A different adventure begins.....

[LeatherneckPA]

Our intrepid boy hero (trapped in a 50 yr old body) is experiencing interesting side affects to his transformation. He has succumbed to a mid-life crisis, in the form of becoming a backyard poultrist. (Back porch actually) His day-olds were not supposed to be delivered until his day off (Wed), but the USPS called yesterday and said, "Congratulations, you are the proud father of a very noisy box. Please come get it."

The brooder is just a plywood box, 4' x 6' x 2' deep with a simple screen door top. Thursday I will build a small stand for it so that I don't have to kneel to change water and feed. (Darned 50 yr old hard used body!!)

The heat lamp wasn't enough for such a large area with an open top, so our bumbling apprentice decided to cover 3/4 of the top with blankets in an attempt to trap heat. It worked. The thermometer on the ground reads an pleasant 85ºF. From the way they are all spread out our boy genius (his words, not his DW's) concludes that they are content.


And here we can see the variety of his new flock, even at this early stage. Things should only become more "attractive" as they feather out. He is assuming the yellow ones are the NH Reds. The ones with the brown bars on their backs are Gold Laced Wyandottes. And the ones with the white dots on their heads are maybe the Barred Rocks. With everything else being Black Austalorps. (Or so he believes.)


Hey, Photobucket made this experience VERY easy!!

[hankster]

Thanks for giving us a "peep" at your new hobby. Are you in an area where you can free range them?

[podey]

They are so cute!

[HFWR]

Mmmmm, hot wings!

Way back when, I was convinced by the kids to by a couple of chicks at the local flea market. They survived just fine for the first few days, in their cozy little box by the water heater. I then moved them to the back porch, to a makeshift pen. The one slight oversight was no top.

Next morning, there was nothing left but beaks and feet...

[bbbamI]

I'm going to have that vision in my head all day.

[Sarah in SC]

awwww, I LOVE baby chicks! The peeping is so awesome--that is the best sound in the whole wide world. Enjoy them as teeny-tinies, they will be big brooders soon enough!

Thanks for letting me live my chicken keeping fantasies vicariously through you--DH will not let me have chickens...sigh
Have fun with the little peepers!

[Khan]

i do not want chickens.
I do not want chickens.
I do not want chickens...

[Notmuchlonger]

Jeepers creepers get a load of them peepers

[Sarah in SC]

Khan, if you say it enough times...it has the reverse effect! Get you some chickens...the cat will like watching them, too!

[LeatherneckPA]

Originally Posted by hankster

Thanks for giving us a "peep" at your new hobby. Are you in an area where you can free range them?

hankster, I can't free range on this tiny little quarter acre. But I am building a nice "chicken tractor" which will allow me to place them over fresh lawn every day for nearly the same effect.

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC

awwww, I LOVE baby chicks! Thanks for letting me live my chicken keeping fantasies vicariously through you--DH will not let me have chickens...sigh

Sarah, I'll try to keep your fix flowing with periodic updates. Maybe if your DH can see how easy they are and how little room they really take he will someday reconsider. In the meantime, feel free to enjoy vicariously.

[citrine]

Awww....I love them!
You are not going to kill them are you?

[SteveR]

You gonna be a Chicken Rancher now?

I had to sit on my fingers for a while to keep the 10 or so chicken jokes from getting on here. I have no doubt others will not has the same restraint.

So,.....what is the point of so many chicks? Layers or broilers?

Are they all hens or do you have a rooster in the flock?

Good luck with the new hobby....sounds like a chicken s**t job to me (OK I could not resist at least one).

[MikeD]

I was in a chick building with 100,000 peeping chickens once. It was hot in there and smelled of poop and was very loud. I was told not to make any sudden moves as they would all run away and pile up in one end and smother the ones on the bottom.

My Dad raises chickens and sells the eggs. He hardly loses anything anymore on the deal. The neighbors hate the rooster.

Mike D.

[LeatherneckPA]

Originally Posted by SteveR

You gonna be a Chicken Rancher now? So,.....what is the point of so many chicks? Layers or broilers? Are they all hens or do you have a rooster in the flock? Good luck with the new hobby....sounds like a chicken s**t job to me (OK I could not resist at least one).

Growing up we always had some animals on the "farm", mostly goats for the milk. We had chickens, but I never did anything but feed and water them once a day. Cindy and I are becoming concerned with where our meat is coming from and what's in it. So we decided to start easy, with chickens, and see if we stay interested long enough to eventually become "homesteaders".

Meyer Hatchery requires an order of 25 birds to avoid "small order" charges. Essentially we got 25 birds for the same price we would have paid for 6. We ordered "straight run" birds, which means they just grabbed random birds and put them in a box. The theory is they are about 50/50 male/female. According to most poultry folk it's probably more like 65/35, but that's ok too. Roosters will go in the freezer this fall and hens will lay eggs until next fall, by which time we plan to have next year's crop of pullets laying.

Steve, lots of people have already been cracking jokes. When I called the Captain to tell him I had to swap my days off he started it. He called the Operations LT and told him to go to Channel 1 on the radio. So of course everyone with a radio went to Channel 1 too. He told him to put me on the roster as "day off" and under reasons to put "chicken", note the lack of an S. Not a good thing in my work environment, but funny. I returned to work the next day to a whole flock of hen pecking and clucking about how the sky was falling now that I was nearing retirement; and others references to not having all my eggs in one basket.

[Purron]

Here's an idea: bring 'em inside the house

[Walt34]

My sister got a couple of chicks, one grew into a rooster and crowed outside my bedroom window at dawn. Every day. Until I finally hit it with a thrown shoe.

[Nords]

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC

awwww, I LOVE baby chicks!

... especially with a little garlic sauce...

[podey]

Originally Posted by Purron

Here's an idea: bring 'em inside the house

That episode was hilarious.

[Achiever51]

My DH, one of the most fearless people I've ever met, is terrified of live chickens! Apparently as a child, he got trapped in his grandfather's chicken coop and was attacked by several very angry birds. To this day, he won't go anywhere near 'em!