Hey Fauna: I was just looking at Wooster, he is beautiful. One of my customers just gave me a free Americauna rooster and he looks almost like yours. I was wondering how much you thought Wooster weighed? The one that was given to me is the biggest Roo I have ever seen. He has to go somewhere between 15-18 lbs. I was curious as to whether yours was also that large. He is very gentle with me but not so gentle with the ladies.
Your Opinion on Your Breeds
When you get the baby chicks, is there anything special you have to do. I have the coops ready, bought supplies already and am just waiting to order the babies. I live in the city so I'm only getting 3, maybe 5. Can I just put them outside even if its cold. I did buy a heat lamp.
Roserairie, I am in zone 5a. I have a chick order coming from McMurray next week. I will not put chicks outside until probably mid April to early May. I am keeping them in the house. I have them under a heat lamp in the house. They should be at 95 for the first week, then 90 for the next, 85 the next, 80 the next, and 75 the next. After that, as long as they are at a steady 70 to 75 degrees all the time, they should be fine. If you have an outdoor setup that can maintain those temperatures, then I guess you would be fine, but I personally wouldn't want to risk it here.
I have 90 chicks in the basement that have been there since early January. I won't be putting them outside until the coop can hold 55 to 60 degrees at night and they have full feathering. I have ceramic panel heaters in the coop and a heat lamp as well. With all that, the water only just stays unfrozen.
Oh, also, with only 3 babies, they can't keep each other warm. With my 90, they can all pile together and stay warmer. I would be very cautious with their temperatures and ensure you meet the 95-down-to-75 degrees Fahrenheit over those first 6 weeks.
Silkie, here is my first babies
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/948535
Thanks for answering my questions Claire, I dont have to make another thread. I was not sure when I could put them out in the coop, our last freeze here is around easter, then things start warming up. I have no electric around the coops, so putting a light out there is not an option for me.
Thank goodness I posted my questions on baby chicks. The coop I built is actually sitting in the kitchen and I think I can modify it so it's like a bird cage of sorts until I put it outside. I could put them in the basement too but they're so darn cute I know I'll be running up and down the stairs to look at them. The family thinks I'm crazy but I know they are going to fall in love with these birds.
Rose -we keep our chicks in the living room until they get big enough to smell. In cardboard boxes which is, I grant, half the problem. Then they go to the basement, then finally outside.
Ha! I have lots of scented candles - I guess I'll be putting them to good use.
They're cute enough you don't notice as soon as you otherwise would..
That is funny. I have stock in scented candles. hehehe I have two plastic totes in the living room full up with little babies. They are just starting to get feathers. Best wishes Roserairie!!! :D
I just can't wait to get started with my chicks. I know I'm going to love my birds.
I have 9 chicks that are 6 of them 3 weeks old and 3 that are 2 weeks old. The 6 are going out today in a coop like the one that someone posted the other day and I said I had one almost like it. Anyway, I will gather up my little silkie hen which I call her Mother now and she will be the mom to them until they are 6 weeks old.
Oh Thats sweet Luvs
luvs2garden2000
What are the temps in your neck of the woods right now. We're still at 20 degrees, even colder with the windchill.
Once the chicks are at least 1 year, can they survive these temps in zone 5 or do I have to bring them in? DH and I were discussing how we could provide warmth and in addition to the heat lamp, he suggested some type of tarp to cover the coop with. Is that a good idea?
Right now we are on our way to spring. We will more than likely get 1 more freeze. Just depends on March 1st. Usually our last frost is around March 15th. If you wanted to weather map me my zip code is 73026. This week we are predicted to get as low as 39 and as high as 77.
Now I dont know about what age to put them out when it is real cold like you have. Some of mine were about 5 months old when the cold came here and I didnt lose any to cold.
That sounds like a nice heat wave!
Luvs your weather is allmost identical to mine we are in the early spring phase here i been out takeing pics of all the comeing out of things.
We typiclly have cool to cold temps up till the first of april at night but for the most part have very warm days
My Bradford Pear is blooming
I dont have anything blooming yet but I do have my hollyhocks and bulbs coming in. I can see GREEN. I have some bulbs in jars in the house that I forced this winter. Just gotta get the birds put up so I can plant them
Oh i'm all excited about this spring it won't be long i will be pairing up my birds and have lots of pigeon and dove babys
Oh these pictures of flowers are making me cry in my coffee. I won't even have a forsythia out for at least a month yet, maybe 6 weeks.
It's interesting to read all the breeds. I've been wanting chickens for years and this may be the year. I have a lead on someone who can build a coop for me. I'd like to get the coop in place before getting the chickens, even tho they'll be inside for a bit at first.
I live in the PNW and it never gets real hot here. Our property is 2.5 acres and is mostly shaded or lightly shaded. I have a fenced (4' fence on 2 sides, 6+ on other sides) place where I'm wanting to put the chickens. It's by the compost piles. I'd prefer not to put something over the top but may have to. We do have one owl who lives here and there is the possibility of hawks and eagles once they learn there are chickens here. We have 2 dogs which will have to be watched and I'm wondering if cats go after chickens. We have one cat who hunts - mice, shrews, rabbits - do I have to worry about him? I would like to let the chickens roam but am also concerned about the gardens. We have extensive flower beds and also a large vegie garden. The vegie garden is fenced off by 4' fence on 3 sides, 6+ fence on one side.
I would like to be able to add new chicks as years go by without the older ladies bothering them so am wondering, are some breeds better about accepting new friends than others? And may eventually get info breeding, esp if I can find someone to butcher down the road. I won't do it myself but if I could find someone nearby (so far no one here at all - what an opportunity!), I know a lot of people including me would raise meat chickens as well as layers.
I love the chocolate eggs and it seems that the barnevelders lay dark brown as well as the marans.
Do all breeds come in bantam sizes?
Also, can I put geese (Sebastopol) in the same coop as the chickens? How about ducks? We do have a duck house that came with the property but it's hard to get to (would and could trim the cedars that surround it) and it's not big enough to walk into, the roof doesn't come off, so it would be hard to clean - thus am not sure how usable it actually will prove to be. But it's right next to the pond. And I want runner ducks - am not sure how tall their coop needs to be. This is slanted and ranges from 2 feet to 4 feet at the tallest point. I believe it's about 8 feet long and maybe 3-4 feet wide.
Any and all suggestions welcome. I have lurked here for years, occasionally posting questions. At some point I'll need to bite the bullet and get my chickens!
Hi Gwen: My parents lived in Freeland for years so I know the Langley area pretty good. I'm so happy to hear about your desire to raise some chickens. I have a flock of Marans and can't keep enough eggs around for my customers. Before you build your coop, be sure you have determined just what you want to do? Otherwise you can spend all that money and find out a couple months later you did not give yourself enough room to accomplish what all you wanted to do. Such as room for mating pen. (breeding purpose), Raising more babies along with existing and older flock. Placement of nesting boxes and how many, Roosting area that isn't in the way when you want to clean the coop. Make a list of what your going to need, and then design the coop that makes it all possible, Thinking it all out first in a through manner and then building accordingly will make for a very happy experience.
There are so many wonderful breeds and others on this forum will be happy to share their ideas with you also. If there is anything I can do to help let me know. Haystack.
I believe that some of the more common dark egg layers are; Marans, Barnevelders, and Welsummers.
Out of those breeds, Patch, which are the best layers?
I'd have to say the Marans, but that's just my experience, I've only one of each : ) Also wanted to add that you can keep ducks and chickens together, I have, but they'd be better off in their own quarters because the ducks are messy little buggers. If you keep the waterer inside they will make a huge nasty mess in the henhouse, and chickens do NOT appreciate wet feet. If you keep it out in the pen, the ducks will create holes all over your hen yard for puddles. Then, once you've decided they need their own space, you have to go and cover all those holes back up.
I can't wait for the Marans I just got to start laying.(long way to go!)
I know what you mean about the duck. It's impossible to keep the waterer clean for more than 5 minutes with the duck as well. Mine thinks she's a chicken but when we get the other ducks she's going to have to play with them instead! I don't think the chickens will miss her!