Adding New Chicks to the Flock

I am fairly new to chicken ownership, and I've been having to kind of "learn as I go." Our feed store is helpful with teaching me what food and bedding materials to use, but when it comes to the actual care of the chickens, I'm on my own. (Thankfully I have the internet to guide me.... though some things you just have to figure out on your own).

My first obstacle came when one of my original chicks turned out to be a rooster. I don't have anything against roosters, but I wasn't about to have him crow each morning and wake the neighbors (I live in town, not in the country). The other reason I couldn't keep the rooster is a mental thing. I am fine eating fresh eggs as long as I am SURE that they are not fertilized. I do not EVER want to crack open an egg and see part of a chick forming. Eww.

See my post here for how I dealt with that situation.

Everything went along smoothly and my chicks started laying beautiful and delicious eggs. With three hens, I was getting about a dozen eggs a week. This amount was just about right for my family of five. 

My next obstacle came when I decided to get a few more chickens so I could have extra eggs to sell or give away. I got some more chicks and kept them in the garage to grow big enough to add to the flock. They grew, and soon it was time to put them outside with the others. Easy, right? Wrong.

My lead hen, Flag (the red one in the pictures below) was a little upset at my wanting to disturb her pecking order and decided that she would attack the little ones. 

I was stuck. The little ones were too big to keep in the garage and too little to put in with the other hens.

Long story short, I ended up putting the little chicks in an enclosed area within the fenced area where the other hens are. You can see in the first picture the coop on the right and the little chicks' enclosure on the left (baby gate type enclosure with  cardboard top). 

After about two weeks, the hens got used to the chicks being around and I was able to integrate them. My red hen still pecked them, but they quickly fell into line in her "pecking order" and now all six are getting along fine. Well, almost. The three little ones (who aren't little any more) still don't roost inside the coop, but rather on the roof! And when I feed I have to make two food areas because Flag chases the chicks away from her food. Oh well, at least she isn't trying to peck them to death any more, right?

Replacement Chicks

I decided that I needed more eggs. I have enough for us right now, but I want to have enough so that I can sell them or give them away to friends. Right now I only have three hens, which amounts to about a dozen eggs a week. My coop is big enough for a few more, so a month ago my kids and I headed off to the feed store and got three new chicks.

Cute, right? We currently have one brown egg layer and two green/blue layers. These new gals will lay white, brown, and chocolate brown.


Well, they would have. :-(


After having them about a week, we accidentally left the garage door open. (The chicks were in the garage in a baby gate type play pen. Completely safe...... as long as the garage door stayed closed.)


My husband went to get something in the garage and yelled, "Your chicks are gone!" With further inspection, we could see three little piles of bloody feathers and little bloody kitty prints. Poor little chicks. I felt AWFUL!


So, after explaining to my kids what had happened, we trekked off to the feed store for some more chicks. They were out of one of the kinds we'd had, so we had to pick a new one. My kids were happy, though, because it was similar enough that we were able to keep the same names (because, you know, that is what matters most). And I am happy to report that I have remembered to close the garage door EVERY night. (And I put a top on their enclosure, just in case).


Meet our replacement chicks:  Zebra, Speckles, and Taxi

This photo is after a few weeks of having them. They are about 5 weeks old here.

I am crossing my fingers that none of these "hens" are actually roosters. Because we all know what happens to roosters at my house...... (See rooster story here). 

Giant Eggs

I've recently started raising chickens for eggs. I started with four chicks, but I now only have three hens. But I'll talk more about what happened to my rooster in another post. (Yum, yum.)

Baby chicks are the most ridiculously cute little things. Not as cute as a kitten or puppy, but close.

Then they grow up and get less cute. But I will admit, chickens have more of a personality than I ever thought they could. Here are my chicks a few months later:

See? Not as cute.

I got my chicks in the fall, kept them nice and warm all winter, and finally got my first egg this spring. Home grown eggs are MUCH tastier than the store bought ones, and it makes me feel good that I know what the chickens are fed and how they are cared for. 

With three laying hens, I average two eggs per day. Or just over a dozen a week. We don't eat eggs everyday, so this is just about the right amount to feed my family, unless I get on a baking kick. I have two different breeds (Rhode Island Red and Easter Egger) so I get two different color eggs. They are both about the same size as the Large eggs you buy in the store.

Except, every once in a while I get a giant egg. These eggs usually have multiple yolks. And I have to say, it's kinda fun to crack these open to see just how many yolks we're gonna get.

I haven't opened this latest giant yet. But as soon as I do, I will be sure to post a picture.

***UPDATE 5/6/2012***

It was a double!