Well this morning we got a call from the Post Office

MrsWildweasel

Moderator
NES Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2005
Messages
15,390
Likes
358
Location
Western MA
Feedback: 0 / 0 / 0
To come and get my chickens.[grin] They are now in their lovely chicken palace.
Yes I will get pics and have hubby post them tonight.[grin]
 
chicks.jpg
 
You have pics of your setup? I've finally got the wife talked into getting some chickens and I'm looking for Ideas.
 
You have pics of your setup? I've finally got the wife talked into getting some chickens and I'm looking for Ideas.

Yeah we do, I'll have hubby post them tonight. I had to take pics for my brother so he can build one too. [laugh] The coop isn't totally finished we got it to the stage where we could put the chicks in it.
We have to finish out the nest boxes and insulate the walls and then cover the insulation.
We had to get it to this point cause we knew the chicks were showing up.[laugh]
 
I recommend Murray McMurray for chick. It's where I got all mine from. I have never had a problem with them. The green stuff you see on the food is gro gel it helps the chicks find the food when you first get them and had all kinds of nutrients also. You only use it the first day. I get the quick chick that goes in their water and feed that to them too.
I also get my birds vaccinated.
 
How cute... I didn't realize you could just mail chickens.

Mmmmmmm....... not yet processed mcnuggets...........
 
How cute... I didn't realize you could just mail chickens.

Mmmmmmm....... not yet processed mcnuggets...........

Don't think they are even big enough for that.[laugh] I haven't lost one either.
They are all healthy and lively. I have chicken cam set up in my kitchen.[laugh]
This way I can check on them throughout the day and see how they are doing.
 
FIRST 25? Wow, how many did you get!!

And any particular reason you didn't go with one of the meat breads that are ready for slaughter in 8-10 weeks?

I got 50 total, plus 3 extras that Murray put in. I did a duel purpose bird. White and Black giants.
Males will weigh in at 13lbs, and females at 10.
Some of the meat birds have issues with legs, etc. I'm just hedging my bets is all.
We plan on a chicken tractor also.

The roosters will be offed first, and I will be wintering over about 12 hens when all is said and done.[grin]
 
You have pics of your setup? I've finally got the wife talked into getting some chickens and I'm looking for Ideas.
Plenty of coop ideas here : http://www.backyardchickens.com/ . Our coop is on one of the "Coop Design" threads but it's a simple 10x10' one I just threw up. It does have low-E glass, 30 year shingles, and it's fully insulated. The outside pen was actually harder and more time consuming.
 
We did the linoleum on the floor also. We had inherited with our house some god awful looking linoleum which hubby stuck up in the attic, so it came out when we built the coop. It is on the floor and in the nesting boxes so I will have an easier time cleaning.[grin]
We are insulating the coop also, it's on the list of things to do.[laugh]
 
It's all a learning curve.[grin] We hadn't raised chickens for quite awhile so we read up on it again.[laugh] I haven't lost one chick so far, they are thriving.
Oh and don't think all heat lamp bulbs are the same. They aren't. The best one we got was a GE. The Phillips is okay, but the cheap one we got a Tractor supply sucked. We changed it out with the Phillips, which is okay not as good as the GE, but the chicks are spreading out under both lights.
The GE puts out alot more warmth.
We have a camera on the chicks and you can see the differences of the bulbs.
The GE was more expensive at 13.00, but defintely worth the extra money.
 
Sounds like lotsa fun.

Our first 2 flocks came from Murray McMurray. Last year we switched to Mt. Healthy. Their prices and selection are quite good, and delivery schedule is more convenient for us (weekday v.s. weekend) and better for the chicks because we could pick them up immediately upon arrival rather than having them sit overnight at the post office. Also, the last flock of we got from McMurray had way too many roosters, the straight run batch was virtually all roosters and the "hen" batch had more than 10% roosters. They tasted good, but still. And, McMurray had illness issues the previous year and we didn't want to chance it. We were very pleased with Mt. Healthy. The order came as expected and we had a lower infant mortality rate than previous flocks.

I insulated our coop when I built it; pink foam sandwiched between the studs and the sheathing/siding and fiberglass batts between the rafters. I would not bother doing so again as it seemed to cause moisture/condensation issues even though the coop has a 4"x6' vent on one side, 2'x6' of windows on the opposite wall and soffit vents at both ends of the shed roof. We pulled the roof insulation out and it is far better now. The chickens seem to be able to keep themselves plenty warm during the winter and we just put heat mats under the waterers to keep them from freezing.

Good luck and good eating.
 
Last edited:
You guys are making me feel like a bad chicken farmer since I haven't insulated my coop...

No don't the first time I ever raised chickens we built our coop on no budget, it was not insulated at all. I only had to put in a heat lamp in for the winter and keep their water unfrozen. I used that coop for quite awhile. It served it's purpose, and then later became the pigs housing when we were raising them.

This time around we wanted to make it better and had more of a budget to do it.
We want this coop to last us until we decide to move from here.[laugh]
 
Sounds like lotsa fun.

Our first 2 flocks came from Murray McMurray. Last year we switched to Mt. Healthy. Their prices and selection are quite good, and delivery schedule is more convenient for us (weekday v.s. weekend) and better for the chicks because we could pick them up immediately upon arrival rather than having them sit overnight at the post office. Also, the last flock of we got from McMurray had way too many roosters, the straight run batch was virtually all roosters and the "hen" batch had more than 10% roosters. They tasted good, but still. And, McMurray had illness issues the previous year and we didn't want to chance it. We were very pleased with Mt. Healthy. The order came as expected and we had a lower infant mortality rate than previous flocks.

I insulated our coop when I built it; pink foam sandwiched between the studs and the sheathing/siding and fiberglass batts between the rafters. I would not bother doing so again as it seemed to cause moisture/condensation issues even though the coop has a 4"x6' vent on one side, 2'x6' of windows on the opposite wall and soffit vents at both ends of the shed roof. We pulled the roof insulation out and it is far better now. The chickens seem to be able to keep themselves plenty warm during the winter and we just put heat mats under the waterers to keep them from freezing.

Good luck and good eating.

I will have to keep that hatchery in mind for next year.[grin] Thanks for posting that.
 
Speaking of chickens....

We just started raising chickens this year to be more self-sufficient - for eggs, not meat. We also told the kids they could sell eggs, too, if they wanted.

And also as family pets. We absolutely love our small flock of 8. We have had so much fun with them - they are like family. They follow us around and keep us endlessly amused.

Uh, they also have their own blog. [wink] We just started the blog late last week and are "back dating" the posts from the time we got them. It has pictures of them and their brooder set up and temporary coop.

Mr. Smith is designing and building the coop.

Here is the link in case anyone would like to see our set up. The girls just turned 3 months today.

http://8hipchicks.blogspot.com/
 
Speaking of chickens....

We just started raising chickens this year to be more self-sufficient - for eggs, not meat. We also told the kids they could sell eggs, too, if they wanted.

And also as family pets. We absolutely love our small flock of 8. We have had so much fun with them - they are like family. They follow us around and keep us endlessly amused.

Uh, they also have their own blog. [wink] We just started the blog late last week and are "back dating" the posts from the time we got them. It has pictures of them and their brooder set up and temporary coop.

Mr. Smith is designing and building the coop.

Here is the link in case anyone would like to see our set up. The girls just turned 3 months today.

http://8hipchicks.blogspot.com/
Very nice. Enjoy the chickies, look forward to the eggs.
 
Back
Top Bottom