# Chicks !!!



## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

Chicks, the fuzzy feathery kind, not the babes.
Arrived last week, from Meyer Hatchery.
Ordered 40 sexed hens, and 10 straight run, 52 arrived all healthy.

Here they are, I'm going to be selling free range/organic/fertile/non GMO etc eggs!



















*Rancher*


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## LastOutlaw (Jun 1, 2013)

Nice setup AZR. We recently got our chickens set up and running and are pulling about 8 eggs a day from the chickens for our own use which was the original plan. Then my gal and her grand-daughter met the neighbors who raise and show Bantams. The grand-daughter fell in love with the bantams. She carries them around like a kid would carry a kitten. One under each arm. Looks like we are headed towards raising and selling different pairs of Bantams next. My construction list just keeps getting bigger and bigger as this small place grows and expands into different possibilities for livestock. I'm still trying to get caught up on the goat pens and shelters, water lines and power to out buildings and now must expand areas in the chicken pens for Bantam production. Maybe one day I will actually be able to work on simplification of the systems like I would really like to. (Auto-watering and feeders) Sure would make life simpler here if I could.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

They are so cute when young. We have13 and wish we could find a good home for the 7 older hens. We know they would be killed and we don't want to kill them. But something has to give,we don't need all these eggs or chickens.


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## LastOutlaw (Jun 1, 2013)

Meerkat said:


> They are so cute when young. We have13 and wish we could find a good home for the 7 older hens. We know they would be killed and we don't want to kill them. But something has to give,we don't need all these eggs or chickens.


Make sure you charge something for the chickens that you get rid of if you don't want them killed. A friend of mine gave a couple of roosters away on craigslist and when he carried one out to their car he handed it to the Mexican ladies and noticed that there was no cage in the back of the suv. When he came back he handed them the second one and said after they left that he didnt see the first one and being no cage noticed a walmart bag only. He was pretty sure they ringed its neck as soon as he handed it to them....LOL.
Said his wife would have freaked if she knew since she raised them from a hatch.

WINNER WINNER...CHICKEN DINNER!


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## AmishHeart (Jun 10, 2016)

I still have 7 pullets about a month and a half old in the house, not yet ready to go outside yet. The other eight that I hatched in the incubator are 4 weeks older and doing well outside. They are messy inside the house at the pullet stage, but cute. I have 3 older hens in my main run of 12 that my son will use for soup. I'm not interested in eating old hens, but he doesn't mind.


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## Cotton (Oct 12, 2013)

You're starting early this year! I take it you are in south AZ. You have a nice set up. I don't get chicks before late March here. Temps here will be 17 degrees by morning... chilly! I can't keep chicks alive in these temps.


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## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

Cotton said:


> You're starting early this year! I take it you are in south AZ. You have a nice set up. I don't get chicks before late March here. Temps here will be 17 degrees by morning... chilly! I can't keep chicks alive in these temps.


Well we have some 30 degree nights, a few low 20's, below that it's unfreeze the pipes time. I'm hoping I can keep these in the brooders until they are 4-5 weeks old then they will be under lights in a confined cage with hay and heat lamps, we'll see, I've never found a hatchery that will ship in the fall months before, when I get them to 3 months it will be March and all good after that.

*Rancher*


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## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

After One Week, still have 50 + 2 extras.










*Rancher*


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## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

This is start of Week #3, huge chicks, going to have to split the 2 brooders of 26 into 4 brooders of 13, still got 52, no losses, they eat like pigs, started the second bag of 45# of Starter/Grower. Getting body feathers now.










*Rancher*


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## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

Start of week 4, lost 1 due to playing too hard, broken neck got 51 chicks.

*Rancher*


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## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

OK start of week #5, outside birds, 2 separate cages 3'X5' 500 watts of heat in each cage, I did add hay and hanging feeders, last picture is how they are protected from the wind-rain and cold, this is supposed to be a mild week, lows in the mid to low 40's, you can tell the difference between the hens and the roosters at this point.




























*Rancher*


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

Good for you. Keep up the good work. It's snowing here right now so I'm getting ready to go check on my chickens water.


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

*We have*

We have four laying Hens and they currently produce four eggs per day.

We had five but we were just getting four eggs per day .

One of them died and after she died , we were still getting four eggs per day.

This just proves the existence of God.

He always kills the right chicken !


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## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

BillM said:


> We had five but we were just getting four eggs per day .
> One of them died and after she died , we were still getting four eggs per day.
> This just proves the existence of God.
> He always kills the right chicken !


Yeah, OK... or sick chickens don't lay eggs.

*Rancher*


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## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

OK here we are at 16 weeks, I told everyone they would be mature at 16 weeks, some didn't believe me...








Two large eggs, small "first" egg in the middle.









Roo on the left, pullet that is probably laying on right standing.









The 2 older hens that laid the bigger eggs, Roo standing in the egg shell supplement.

*Rancher*


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## bbqjoe (Feb 10, 2017)

Good job.
It all seems a bit excessive to me, but what do I know?

I raised mine in a kids playpen for three weeks by the woodstove, then I kicked them out.
They had their own fenced in area in the coop.
When they started flying over that fence to hang with the older birds, I just turned them loose, and they're all getting along fine.


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## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

No predators? The cage was left over from raising Chukars as Bird Dog targets, so it was free, needs repair from the tree that fell on it.

*Rancher*


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

azrancher said:


> OK here we are at 16 weeks, I told everyone they would be mature at 16 weeks, some didn't believe me...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 almost makes me miss our hens we gave away last summer. Nice choice of birds you have. Best breed there is IMO. Dual purpose, docile, lay large brown eggs and fairly smart for a bird.:cheers:


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## bbqjoe (Feb 10, 2017)

azrancher said:


> No predators? The cage was left over from raising Chukars as Bird Dog targets, so it was free, needs repair from the tree that fell on it.
> 
> *Rancher*


As far as predators, we do have large birds flying around, but there's a fair amount of obstacles that would make swooping in a bit difficult.
I have 2 1/2 Jack Russels that patrol the grounds as well.

Of course we have coyotes, but one of the best anti predator sprays there is, you carry around with you all the time. It seems to work very well, and I keep the chicken area circled with it.
Hint: Guys have an easier time applying it than women.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

bbqjoe said:


> As far as predators, we do have large birds flying around, but there's a fair amount of obstacles that would make swooping in a bit difficult.
> I have 2 1/2 Jack Russels that patrol the grounds as well.
> 
> Of course we have coyotes, but one of the best anti predator sprays there is, you carry around with you all the time. It seems to work very well, and I keep the chicken area circled with it.
> Hint: Guys have an easier time applying it than women.


Urine doesn't deter coyotes who are used to being in a populated area. Doesn't faze them here. We also have bobcats, badgers, hawks, house cats, dogs, mountain lions (infrequently but they are here), raccoons, havalina and more that I can't think of. Everything loves chicken.


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## bbqjoe (Feb 10, 2017)

terri9630 said:


> Urine doesn't deter coyotes who are used to being in a populated area. Doesn't faze them here. We also have bobcats, badgers, hawks, house cats, dogs, mountain lions (infrequently but they are here), raccoons, havalina and more that I can't think of. Everything loves chicken.


The only time I've ever had any problem with predators, was with coyotes when the wife tried to keep 7 cats* here.

*Meals on wheels


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

bbqjoe said:


> As far as predators, we do have large birds flying around, but there's a fair amount of obstacles that would make swooping in a bit difficult.
> I have 2 1/2 Jack Russels that patrol the grounds as well.
> 
> Of course we have coyotes, but one of the best anti predator sprays there is, you carry around with you all the time. It seems to work very well, and I keep the chicken area circled with it.
> Hint: Guys have an easier time applying it than women.


 Our dogs are right next to chicken only a fence seperates them. Only lost one bird to hawk about 15 yr.s ago. Also and probably more important is the hens have cedar trees to hide in or they can run into pens that are completely covered with welded wire fencing. It took us a few years to get it like we wanted but once it was done it was so worth it. Snakes sometimes ate the eggs though. One was so big I honestly think it was an anaconda or python that came up from the south. And rattlers like to lay under water containers. We'd take them to the woods and let them loose but if the rattler came back he was killed as humanely as possible. Snakes kill rats and other varmits so we don't like killing them.


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