stock photo — these aren’t my chickens!
We have:
- 1 large cardboard box (recycled, yay!)
- 1 roll of screen to go over the top, so they don’t flutter out and hide under the couch
- 1 heat lamp
- 1 bag of wood shavings
- 1 bag of feed
- 1 waterer
- 1 feeder
Now we just need the little critters, which should start arriving at our local farm stores next week. Based on our city ordinances, I calculate we can have up to six chickens in the yard. I don’t know, though, if we should buy an extra chick or two, just in case? Sad to think that way, but what if they don’t all make it? But then what if they DO? Decisions, decisions.
Is there a reader out there with experience (OMEGAMOM!) who can tell me if I’m forgetting anything direly important?
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6 Responses to Preparing for chickens
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Craftgawker
Etsy Mini
Hmmm. Sounds good so far. Just be aware that you will *need* the big coop much sooner than you expect, because those suckers will grow much faster than you would think. We bought adolescents, not babies; they were about six weeks old? Anyway, all the adolescents lived.
Is your yard fenced? Do you have neighbor dogs running free?
When you put them on your lap, cover it (the lap) with an old towel, and be sure you point their butts over the side, so you don’t get pooped on.
Good luck! Take pics!
OMGOMGOMG!!! So jealous! I have been begging for chickens for two years, but the spousal unit is not as enthusiastic as I am about the idea. I hold out hope though, that some day…
Be sure to post photos! Love it!
Thanks, OM! We will have an enclosed coop. We have cats who like our yard, so we will only be letting them free range when we are nearby — or until they are big enough to scare off the cats. ;-)
Amanda, I’ll definitely have pictures, and I’ll do my best to make the posts unthreatening so that you may begin to build more of a case…!
Well, Amanda could be the Chickie’s surrogate mom, and when you come to Prescott, she can chickie sit…… (yeah, along with a 2 yr old and an infant, right)
Ask Susie about the day old chicks I dropped off at her house a couple of years ago.
You should probably buy a couple of extras. If you want to buy day old chicks and have them mailed to you there are excellent hatcheries where you can buy heritage breed chicks. Murray McMurray is probably the best know.
You have to buy 25 at a time. But, you can sell some of them as they get older, or share the shipment with someone else. They will usually start laying at eight weeks.
Home grown eggs tast sooooo much better than store bought.
Name one after me, will you, huh?