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When the chicks arrived all I had to do is, fill the waterer and feeder and I was ready to watch them grow. At the time my "shelter" for them was an old rickety building about 10' x 12'. I had the back corner blocked off with an old wooden storm door to confine them in a small area once they left the brooder. The brooder I was using was a professional brooder in that it was factory made of metal and I had no problem getting them to about 2 weeks. I had a fraction of the amount the brooder was designed for so they had room to grow for much longer than recommended.

I didn't lose any of this first flock so I felt somewhat like a real chicken farmer. During the first 4 or 5 days the tubes in the chicks throat can be dry from not getting enough humidity while in the incubator and die from not being able to get food and some other things which at the time I was not aware of. Anyway, I didn't lose any so they were moved from the corner of the kitchen, to the corner of the cellar after a couple days and after a couple weeks they were finally home in their own house. Needless to say the wife was very happy when they left her house.

Once in their house I made a cut in a box on one end on the top, installed a light bulb in the bottom so that when turned upside down the light was on the top and the opening was on the bottom a few inches above the litter. This kept the inside of the box warm and allowed them to go out in their "exercise area" to eat and drink. Baby chicks need a temperature of about 95 degrees the first week dropping the temperature 5 degrees each week for 4 - 6 weeks. After that they will be fully feathered and can withstand a good amount of cold as long as they can't get away from drafts.

During the next few weeks I constructed a large box with dividers to make six compartments for nests and mounted it on the wall of their new house. I also built a trough for a feeder and bought a cheap pan type waterer. The box, being cardboard, was easily cut, as it was necessary to cut the opening higher as the birds grew. After about 4 or 5 weeks I removed the old wooden door and they could roam freely in their new house.

Some of the other construction while they were inside the small enclosure was a small door so they could go outside into an area fenced in with regular chicken wire. All was fine in their new home.

Beginning to Learn

At approximately 6 weeks I let them into their new yard outside. They ran all around and scratched around checking out the bugs and whatever else it is they find interesting and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Because this was my first flock of chickens I was outside often and as dark approached I patiently waited for them to go inside. It began to get quite dark and none went inside so I kept waiting. Finally about an hour after dark I took a flashlight, climbed into the pen and put them inside one at a time. After the last one was in I went into their house and closed the doors to keep them safe. I had learned that a chicken can't or won't go in the house on their own until they learn where the door is or something.

The next day I let them out, coaxed one with scratch feed to come in through their little door by itself and it went back out and after a short time I had a few of them coming in to eat, going back out, and coming back in for more. That night they came in on their own. I find that if you get one to do something the rest will usually try it although some will be either extra numb or stubborn and take a little longer to learn.

Before very long I began to notice that the combs on several were beginning to develop. I believe it is around 6 weeks when it becomes very obvious which ones are roosters. I let them grow to about 3 and 1/2 months old and a friend of mine and myself "processed" 5 of the 6 roosters and put them in the freezer. It was obvious to me at this time that I preferred to raise eggs and not any quantity of meat. I ended up with 7 hens and 1 roosters. The rooster got named Gertrude. I don't know why I said that name to my son jokingly but he was about 4 and once I said it he decided it was a great name for the rooster so the name stuck. Gertrude remained with his harem.

Eggs

I had read about the time needed for a hen to mature enough to lay an egg. The standard was stated as 6 months but in reality, a decent strain of Rhode Island Reds will begin to lay eggs around 4 and 1/2 months. I got 3 eggs the first time I got any eggs and I was quite excited. I was even more excited to find that about 50% of the eggs I got for the first 3 months while they were actually in their pullet stage and not really adult hens that the eggs were double yolk. I have never had any chickens since that has done that. I do remember that the chicks came from Hall Brothers Hatchery in Connecticut. I got more chicks from them but never had that sort of luck.

At first the fresh eggs tasted really strange to me. I can't really describe the difference in taste but the consistency is vastly different than those I was used to getting at the store. They didn't spread out and the yolks were almost orange. Later on I read somewhere that eggs were kept in cold storage for at least a month or more before distribution. After all these years of fresh eggs I can eat store bought eggs if scrambled but even then they are pretty nasty to me. I guess it is like fresh anything, it just doesn't compare with the stores.

The First Winter

I feel I should mention that my one rooster was all the hens wanted. He was after them continuously. This can be a problem, as if a hen doesn't get down to eat it doesn't lay as many eggs. Therefore, I personally don't recommend a rooster unless you are convinced that you want to raise your own chicks. I probably shouldn't even mention this first year as nothing really happened. I gathered eggs and felt bad about them being in the cold but they did well and aside from some minor frostbite on the combs I had no problems. There was really nothing I could do about the frostbite and it healed quickly and finally spring began to spring.

My First Wannabe Mom

I was really enjoying having the hens and affectionately call them my "girls" and I checked them as often as I could. Sometime in the spring I went out as usual and tried to reach under one of the girls that was on the nest only to find that he very carefully reached her head out and took just a small piece of meat out of the back of my hand. I got the eggs from the other nests and went and got a Band-Aid. The next day I was a little smarter and didn't reach in so carelessly. She lunged at me again and from the books I had read I decided she was broody. I didn't want any more chicks but decided to let her just set on her eggs right there.

I noticed the next day that production was dropping rapidly from the one hen that stopped laying but didn't pay a lot of attention. I was getting many more eggs than my small family could use. After about a week I noticed that she couldn't cover all the eggs in the nest. A light seemed to come on inside my head as I had remembered that I had often seen more than one hen in a nest at a time. I went and got gloves and picked her up, she was not impressed. She had a mini-mountain of eggs under her. I got my book and decided to read a little further. It recommended a marker, water based, as eggs are porous and indelible might poison the chick and I marked the eggs. I took a few out, as I knew it was more than she could ever handle. She sat diligently and I lifted her daily and took the unmarked eggs for family consumption. All was well in Gertrude's Palace. Finally they began to hatch. It takes 21 days but I have no idea when she actually began sitting on them enough to start the growing process for the embryo. I noticed one with its head sticking out from under her wing. Out of the mess I ended up with 5 chicks and many half-hatched or rotted eggs.

Leaving the Nest

The next day mother and her babies were on the floor. No other hens or even Gertrude were anywhere near her. She bristled up her feathers when I went in or even when another hen or Gertrude went near her. She really was an excellent mother. She talked to them and my son and wife were impressed as was I and we watched as she picked small amounts of mash out of the trough and dropped it for her babies. The mother and her babies, even though just a hen, to me really was beautiful and I still enjoy watching this.

Outside

The next day when I opened their small door, much to my surprise she took her babies out in the yard. Later in the day I was in the house and I heard a chicken going crazy outside. I looked out to watch as my neighbor's cat picked up one of the chicks and run off with it. I learned that 2' mesh chicken wire does not contain baby chicks. I should have known better but I guess I thought mom would call them inside if she sensed danger. I felt pretty stupid. This was one down and only day two or three, That night when I went to close them up mom was out with her babies under her by their small door. I had to climb in the fence and put them in as the chicks just couldn't get up to the door. Trying to catch baby chicks without hurting them while a brooding mother hen is after you is quite a trick. I got my wife to hold the extremely upset mom while I got the babies inside. It isn't fun to say the least.

Another one bites the Dust

I don't know if I mentioned it or not but I was using an open pan with just a wire guard for a waterer. Anyway, upon entering the chicken house the next day one of the chicks was floating inside the waterer. Two down already and I had lost a over a month's production from the hen. I did keep the small door closed to keep them in but the main door for me was also 2-inch wire so it was about a week later that I was down to 2. Even though the door was several inches above the floor I guess the chicks were large enough to jump up and out as I figure the cat got another one. I kept them in for another week or so then let mom and the last two out in their yard with the rest of the flock. I watched a while and it seemed ok but it wasn't long and all 5 were gone. Another lesson learned. I read the book about a "broody coop" and decided it would have to be something like that only it would also need to confine the babies to work in my situation. It was a long time before I let another of my girls become a mother.

The First Year

During the first year I had learned to read the book I had bought and had gotten through most of the problems confronting the beginning backyard chicken farmer. I had gone through a month or so long neck molt and the full body molt, which takes about 3 months and had learned about what not to do when trying to rear chicks with a hen. The learning curve would continue for a long time and I actually feel that I am still learning about raising chickens.

My Continuing Saga

After losing the chicks hatched by the hen I ordered some Plymouth Barred Rocks. Everyone had been telling me how wonderful and now much better the "sex-link" chickens layed. These are a cross of a Rhode Island Red Rooster and Plymouth Barred Rock hens. This gave me a flock of about 26 hens and a rooster. This was a good year as I didn't lose any hens during the winter and the new hens came into laying on schedule and life was good in the hen house.

Spring

One night in early spring I was lying in bed at around 3:30 A. M. and heard commotion out in the chicken house. After a few seconds I became very aware that something was in the chicken house. I always keep a shotgun around with a few shells in the house. I do like hunting although I would rather just walk around than actually shoot anything. However, when I determined what was going on I pulled on some jeans, grabbed the shotgun and a couple shells and went running to the chicken house. I had also grabbed a flashlight on the way out and in a couple minutes I was in the chicken house.

As I shined the light around things appeared normal until I saw one of the girls on the floor. She was moaning or what I call moaning and a closer inspection showed that a good piece of her comb was missing but I didn't notice the real extent of the damage she had received.

I kept looking around the floor and saw nothing. This had me puzzled but then I shined the light up by one of the windows and saw a half-grown raccoon hanging near the window. I guess he figured he could get through the glass. Not wanting to kill it I stepped out of the chicken house went well away from it and waited for a few minutes. Probably not that long, as I was naked to the waist having left my bed in such a rush and hoped the intruder would leave. He didn't and because I knew he had wounded at least one of my "girls" I went in the chicken house and let him have it. I double bagged him in empty grain bags. The next day he went to the dump. I have found that a mother raccoon will sometimes come and take a hen or two to feed a litter but usually raccoons will or seem to kill chickens for fun. I have been told that they like chicken brains and they might because I do know they always mangle the heads on the chickens. I didn't do more inspecting in the dark but in the short time it took me to realize he was in there he had mortally wounded 1 and roughed up two more of the girls. One had died during the night and I had to kill another. The other recovered. I did feel badly that I hadn't inspected them more thoroughly as I should not have let the one that died suffer. It was very obvious in the daylight that she really had no chance to survive the attack.

Some of the girls at the feed trough.

I began raising chickens in or around 1975. At the time I was working in a machine shop. A friend of mine and myself decided we might get some chickens for eggs and because the minimum order is 25 we decided we should split the order. At the time I believe straight run chicks were about 40 or 50 cents each. Anyway we ordered the 25, were given the date of arrival and we waited for their arrival. The chicks arrived exactly on schedule and all in excellent condition. They were addressed to me so I took 13 out and gave him the other 13, as there was one extra chick, which was normal at the time. The extra chick was sent to allow for any that might have died in transit. This is common with nearly all-reputable hatcheries.

To contact me:

 

Kelly@kellys-stuff.com

A couple of my “girls” in the front yard.