks at the feed store where I bought my hay.

 

[parrotqueen]

Anybody here ever heard of chicken diapers? Interesting idea, but at my favorite website they are a whopping 22 bucks! I found some at "mother goose's" website that are $9.00, much better.

I don't know how they work, though. If somebody could give me more inormation on these, that'd be great!

 

[westwood]

lol are those for catching eggs ?
Chicken poop would UM Never mind LOL

Tammy

 

[shrek&fiona]

Good luck with this increase in the diversity of your flock. You have not really said what type of chickens you are looking for or what you would like these birds to do for you. Are they going to be pets, working pets (layers) or other...? Chickens like Parrots come in a lot of different variety's with some very beautiful colour and plumage combinations. A visit to any local/state fair or exhibition would provide you with the opportunity to see some of these birds and maybe talk with some of the owners and breeders to see which breed would work well in your situation. With the time of year it may be easier to start your research on the internet.
Here are a couple of quick links that I have found for you. The second one is a great list with some quick facts and pics of about one hundred different types of chickens. Just click on the pics for more detail on any of the breeds

Which Backyard Chickens Breeds Are Excellent Small Farm Keepers
Chicken Breeds Chart - Back Yard Chickens

Good Luck.

 

[HRH Di]

My chicken experience is more like KJS - my grandfather had a farm when I was growing up. I didn't eat chicken or eggs from a grocery store until I was in high school. I remember when the boxes of baby chicks came in. All of the cheeping, the floor of the room they were in was like a miniature yellow colored sea in constant motion, and the warm musty smell.

My husband and I harbor a dream of having a little bit of land - 10 acres or more - someday. We've thought about the kind of livestock - if any we want. Chickens were pretty high on the list. I want something kind of exotic and colorful.

 

[parrotqueen]

I'm thinking of getting a good layer, but I'm going to love them like family pets anyway. I'm thinking about Australorps, Plymouth rocks (gotta love that face!), Sussex, or two/three of those beautiful Wyandottes. Top three favorites listed first to last would have to be Plymouth Rocks in first, Wyandottes in second, and Australorps in third.

At that website I keep rambling on about, they have a breed selection tool. I said that I wanted an excellent layer and a docile personality, these birds are just my favorites of the results.

And thank you for those links, S&F!


"I want something kind of exotic and colorful."

Well HRH, you'll definitely find that when looking at the many chicken breeds. I sure was suprised!

 

[parrotqueen]

Okay so, my favorite of the chosen breeds so far is the beautiful Plymouth Rock. Could anybody tell me any potential problems with that breed?

I've also fallen in love with the Wyandotte.

 

[parrotqueen]

Well everyone, I got chickens today!

I got 4 Buff Wyandotte chicks. They're all adorable. I've only had them for about 20-30 minutes, and they're already following me around!

I have a good feeling that they will fit right in with the other birds.

 

[KJS]

Congratulations!!!! You will find them to be smart, affectionate, and a joy to have!! They're pretty good at watching over their territory too.

 

[Quantumcat]

My family had chooks for about five years while I was in high school, about a dozen. The first lot got taken by a fox, so we got more and got two alpacas as well, and improved the chook house. Then the second lot got taken and they didn't want to get anymore. I don't blame them, I was the one who heard the distressed screeching in the middle of the night and found only four chooks scattered around the paddock, lying on their sides, unable to move, and trembling. Mum had to put them out of their misery as dad was out of town on business.

It was particularly sad for me, the big fat rooster was my pet, he followed me everywhere when I went in the paddock, and would climb onto my knee if I sat down to eat sunflower seeds from my hand. He was the sub-rooster, as my dad accidentally got two roosters instead of one. I nursed him through his injuries after the giant rooster fight. He was called Bob. I never found his body :-(

 

[parrotqueen]

What a sad story, I'm very sorry about your loss. Darn fox!

I bet it was really fun having Bob around, I enjoy how my chickens follow me too. May I ask, do you remember what breed Bob was? Just curious.

 

[Mel]

What a sad story. Chickens actually started my passion for birds. When my son started school they had an incubater with eggs in and watched chicks hatching. The company gave the chicks away to anyone who wanted them so we took 4.

We had them for about 5 years, they were like little old women and shared the yard with our 2 great danes, they often came inside when the back door was open. Unfortunately when we got our Husky he thought it was great to chase them so we built an large enclosure around the coop & all was well.

Each year my husbadn and I go away for a week to the Moto GP. One year my Mum couldn't housesit to we had a friend do it, she unfortunately left the gate open and the husky killed one of the hens. I was devastated. He would then sit at the gate trying to work out how to get it. I was really paranoid he would so gave them to a friend.

I really missed not having birds about so got cooper... and the rest is history

 

[Ratzy]

We have had chickens since I was five. We had silkies first, then a mixture. I had a plymouth rock rooster. It was very friendly but not tame. We had it for 6 years, and he had quite a few chicks. It didn't cause any problems except when he fought with another rooster ( the other rooster fought with him actually). Now we have isa browns one silkie and some sort of smooth. My frizzle died yesterday. It looked like a respiratory disease helped by the stress of moulting and cold. My chooks are too tame, they really get under your feet. They aren't laying much at the moment, but we still get eggs.

 

[parrotqueen]

What a sad story. Chickens actually started my passion for birds. When my son started school they had an incubater with eggs in and watched chicks hatching. The company gave the chicks away to anyone who wanted them so we took 4.

We had them for about 5 years, they were like little old women and shared the yard with our 2 great danes, they often came inside when the back door was open. Unfortunately when we got our Husky he thought it was great to chase them so we built an large enclosure around the coop & all was well.

Each year my husbadn and I go away for a week to the Moto GP. One year my Mum couldn't housesit to we had a friend do it, she unfortunately left the gate open and the husky killed one of the hens. I was devastated. He would then sit at the gate trying to work out how to get it. I was really paranoid he would so gave them to a friend.

I really missed not having birds about so got cooper... and the rest is history

Kind of a bitter-sweet story, sorry about your loss...