Daily chicken August 12
Stand by for a long #dailychicken post
Yesterday we bought some baby chicks!
Being one of our three main focuses, and having read about it for a couple weeks while talking with @mariannewest and @goldenoakfarm, we got to where we were comfortable scaling up the chicken project.
Check out @sustainablelivin's podcast episode Start With Baby Chicks or Big hens?
Here they are!
Our aim with the chickens is to have eggs, so we wanted laying breeds and hens. Tractor supply had a few that we decided we liked. Their supply changes weekly because they don't know what breeds they'll be getting in.
We decided to go with chicks because of the cost, the experience, and the socialization of the birds.
The birds themselves were just over $3 each. Thats less than the $3.50 ($35 for 10 chicks) shipped online from TSC. We didn't have any of the supplies, so we got six chicks and basic supplies for just under $60. $10 a bird net cost. There are young pullets on Craigslist for that price, but they're an hour or more drive. The more local birds are $15-20. Also, since we now have the equipment to raise them, chick cost will be less in the future.
The experience of raising chicks, from all I've read, is more involved than buying nearly-adult birds - makes sense. Ultimately, that's what we did with our first four. Not super involved. I can see benefits to that approach because you'll get eggs sooner, but we wanted to switch it up. Also, @goldenoakfarm warned me that we'll want to ease the birds in by putting them in a parallel run to the originals. She says that there can be violence if you just toss em straight in together. We weren't prepared to handle that right now, so we got chicks.
The socialization aspect of their lives is important to us. Our first four are skittish and scared of us due to their having been essentially wild birds. It's understandable. The chicks are getting lots of love and attention from us, which we're hoping they'll understand into the future. I've read that some folks raised their chicks that way and every time they go outside, their birds are happy to see them. That'll be a fun little experience.
The kids love em!
Eating out of my hand.
We ended up getting two Dominickers and four Gold Sex Links. These are laying chickens and are attractive to look at. They're already noticably bigger than yesterday, so I guess it's working!
I anticipate butchering two of our current birds (the younger two roosters), so we'll have room for two more chicks soon. I need to quit talking about that and just do it. Maybe today. It'll be my first time, so I need to read up on it a bit more. I'm thinking the other two will be Rhode Island Reds or Americanas.
The Doms and GSLs that we got are medium to large brown eggers and large birds. Eventually they'll free range our yard, so it's important to me that they be big in order to deter our small gray hawks. In the run, where the chickens will be for a while, they'll still have 13 square feet per bird, which is getting close to the recommended minimum of 10 square feet each. We won't have more than ten birds until we are able to expand their run. Don't want overcrowding issues.
Overall it'll take a while longer for the chicken project to be productive, but we think it will be a gratifying process that will help us with patience and delayed gratification. In our society, everything is rush rush rush. I don't want my kids (or myself!) getting too caught up in that mentality. Farm time is slow time. Putting time into something is the ultimate investment, so we're taking it easy. Production isn't an emergency, so why rush?
So far, the only thing I'm really really watching for is "pasty butt." A condition where the chicks' poop sticks to their butt feathers. This causes an impaction where they can't poop, which can be fatal. I check them multiple times a day so far, and will continue to do so for a while until they're in the big chicken house. Gives me a reason to hold them and let's face it, I'm a guy: I can't help looking at chicks' butts.
I'm also using leaves from our garden in their brooder. They're scratching well in it and it saved us a bit on having to buy bedding. A sustainable alternative for us that will compost well and maybe make the transition to the big coop easier for the chicks. It's so cute watching them scratch.
Here's a quick pic before church. Blurry chicken, but you get the point :)
Hope you have a great Sunday, thanks for reading!
Stay relevant
Nate
Here is a video I highly recommend you watch before you harvest your birds
Excellent video! Very respectful and calm.
I have a friend at work that used to raise chickens and he's a bit brash. He recommended that since they're banties and don't have much meat that I just cut their heads off and throw em away in the trash. I'd rather them die for a purpose, but maybe I'm a sensitive wimpy hippie...
Thank you for that :)
They still will make good bone broth. And the rest at least compost.
Awesome man! I used to have chickens before the local fox had his way. I had a black sex link and she was my favorite. Excited to see what your golds end up looking like.
Also, good choices on the next ones...rhode island reds are great, I had one as well and I loved her. Had an americauna too, beautiful birds! Best of luck with the chicks! The poultry kind ;)
Cool chicks!
The first pic looked a bit odd to me, just wondering if it was perspective. The tote looks a bit small for them.
Rule of thumb: they will need half a square foot per bird. So if you have 5 birds, you need an area 21” on a side. It's better to have too much room, than too little. Don't want undesirable behaviors starting so early...
Have you decided what recipe the roosters will become??? :))
Ah, you're right! It is too small. It's 14" by 19". We'll move them to a different larger tote :)
I'll pick up some grit on the way home from work tomorrow. Reading today after church I think the older birds would benefit from it as well since they're not able to roam a large area and find the best natural option. Thanks!
I'm thinking they'll be grilled whole with some lemon pepper seasoning we picked up at Costco this weekend :) Being bantams there's not a lot to em, but it'll be good practice for any broilers later in the project.
We used to LOVE Cornish game birds, bitty little things, 1 was enough for 1 person....
They used to be our Thanksgiving birds. How were they to raise? Would be cool to raise some at home for something like that.
Oh, we ate them decades ago, long before we started raising our own food, so I have no idea how to raise them. I expect much the same as chickens...
haha! great post nateonsteemit! that chick doesn't know how to pose for photos yet! hey excellent strategy is seems to me and with the professional advice you are getting from experienced members here you can't go wrong, great job!
Just saw the bit about leaves in the brooder. If you introduce anything besides their chick feed, you MUST give them chick size grit. They MUST have grit to digest anything besides feed.
Is brooder the right word for the box you keep the chicks in?
It will serve just fine.
I'm discovering that the deep mulching probably isn't best for these little birds. They make a big mess in that little box lol
Yup, the depth will add up quickly if the space is small. We have 90 in a 6' x 8' enclosure and the bedding gets to nearly a foot some years, in just 5 weeks.
You will find that they outgrow that box fast and they do make a mess. I elevate their water and feed. Helps to keep the mess down. Just make sure that they can reach it.
They got a bigger box today that's got about double the space. I put the water on top of a weight, as I had seen recommended elsewhere. It makes a small porch around the water dish and elevates it a bit.
Their tummies were a bit wet when I changed their bedding and enclosure, I assume that's from the water spilling into the bedding. Do I need to wash them or will it dry out safely with the better housing conditions?
sorry, I just saw this. I am assuming this is solved. I always took out wet bedding and never had to deal with a wet chick. But I would use a towel and dry them as much as I can.
I ended up with pretty deep bedding for them, just kept adding a bit all the time when I felt it was looking like too much poop.
Oh yeah. I changed away from leaves to pine shavings which absorb better and are less dirty. The chicks are puffing up nicely and the baby adds bedding all the time. Right now, it's getting changed about every two days. I just dump the old bedding into the big composting chicken run and it disappears in the pile. The big chickens are awesome at mixing all that stuff!
I just left it in and added as needed. Get them used to scratching and less work :)
Oh, you will love it!! I think you already do. Nothing cuter than baby chicks. when they got bigger, I got one of those big produce cardboard boxed from a store - the ones they display watermelons and pumpkins in. that worked well.
That sound really big, but I've heard they make awesome compost bins as well, so we may have to go pick one up. Is there a stage when they'll want to be outside? I don't think Melissa would tolerate a big box like that in her laundry room lol
the last one i raised myself (not by mommy) i put our quite early every day for a little bit - as long as it was warm and no wind. You just have to keep an eye on them. When they start to huddle, they are cold. but sunshine is good for them.
And to leave them out permanently, you have to give them warmth and protection from predators. a heating pad under and a blanket cover over might be enough. what are your night temps right now?