My Chirpy Chicken Coop

Mail Order Chicks April 24, 2022 (Chick dozing off in the brooder!) Thinking it's time to add some chicks to your backyard? Whether these are your very first baby chicks or you're adding to an existing flock, you have some choices to make before the big day. Beyond the "which breeds do I want" and "how many chicks do I want" questions, you also need to decide where to get your chicks. Local farms or feed stores are options...maybe you're fortunate enough to live within driving distance of a hatchery or breeder...or maybe not. The How: You can also order baby chicks through the mail. Yup, right through the US Postal Service. The first chicks were actually shipped way back in 1892 using the railroads. Of course nowadays they're sent via airplanes. You might be asking how safe or humane it is to ship baby chicks through the mail. It is actually both. And I can tell you firsthand how it all works. The last thing a baby chick does before it hatches is to...

The Secret To Hatching Hens, Not Roosters! April 17, 2022 (Chick staring at the camera :) The probability of hatching an equal number of hens and roosters when you set eggs in an incubator is about 50/50 with a slight edge towards hatching more males. Since most people are interested in hatching only female chicks, or at the very least, hatching predominantly more females, wouldn't it be nice if there were a way to hatch improve your odds of hatching hens and not roosters? Well there might be a way! While there are various ways to determine the gender of baby chicks after they hatch (including wing feather length, feather color differences, and vent sexing), some only work on certain breeds and some - like vent sexing - are best done by the professionals. There are also many old wives tales passed down generation to generation to determine if you have male or female chicks, but they're not proven nor produce consistently accurate results - and they all also require waiting for ...

My Independent Science Experiment 2022 April 10, 2022 (2nd place medal for my experiment! - not to brag or anything ;) So last year , I entered a independent science experiment in my county science fair on how music affects a chick's brain. This year, I decided to enter another experiment- on which musical era has the most effect on a chick's brain. I placed 2nd again!!! I would love for my readers to see which era had the most effect, so here is my lab report: Advances On Which Musical Era Has The Most Effect On A Chick's Brain Purpose: To find out which era of music has the most effect on a chick’s brain. Hypothesis:  I hypothesize that classical era music (known best for repetition and order) will have the most effect on a chick’s growth and development. Materials:  Environment free of drafts (Garage or spare bathroom) Chick brooder  Kennel Heat bulb and lamp Instant thermometer Feeder Chick feed Waterer Clean water Shelf liner Newspaper Day-old chick Playlists of seve...

And Then There Was One April 3, 2022 (The last one cockerel left.) It seems as though the losses never end. Three of our chicks are in a better place now. As you know, we started our chick-hatching journey with 7 eggs. Two eggs never hatched, but the other 5 did. One newborn unexpectedly passed right after birth, leaving us with 4 baby chicks.  On March 30th, we woke up to find 3 of the chicks gone and a trail of blood and feathers through our backyard. Amazingly, one of the chicks was spared. A few days before the tragic incident, we had to move the chicks' coop a couple a feet away from where it was. Apparently, the hardware cloth had ripped and either the chicks got out, or something else got in and claimed the lives of our precious babies. We intended on selling some of the chicks and purposefully didn't get too attached to them or name them, so thankfully it doesn't hurt as much as it could have, but it is still is a lot to take in. I am so blessed to have the last co...