We have taken the next steps towards self adequacy and take up raising chicken in our backyard as part of our suburban homestead and stupefy our first mountain of chicks a few calendar week ago .
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After much research , we knew we postulate volaille that would manage with the winters here at over 4000 ft elevation as well as our hot desert summers . We require rare breeds , heritage breeds and birds which are well-disposed .
Our first flock is six chicks of different breeds which are moth-eaten stalwart and good nut layer . The breeds we select are :
With it being later on in the twelvemonth , there was only one place which still had chick for sales event and we pick ours up a week ago . commonly baby chicks are available around easter or you may sample a hatchery in your land or online . you’re able to even get chicks in the post !
We picked them up from the store so we would have a chance to check the wellness of what we were purchasing and we could get chicks that had already been sexed .
Our metropolis has nonindulgent ordinance on rooster ( cockerel ) and the last thing we want is male which we need to find plate for rather quickly , we do n’t need to be the family line which smash it for everyone else !
We chose chickens more for eggs than essence because we get through more nut as a family . Meat birds are on the agenda once we ’re a little more experienced .
Henghis Khan , a Speckled Sussex biddy which is an English smorgasbord of boo and was chosen by my husband .
Count Cluckula , a Jersey Giant biddy . This is a rarified breed assortment which are slow growing , produce large eggs and can be a good tabular array bird . I chose this one because I ’m a lover of inheritance breed and varieties .
Attila The Hen , a Delaware . These are one of the most teachable breeds and Attila is a lovely wench and is pretty easy break down . I prefer her for the temperament .
Fried Chicken ( aka Ruby ) the Australorp who was chosen by my step - son . Australorps are a very productive egg laying breed .
Chicken Little the Plymouth Barred Rock also chosen by my step - Logos . Barred Rocks are a dependable all - use strain .
Ginger the Rhode Island Red chosen by my married man and named after look out Chicken Run . Rhode Island Reds are another all - function bird .
If you are getting baby chick , there are a few thing you involve before you could fetch them home .
Have a good think about where the skirt will go that will be lovesome , out from other menage pets and can be well accessed by you . You will need a socket for a heat lamp and well-heeled access to water and cleaning supplies .
chick get quickly and postulate good deal of space in their temporary housing to subjugate deportment problems between the hens . The quad also needs to be get out proof and breathable .
The brood boxwood is where your flock are going to be starting out for the next few weeks and should be self-coloured and have a lid which is breathable to forestall escapees .
This is the brood box we ’re using . It is made from plyboard , has a chicken conducting wire obliterable lid and a striptease of wood to allow the drift of the heating lamp .
You need the brood box seat to be roomy enough for your birds as they develop and to have room for food and water containers . We wanted to ensure the chick had thing to do and explore as well as the basic food and water .
I have get word people use dog crate , cat carriers and big shaping totes as brood boxes .
A tidings of caution if using charge card ; the heat lamp can evaporate plastic and cause fervency more pronto for this reason , we do n’t recommend plastic container .
Baby skirt need to be hold back between certain temperatures for the first few weeks which is aided by a heat lamp .
A carmine light to 250 W is best . The red halt the birds from seeing line of descent from injury and will reduce the risk of them cannibalizing the injure bird ( it hap , Gallus gallus can be barbarous ) . You do n’t want more than 250 W since it can get too hot and the disk of death of the Bronx cheer and also potentially going of your dwelling to ardor .
We did n’t get a blood-red light bulb , mostly because there was n’t one available and our shuttle so far , have done ok .
Our brood box has a piece of wood to be able to move the lamp up and down . Move it down to be able to keep the brood box warmer and move it up to cool off it a little .
The chicks themselves are a just indicator of how they find ; if they are huddle together together under the lamp , they care cold and the lamp should be move a little closer . If they are scattered as far away as they can from the lamp , they are too warm so move the lamp up .
Ideal temperature mean your chicks will be scratching and mill around about around the brood corner .
You will need something to line your brood box with . Newspaper or no bedding can be tricky for young chicks and can head to injury or foot and leg troubles later on .
We utilize pine wood shavings because we can get them in a expectant Basel and since we ’re operating a sustainable homestead , we mix the chicken shite soiled shavings with grass clippings from the garden in the compost good deal that will break down and provide nutrients for the garden .
Other bedding choices include sand , chopped straw or shredded paper .
If you are in an urban or suburban setting like I am , you postulate some shelter for your chickens to keep them lovesome in winter , cooler in summer , protected from predator like neighborhood dogs , cats , dodger , raccoons and even bear .
You necessitate to ensure there is enough space allocate for the chickens to have room to perch , lie , nest and move about inside the hencoop . A run attached is usually preferred in the urban homesteading setting and some city ordinances require it .
Here is just a little survival of coops uncommitted on Amazon :
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As you could see there is a coop for pretty much any budget and styles including movable cage to rotate the birds around the yard . There are many chicken coop available in farming supplying storage and even more online .
I encourage you to calculate at as many coops as you could in the figure / physically to get a sensation of some of the followers :
By looking at some coops live in the soma , you’re able to make a best judgment of coops available online and what require you really have for your urban homestead .
There are many commercial coops available with many plus points but we are making our own so as to comply with the city ordinances and to give them more space .
We liked many features on lots of different henhouse and decided to progress something which would meet those prospect of the commercial coops we like together in one Super - Coop that suited our family and meets all the urban center regulation prerequisite .
chick turn quite quick and although you do n’t need a coop at the ready when you first get your chicks , they soon out grow the brood box and require more outer space .
babe chick are susceptible to a myriad of condition and a first help kit is handy to have on standby so you may help with some canonical first aid .
Some items you should have in your poulet first aid outfit :
You should have a place to segregate the brainsick or injured bird with food for thought , water and heat .
There are plenty of options available to the urban homesteader and novel chicken proprietor from automate , rat proof containers to ones you may make yourself .
Take a feeling at these 3 chicken feeder from PVC pipe ( Video )
Take a flavor at this crybaby nipple waterer ( Video )
humble chick feeders which can be seen as the rectangular flushed objects in the brood box pictures require filling on a regular basis and are easy to cleanse . round container are usually cock-a-hoop and call for refill less .
formative container break in easier than metal and will blow over or crack over meter but are super well-heeled to pick . Metal container can rust up and get very raging in the sun but are ordinarily predator proof .
There are also drip type waterers call chicken nipple or robotlike poulet lacrimation systems which drop water when the chicken pecks at it . This eccentric of watering arrangement is great because the birds ca n’t foul up their water supply . Chickens are messy and will get all of their bedding in their water and food containers , if it is potential , rear them up so they are slightly off the trading floor to trim back the chickens ’ ability to kick up the bedding .
Currently in the brood box , we have to scrape out the wood shavings at least twice a sidereal day to secure the hens have water . you’re able to raise the waterer up on bricks if you have enough head place in the brood box and the chicks are able to reach the water still .
When you get your new chicks you will need to take them to the weewee and dip their beak into it to show them where the water is and how to toast .
babe chicks and adult Gallus gallus profit from good , friendly bacterium just like you and I. Baby chicks readily pick up GI problems and asseverate healthy gut flora can facilitate them defend themselves a bit best .
We have a probiotic and vitamins powder that we add to the water which is detached from artificial colors . The benefit of me being a formulation scientist is knowing what ingredients really do and which to avoid . Many of the packs check FD&C colors in them which I avoid in my food and the dogs ’ food so I certainly did n’t need to add them to my chickens .
We employ this probiotic and vitamin mix :
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The color will turn sensationalistic , this is because of the ovoflavin or vitamin B2 in the rule and is perfectly normal . Other probiotic mixture will contain scandalmongering and blood-red color but this one does not which is why we use it .
Just as human beings need to replace electrolyte when they are dehydrated or sick , so do your chickens . The probiotic and vitamin mix above also carry electrolytes to preserve hydration .
you may corrupt chicken electrolyte packs to habituate when you get your chicks to help oneself rehydrate them and battle the tenseness of shipping or bringing them home . Children ’s electrolyte solutions or sachets and even sports drinks can be used . I debar anything artificial so I opt for those which are free from artificial bait and coloring .
Add these to the chicks H2O to help them overcome change of location strain and keep some in your first assistance kit in case of malady .
alas , our first problem occurred when the flyspeck Barred Rock had pasting . This is a condition which is plebeian in commercially sourced chicks but can be easy mistake for another condition which seem similar but is a navel contagion .
The Chicken Chickhas an incredible resource for raising chickens with pictures for identifying pasting in the postPasty Butt In Chicks : Causes , Treatment & Preventionas well asMy Pet Chickenin their aid sectionPasted Vent Overview .
We removed the caked dope which came of easily with strong water and it was only shit not an unhealed navel . We then dried her off as best we could without a hairdryer and returned her to under the heat lamp . She perked up and began exploring the “ chicken enrichment ” item for them to wax on , pick at at and inquire such as natural branch perch , food for thought , water and everything else in the novel wide brood box .
Chicken Little the Barred Rock was the smallest and youngest . She was often pluck on by the other , large chicks in the wad . She begin isolating herself from the others too soon on in the eventide , then she stopped eating and drunkenness .
I coaxed her to drink and hold her close as she drift in and out of consciousness . She suffered two ictus and unfortunately kick the bucket .
My dog Sparky nuzzle her to get her to move and take care from her to me with worry in his eyes . It was a grievous moment .
I cry out more than I thought I would , particularly since we only got them two day before . It was amazing how easily and promptly these fluffy critters can capture your heart .
I wished I had noticed it rather , dried her off better , done more for her but , it was n’t mean to be and I have had to take puff experience that her last day were expend in a bigger place with lots of things for her to research rather than being in the small holding playpen drawers used at the storage .
We buried her by the Malus pumila tree in the woodlet and were all saddened by the events of the night but there was thing which take to be done . We had to clean out the brood box and sanitize everything in instance it was something that could have been passed to the other chicks .
So our first step into homesteading begin , with amplification and loss as the circuit of life must always continue .
The Barred Rock was the only dame I did not hold in over and was the one the store helper placed in the box whilst I was doing something else .
The other chicks I assessed the eyes , pecker , nostrils , substructure and vent to ensure all were o.k. . Had they not been readable , I would not have taken her .
We have since found out that it was a forged quite a little of doll and many of them were sickly .
We did get another bird from the same storage but this clip , my husband thoroughly checked the chick so the same mistake was n’t made . My husband and step - Logos came home with a White Laced Wyandotte who was larger than the large chick in the good deal to boil down the likeliness of the existing flock bullying the newcomer .
Meet Mother Clucker . She is the most outspoken of the bunch and is also recognize as Ranger by my dance step - son .
She has settled in with the quite a little very well and now all of the chick are catching up in size and are chop-chop outgrowing the brood boxful whilst we are stimulate to finish the coop .
To take more about raising your own chickens take a looking at my other posts :
How to make your own chicken solid food .
How to winterize your chicken henhouse for free .
How to winterise a depot buy chicken coop for under $ 10 .
How to forbid cannibalism in backyard sight .
How to keep chickens healthy in winter .
Why we killed some of our flock .
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