Our bathroom is full of Brand New Babies!!!

[bvar22]

Our chicks arrived today!
We have 18 new chicks.
They are 2 days old, and they are adorable!

We have 6 each of Australorps, Barred Rocks, and Silver Laced Wyandottes.

Silver Laced Wyandotte



Australorp



Barred Rock




Pile O' Chicks

Their homemade brooder is currently in our bathroom.



We also have 3 Guinea chicks (or Keets) which are about 2 weeks older.
This photo is from about 5 days old.
Guinea



We ordered all hens, but will be adding a rooster later.
All the birds appear healthy and active.
We couldn't be happier! :)

This is their new house that we built over the Winter.

It still needs some finishing touches, but it will be at least a couple of months before they move in.

We are out in the sticks here, so we took precautions to make the Chicken House as secure as possible.
If everything goes well, the birds will Free Range in the daytime under supervision.


Other photos of our place:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x5729

[samplegirl]

1. Wow how wonderful

best of luck they look great.

[lligrd]

2. What A Great Start

Thanks for sharing.

[Olney Blue]

3. Beautiful! K/R for something positive tonight.

[notadmblnd]

4. you're going to be eating a lot of eggs

[yellerpup]

5. Nothing says spring like baby chicks!

It's been years since I've had any and yours certainly look healthy. Enjoy!

[hedgehog]

Don't keep them in the bathroom long - they'll get smelly and too

big very quickly.

You picked out some good looking breeds. Beware though, chickens are habit forming!

[bahrbearian]

6. I hope you don't have too many predators

I've lost a lot of my birds to Coyotes, Feral Cats , Weasels, and Neighbors dogs,,I'm ready to give up. I used to raise fryers, and Turkeys too, now just stick to layers.

[bvar22]

17. We have them all.

Plus coons, Black Bears, eagles and hawks. We are planning on a working dog, but we want to wait until the chickens are established before getting a puppy, probably a Border Collie or Australian Shepherd.

The Guineas are supposed to be pretty good watch birds, and we may get a goose too.
We are planning on a few goats next year, and I understand they will protect the chickens.


The coop is Ft Knox.
It is completely surrounded by cement 6" thick, rebarred and burried below ground to the hard clay layer. Welded wire is below the cement and extends out another foot where it is also burried to prevent anything from trying to dig under the cement. Three sides are sheathed in steel roofing that is burried into the cement. The corners and door posts are treated 4X4, and everything is screwed together with long screws...no nails.


But nothing is foolproof. There are a few others up here who free range chickens, and they lose birds from time to time. Its a part of the deal.

[bahrbearian]

27. Yes

I've watched Eagles fly off with my hens, I've had good luck with a goose as a protector, but some of the Ganders would get pretty mean. Your Coop looks bomb proof, I haven't heard that about Goats or Guineas, I want to get goats again, I remember now that my hens did better then. I don't understand what a Guinea Hen would do for me.

[Divernan]

7. Welcome to the wonderful world of Peeps!

nt

[carpediem]

8. can I ask where you ordered them from?

last year we went and got 12 chicks from the local feed mill. We got a variety, since it was our first foray into raising chickens. We have one barred rock, one silver laced wyandotte, one polish, 2 old english bantams, 2 brown layers, 2 frizzle cochins, 2 aracaunas and a leghorn. Out of 12 we have 6 roosters... way too many. I'd love to be able to order just hens, and I love the silver laced wyandottes and the barred rock. As for predators, we haven't had any until the last week, 2 opossums in the coop in the last 4 days, one got one of our chickens and the other was just in the corner of the coop looking very afraid when we found it. I think the long winter has the opossums a little desperate for food... My sister had guinea hens, they are supposedly very good "watch" birds.

Very cute chicks. Have fun with them.

[bvar22]

14. delete.

:patriot:

[bvar22]

15. We ordered them from Parks & Hanson....

...which has a store in town.
We had the choice of all hens, or a mix.

[1776Forever]

9. Ah It's Spring! Love the little ones! Thanks for sharing!

[tblue37]

10. Beautiful little babies! n/t

[VermeerLives]

11. Thanks for sharing!

The little "peeps" are precious! Springtime is always a reminder of new life and hope, and I think we all need a bit of that right now. Your pics are a refreshing break! :)

[struggle4progress]

12. Fun days ahead shoveling out the coop!

[hedgehog]

13. Chicken manure is great for the garden!

[struggle4progress]

18. Better if mellowed a bit by aging IIRC

[shireen]

16. awww .... congratulations on your new brood!

Wish i had property, it would be so much fun to raise chickens. :)

[hermetic]

19. Awww, nice,

chicks and photos.

Congrats on the DUzy. AND on the new job. I still haven't figured out yet exactly whose payroll it is you're supposed to be on. :rofl:

:hi:

[KaptBunnyPants]

20. Those are adorable.

I hope they aren't food. I can't say anything, I eat chicken all the time. It's just a little harder when you see them as babies.

[LWolf]

21. Wonderful!

That looks like a sturdy chicken coop; mine is a series of haphazard sheds that were already on the place when I bought it.

I got hardly any eggs this last winter; the power line to the coop needs replacing, so I couldn't use the lights on a timer that keep them laying through the darkest months. Spring is here now, though, and I can't keep up with them. I'm averaging 6-7 eggs a day. My family and many of my friends are oversupplied, lol.

I'd like to hear more about your experiences with the guineas once they're grown.

[bvar22]

24. Hi, LWolf.

The Chicken House is pretty stout.
Starkraven thinks I went a little overboard, and she is probably right.
Everytime I heard a story about Coyotes, or Coons, or Dogs getting someone's birds, I added more cement, rebar, and reinforcing.

We're delighted with our chicks.
Actually getting the birds IS a major milemarker to our goal of sustainability, though it will still be a while before we are eating the eggs.

Guineas are fairly popular here. I see lots of them at small cabins and farms back in these hills. Some places have Guineas exclusively because they survive better in remote areas.
Everybody says the same thing about Guineas.: "If you can stand the noise, you will love them".


They are not as "domesticated" as chickens, and still retain their hyperaware "predator alert" senses necessary to survive in the wild. They have a very loud "Alert" call, and when mixed with chickens, the chickens will become conditioned to respond by seeking safety (or so I've been told).
They are also supposed to be better in the garden, preferring to chase bugs and not scratch out the plants so much.

We have heard stories that Guineas don't mix well with BeeHives, and are a little worried about our hives. Supposedly, Guineas will park outside a hive and pick off bees one by one as the emerge from the hive. We will wait and see, and if this becomes a problem, we will find a way to solve it.

I love the way the Guineas look. I think they are beautiful. Their long necks make them seem elegant.
I learned the other day that they are close relative of the Peacock, and can even breed, but their offspring are infertile.
Ours are close to 3 weeks old, and already have most of their feathers.

Anyway, good to hear from you, neighbor.
We are excited about getting The Garden going again.
We're expanding the size, and adding Fruit Trees (Apples, Peaches, Plums, Figs, Cherries) and maybe some grape vines.

:hi:

[LWolf]

25. Your garden is beautiful.

I haven't been very successful gardening since I moved to my current place; the climate is tough. I've loved looking at your pics, and remembering my gardens of the past. I did plant some fruit trees, even though they don't produce reliably here. I'm hoping for a first crop of something this year.

I'm going to build some raised beds this year, use them as compost piles, and plant in them next spring. Probably mostly herbs and greens. I may try some rasberries and blackberries this year, as well.

[Th1onein]

22. Those little snoopies look dangerous!

Just kidding! Oh, they are so cute!

[bvar22]

23. Thanks, everybody.

I can't believe that a "Chicken" post in Rural/Farm made the "Greatest Page" at DU!
:patriot:

[IowaGirl]

26. Finally, good news on DU.....

Your babies are beautiful. Hope they all do well. Thank you for sharing. :grouphug:

[sazemisery]

28. Guineas have a really important job in our area

They eat ticks. I would assume you have this pest where you are also.

[uppityperson]

29. I just ordered my chicks for the yr

6 straight run silkies for being Moms, then 6 sexed Light Brahmas for eggs and a few fast growers for meat. I'm figuring out of the dozen that are not meat ones, will end up with 2-4 silkies and 5 Brahmas for eggs. We usually end up with 2/3 of straight run being roosters, which go away to other homes as I have a really gentle faverolle guy.


Spring is fun! Chicks!

[Sequoia]

30. I can't handle cute !!!

[uppityperson]

31. 6 white silkies, 4 polish of different colors just arrived!

Our local feed store said they are having problems getting chicks in, can't get more until the end of April. He didn't know why, but none of the big hatcheries they usually order from could confirm their getting more for a month. Odd. I'm hoping I'll get (at least) 2 silkies for moms, and perhaps a female polish for fun, out of the batch.