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...

Beginner's Guide To Raising Baby Chicks March 27, 2022 So you've decided to start raising chickens!  I assume you've checked with your town or municipality and know the rules as far as how many chickens you are allowed, if you need a permit for either the chickens or their coop (or both), if you can have roosters, etc.  And now you're ready to get started. Raising baby chicks isn't difficult. They really just need to be kept warm, safe, and well fed and watered.  But first you are going to need to find some chicks to buy!  Spring is the most common time to start raising chicks because while they need to start off in the house under a heat lamp, by the time they have grown in their feathers and are ready to go outside around 6-8 weeks old, the weather should be warm enough. If you are only looking for hens (or female chickens), then your best best is to order them from a reputable hatchery such as Meyer Hatchery They offer "gendered" chicks (that means you ...

Brooder Box Boredom Busters March 20, 2022 (Bored, sleepy chicks dozing off in the brooder!) Living within the confinement of a brooder box, whether it be a plastic tote or cardboard box, can get boring for baby chicks. Boredom lead to bullying, pecking and all sorts of other problems.  Help keep your brooder babies from getting bored with these easy-to-implement brooder box boredom busters! (Try saying that three times fast!) Rooster Bars: As young as a few days old, your chicks will have fun hopping onto perches and practicing balancing. I use wood sticks for them when they're this small, but you can also use small branches as well. They probably won't sleep on the them until they are much older, but the roosting bars keep them busy and active in the brooder. Clumps Of Dirt & Grass: Bring the outdoors inside and put some clumps of grass with the dirt attached in the brooder. The chicks love nibbling on the grass and scratching in the dirt to look for bugs and worms. Two a...

National Poultry Day 2022!!! March 13, 2022 (Free-ranging beauties :) Poultry is the theme for March 19th as it is National Poultry Day! No fowl moods or ruffled feathers. However, there may be some quacking and gobbling going on.  It is believed that chicken was introduced to American soil by European explorers in the 16th century. Most Americans raised small flocks, enough to feed their families with the eggs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees poultry production in the United States. Estimates place production at around 9 billion chickens in the United States. While a group of chickens is called either a brood or peep, if they are chicks we call them a clutch or chattering. To all my chicken-lovers out there: Happy National Poultry Day!!!

Pasty Butt March 6, 2022 (Don't freak out! - This is a normal, healthy chick behind.) Pasty butt, also called "pasting up" or "pasted vent" is a fairly common, but potentially life-threatening, condition that can occur when the vent of a baby chick gets clogged with dried feces.  If not treated quickly, it can be fatal because the baby chick is unable to eliminate its poop and it will quickly get stopped up and die.  Fortunately it's easy to detect, treat and even prevent, but since it's so common, it is something that you should be aware of if you're just starting out with your baby chicks and that every backyard chicken keeper needs to be aware of. Pasty butt is the condition in which a chick's soft droppings stuck to the fine down around their vent and then harden and get stuck in the opening of the baby chick’s vent. The feces dries up and literally stops up the chick so it can’t poop. The dried-up feces acts like a cork, creating a plug so t...

Medicated Vs. Non-Medicated Chick Feed February 27, 2022 (A bag of non-medicated chick feed.) Question of the century: Should I give my chicks medicated or non-medicated chick feed? There are lots of decisions to make when it comes to raising chickens and one of them is whether or not to use medicated chick feed. Personally, I choose not to..  There's nothing wrong with making the decision to use medicated feed.  I just don't feel it's necessary, and in the spirit of raising my chickens naturally, I extend that to my chicks as well. But each spring, the newbie chicken keepers always ask, "Is medicated chick feed necessary?" So let me explain why I don't feel that it is. To back up and explain a bit, the purpose of medicated chick feed is to help protect chicks from coccidiosis, which is an infectious parasite and the number one killer of baby chicks.  Medicated chick feed, designed to be fed for the first 8 weeks of a chick's life, contains Amprolium which...

Brooding Chicks For Cheap February 20, 2022 (Our cheap chick brooder. ;) Chickens, a coop, run, fencing, feed, supplements, waterers, feeders, first aid supplies...the costs can add up when you're preparing for your backyard flock.  But getting started with baby chicks doesn't have to cost you that much! Here are a few clever tips to help you get started for less...but you'll need to start stockpiling some things (if you don't already have them around the house) in advance of bringing your chicks home this spring. The Brooder- Baby chicks need a nursery to live in until they're big enough to live outside in their coop. It's called a "brooder" and can be as simple as a cardboard box. Done. (Or if you have a stock tank, galvanized tub or dog kennel , you can also use that.) Brooder Bedding- The brooder needs something soft and grippy and absorbent on the bottom to keep water messes and poop under control. The easiest (and cleanest) thing I've found i...