I know lots of the feed stores are expecting to start getting chicks soon. I am completely new to this and would love all information and helpful suggestions anyone has to offer. We were interested in starting with chicks because we have children, and want our chickens as tame as possible. How old are most of the chicks that arrive at stores?Is it necessary to house them inside this time of year? If we house them outside, do we need a heat source for the night right now? We have a little coop with an opening out to a run. I was thinking we could close the little house up until they are ready to start foraging. Forgive me if I sound ridiculous. I have never been around chickens, but am eager to learn. Still, I don't want to baby them when I don't have to.Any tips are welcome, from feeding, to keeping their area clean. So much of what I read seems to apply to cooler climates, so I would love some AZ specifics.Thanks!
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I got mine from a lady on 35th Ave & Union HIlls. She was very informative, helpful, and all her hens are fully feathered and look very healthy. She has all ages from a hatch dates of 09/09/09 to 3/23/09 and several breeds that do well in our AZ heat. Her number is 623-203-8913
We have 8 chickens that all did OK in the heat this summer. They include 2 Australorps, 3 Easter Eggers, 1 Golden Wyandotte, 1 Campine, 1 Phoenix. If I had to choose the best for the heat from this group, I'd choose the Australorps. They also lay large brown eggs. Ours have been laying since mid-June and the eggs are just a little smaller than store-bought extra large eggs now. They're reliable layers, too. We get an egg from each of them 6 days a week. We got our Australorps from the same lady and we'll do business with her again, they're great birds.
Lisa,
I have one of each of the following: Red Sex Link, Cinnamon Queen, Americana, Buff Orphington & a brown Leghorn. The buff is very bossy with the others, the Leghorn is the first to try everything and always the first to go to bed. Mine were hatched 4-27-09. She also had Delawares, white leghorns, a couple Bared Rocks, and some others. She spent over an hour with us the first time telling us about how to sanitize the pen, things to help calcium absorption, signs of illness, etc. I wasn't up for the challenges of raising day old chicks (not that I wouldn't enjoy it someday). Happy henning
My kids and I started with eggs (30) from McMurray Hatchery online. It was our first attempt. We hatched 16, lost two w/in 24 hours and lost one due to heat related accident that happened when I went camping:( When the chicks we hatched were a week old we purchased 2 each "day old" Americana and Production Reds from the Stock Shop and added them to the flock. The add ons are by far the most tame and lovely birds of the group and all of the birds have been held everyday by gobs of children. The babies will need to have the temperature monitored hourly to make sure they do not get over 100 degrees; they like heat but they need to be able to cool off. If you keep them in shade with a fan, thermometer and some frozen milk containers they should do fine but you won't know for sure if they die if is because of heat or a developmental issue.
Good luck-it's really a great experience!
Susan
I got my chicks locally from Pratt's Pets, and despite the bad reputation, I was very happy with them. They were less than a week old...chicks. Fuzzy and cute. I would keep them inside if possible in a room that doesn't get a lot of use and that you can keep your kids and other pets out of when you are not looking. they do get huge very quickly, and when they start scratching around, they raise a lot of dust, so cover any beds or furniture. They need to be kept at a consistent temperature, 90 degrees I think. check the backyard link, that's a good resource.
Replies
I have one of each of the following: Red Sex Link, Cinnamon Queen, Americana, Buff Orphington & a brown Leghorn. The buff is very bossy with the others, the Leghorn is the first to try everything and always the first to go to bed. Mine were hatched 4-27-09. She also had Delawares, white leghorns, a couple Bared Rocks, and some others. She spent over an hour with us the first time telling us about how to sanitize the pen, things to help calcium absorption, signs of illness, etc. I wasn't up for the challenges of raising day old chicks (not that I wouldn't enjoy it someday). Happy henning
Good luck-it's really a great experience!
Susan