Chicks to Chickens

One of our black australorp chicks

Contemplating Chickens

Around March or April this year (2019) I started thinking about getting chickens again and starting a garden. I was worried about getting chickens again because the last set was killed by a dog that dug under the 6 foot fence to get them. The neighbor was a nice guy but took on fostering two Siberian huskies he left out all day. They didn't get along well with his dog and it was originally only supposed to be 2 weeks if I am recalling right. 2 weeks turned into months of bored huskies staring at my chickens in the yard before one got under and killed one after the other once they stopped moving. The neighbor felt horrible so I am not blaming him.

This incident made me vow to never get chickens again unless I could buy or build a coop big enough they could be confined all day when I was not working outside or at least able to periodically check on them. Our previous coop was well build but not quite big enough to house chickens all day so they roamed the yard. It was also very hard to clean our when they spent too much time inside. We also stopped maintaining it after the last batch died and it was rotting away.

The chicken condo

The Coop

If you read my first post you will know that when I talked to my mom about chickens I discovered they were selling their coop. My step-dad is great at building things and he built their chickens a very large very sturdy coop.

As usual I got ahead of myself and realized I needed to ask my Ryan before I made a commitment that would involve caring for more animals. I am pretty sure he was reluctant to say yes but he did and we purchased the chicks from a hatchery and the coop from my family.

By the time we got the coop it was warm enough for the chicks to go out and they were about 6 weeks old at that point.

I am very thankful for the timing of all this and my mom and step-dads help getting it here and in the yard without taking out the garage and the fence and the house. I am also thankful for the hens, I forgot how much I enjoyed feeding them and watching them. It can be amusing to watch one chicken find a worm in the ground and watch the rest chase that hen around trying to steal her feast.

The Babies

I got the babies in the first week of May and they were actually larger than the first batch of chickens I had with this breed. Considering I did my usual spur of the moment thing and ordered immediately after I decided I had to write the company and tell them I needed a ship date before or after my already planned vacation. I had a pet sitter coming so he could feed and water them if they came before. 

They shipped them right away so my best guess is these little ladies were at least a week maybe 2 old when we got them. They may have had extra from a previous order and I am completely fine with that especially since they all survived shipping and the first are all still living today. 

I chose this breed (Black Australorp) because they are very calm, amazing egg layers, easy to handle, cold and heat hearty and when they feather they have beautiful feathers. I had leghorns in both my previous batches and they were crazy and noisy and skittish. After dealing with a few breeds in previous flocks I decided this was my favorite breed and that I didn't need variety. 

The baby chicks are pretty easy the first few weeks and not real expensive since we already had supplies. They get big and stinky fast so we started them in plastic tub brooders in my plant room, then moved them to an old very large dog crate in the basement. They were large enough to move outdoors when the coop was delivered. You can also do this in a garage if needed but you will likely have to monitor the temperature more closely.  They are happy out there and I let them out to roam the yard when I am available to check in on them or working outside so I will leave you with some pictures of the chickens in their back yard home.

first day outside