# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Livestock and Animal Husbandry >  Chicks !!!

## cow_rancher

Chicks, the fuzzy feathery kind, not the babes.
Arrived this AM, from Meyer Hatchery.
Ordered 40 sexed hens, and 10 straight run, 52 arrived all healthy.
USPS tracking sux, they were shipped Monday the 5th, they had one entry stating they were transferred to UPS on the 1st, then they had them arriving yesterday morning and out for delivery last night...
Here they are, I'm going to be selling free range/organic/fertile/non GMO etc eggs!

Barred Rock Chicks.jpg Barred Rock in GQF Brooders.jpg

*Rancher*

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## hunter63

I am still amazed that they ship them....LOL...and even more amazed they all made it...

They ship bees as well.....
Good luck ad keep us posted.

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## kyratshooter

You will have eggs in six months at any rate, if you can keep them alive.  

Free range birds are viewed as free lunch my every coyote, dog, raccoon, possum, skunk, weasel, feral cat, hawk and buzzard.

I will never forget the Great Raccoon War of 2012, or the night I turned on the outside lights at 3am and found two raccoons on top of the cage area, one on top of the chicken house, two coyotes waiting to see if the coons could open the gate and a possum standing off to the side.

I fought the battle for years until I finally wound up with one lonely little hen that followed me like a puppy and constantly looked and called for her buddies.  

I finally gave her to a lady down the road that was starting a bunch of new chicks, like you, so she would not be alone.  She was a good brood hen and adopted the new chicks like she had hatched them herself.

I generally broke even on the cost of feed and number of eggs collected, but just barely.  Fresh eggs are good, but much easier to buy at $3 a dozen from someone that never wants to go anywhere for more than a day, enjoys watching chickens scratch while standing guard or never wants to sleep.  

I also got death threats about the rooster! 

I still enjoyed having the chickens around, and enjoyed the eggs and the occasional thinning of the fryers.  I just could not keep the poor birds alive with all the predators in my area and could not afford a fenced area with overhead protection large enough to keep a sizable, productive flock.

So good luck with that!

Seriously, good luck!

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## cow_rancher

Ah yes free range birds, doesn't mean out roaming with the wild animals, you must fence their outside eating/digging area, and herd them in at night, and shoot coyotes, raccoon, and skunks.

*Rancher*

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## Rick

> I'm going to be selling free range/organic/fertile/non GMO etc eggs!




I remember when they used to just be called eggs. (sigh)

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## hunter63

Never raised chickens....but want to discuss the predators and vermin the feed attracted.
Hawks (from above), coyotes, coons,  possums....and LOTS of mice.
Also be aware that some s=chickens are just mean...and attack others....those are the first to go in the pot. 

Did keep 10 or more pheasants every year, that I got from a friend who raised them ......for training the dogs.

Had a 16' X 16' dog pen.....chain link fence,....had a piece of pipe added across the top  to hold up a tarp....but rain weighted it down....so added a chain link top under that tarp as well....was about 1/2 covered.

As soon as I put them in the pen in the fall....the red tailed hawk started hanging out I the big tree nearby...
Was filled with weeds for about a week when they showed up and scratched the ground to the mud.
Had feeders and water dispensers...and a old picnic table as a roost.
Would add a couple of bales of hay for them to scratch....

So training days would come...take one out let it loose and have the dogs find it......did shoot a couple so the dogs knew what they were doing.....but you could flush the bird when the dogs found them....they would fly, land....so we would do it again.

If we didn't shoot them that day....and lost them....they would be next to the pen in the morning.....They knew where the food was...

Parked a trailer next to the pen so they could get away from sight of the hawk....

I did have a weird problem with the coyotes and coons....they couldn't get in the pen....but would bite the head off if any get close to the fence.
I would find headless birds.....

Given they were only there for a couple of months....there was always a few left....so after hunting season....would open the door of the pen and let them run.

They would keep coming back to the pen even after the door was opened.    
Did have a couple make it to the next year....but couldn't get them to re-populate the valley.

As I wasn't there(is at our cabin) much after about December 1st....even when the neighbor filled the feeders for the winter every week or so....... it was hard to keep them alive....
Gave it up, finally after about 10 years.

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## Rick

So, headless chickens bumped into things a lot, right? Probably easier to catch too.

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## hunter63

Well, yeah....so far none have matched "Miracle Mike....The headless chicken" 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_the_Headless_Chicken

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## cowgirlup

Congrats on the chickens.  Ours have a good size coop and run. But we let them out most of the time. Our house is surrounded by woods and I've seen nearly every kind of local predator come through except coyotes. So far we haven't lost any chickens to predators.  We've had 2 attacked by hawks but they lived...one lost an eye though. We keep a rooster for extra protection and have a lot of places they can run to get away from hawks.

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## Rick

Oh, man. A tough, one eyed chicken? I can't let this pass. Is his name Rooster Cogburn? You all saw what I did there, right?

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## M118LR

Even a One Eyed Fat-man could see what you did there Rick. (Wink,wink, nod,nod.)

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## cowgirlup

LOL No, It's a hen. She can't walk straight with only one eye on one side of her head.  She will go about 6 feet, stop  and correct course.  But she's is a tough girl. She also had a 3 inch slice on her back that probably could have used a suture too.

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## crashdive123

Three inch slice?  Sounds like that's where the stuffing should go.

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## Rick

Needed a suture and didn't get one? I'll bet she was chicken. (this stuff is just too easy)

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## chiggersngrits

Rick, you have fowled up this whole thread.

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## hunter63

Well that's happens when you play chicken, hawk.

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## cowgirlup

> Three inch slice?  Sounds like that's where the stuffing should go.





> Needed a suture and didn't get one? I'll bet she was chicken. (this stuff is just too easy)





> Rick, you have fowled up this whole thread.



Yep same ol WSF!  I'm glad I got a word in before the comedy de-railed the thread.  :Wink: 
hehehehe

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## Rick

> Rick, you have fowled up this whole thread.




Another feather in my cap!

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## crashdive123

Keep pecking and scratching......you'll find another.

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## Rick

It's really nothing to crow about.

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## crashdive123

So......do deviled eggs come from evil chickens?

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## madmax

Do boiled eggs come from hot chicks?

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## pete lynch

Telling bad jokes is sometimes called "laying an egg."  :Yes:

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## Rick

Sorry, didn't mean to ruffle anyone's feather.

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## crashdive123

This guy Mr. Straits was onto something early.  Seems he was getting his chicks for free.  Now that more people are raising them we've probably spoiled it for him.  He probably has to pay dearly now.

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## cowgirlup

> This guy Mr. Straits was onto something early.  Seems he was getting his chicks for free.  Now that more people are raising them we've probably spoiled it for him.  He probably has to pay dearly now.



Funny, he doesn't look like the kind of guy who would get many chicks at all.....

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## hunter63

> Funny, he doesn't look like the kind of guy who would get many chicks at all.....


That was the (G) rated version.....

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## Rick

Yeah, we are a PG forum. Sheeesh.

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## finallyME

> Chicks, the fuzzy feathery kind, not the babes.
> Arrived this AM, from Meyer Hatchery.
> Ordered 40 sexed hens, and 10 straight run, 52 arrived all healthy.
> USPS tracking sux, they were shipped Monday the 5th, they had one entry stating they were transferred to UPS on the 1st, then they had them arriving yesterday morning and out for delivery last night...
> Here they are, I'm going to be selling free range/organic/fertile/non GMO etc eggs!


Congrats on the chicks!  Sorry you didn't get a shipment of the other type.  :Smile:  
One time I used USPS to ship my tax return in.  I paid extra for tracking.  They lost it. They didn't completely lose it.  Someone at USPS just put it in the regular mail, and it did make it to its destination, they just couldn't confirm it.  I had to yell at a bunch of people to figure out what happened.  I won't ever use them again if it is important.

I don't know how much experience you have, but you said that you would have to herd them in at night.  You can train them to come in themselves every night.  Whenever you move them to a new coop, you lock them in the coop for 3 days.  Don't let them out during the day at all.  It makes their brains know that the coop is home.  Then, you can let them range all they want, and they will mostly come back to the coop right at dusk.  Every so often they might get caught out in the dark, and you will have to go find them, but this is rare.  One thing about chickens is that when it gets dark, they sit and don't move, no matter what.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

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## finallyME

> I generally broke even on the cost of feed and number of eggs collected, but just barely.  Fresh eggs are good, but much easier to buy at $3 a dozen from someone that never wants to go anywhere for more than a day, enjoys watching chickens scratch while standing guard or never wants to sleep.


I solved the problem of vacation or leaving for more than a day by paying a local kid to come check on them.  He was 12 or 13, and had chickens himself.  He would also feed the dog.  But, yeah, you have to check up on the birds at least once a day, and sometimes much more.

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## madmax

Therapy Chickens?
My friends dad has Alzheimers.  Can't remember who I am (He's known me 35 years) but knows the chickens' names.  Babytalks to them when they let them out in the yard.  He hand feeds them.  For a little while "Dad" has no anxiety.  No agitation.  No confusion.  Just a big smile as he sits in the middle of them feeding them and "talking turkey"  er "chicken".

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## kyratshooter

My birds did good work as "service chickens".  

Old lady lived next door was way past 90.  She would sit in the yard under the shade tree and the chickens would all gather around her and just hunker down and sit for a while, cluck softly and waddle around a bit.  It was like they were having a "hen party".  

The chickens would sit at her feet and let her pet them on the head.

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## Rick

The old lady was just too afraid to get up.

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## hunter63

Y'all know that chickens are just mini dinosaurs (once removed) ....Right?

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## finallyME

> Therapy Chickens?
> My friends dad has Alzheimers.  Can't remember who I am (He's known me 35 years) but knows the chickens' names.  Babytalks to them when they let them out in the yard.  He hand feeds them.  For a little while "Dad" has no anxiety.  No agitation.  No confusion.  Just a big smile as he sits in the middle of them feeding them and "talking turkey"  er "chicken".


So... did you know the chicken's names?  Because, you know, he could have made up anything or called them all different names all the time, and unless you knew their names, you would have never known.   They are very relaxing to watch though.

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## crashdive123

> Y'all know that chickens are just mini dinosaurs (once removed) ....Right?


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## hunter63

See......I told you so....
I'm not just a pretty face.....Got some school housin'

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## Wildthang

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Some chicks wear camo, my favorite kind of chicks :Smartass: 

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Chicks wearing camo are hot!

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## Wildthang

Oh sorry, wrong kind of chicks!

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## crashdive123

Careful......don't let the girls see them.

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## cowgirlup

> Oh sorry, wrong kind of chicks!


 Gotcha covered....


Camouflage_chicken_jacket_on_chicken.jpg

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## hunter63

> Gotcha covered....
> 
> 
> Camouflage_chicken_jacket_on_chicken.jpg


Now THAT is cool......LOL
Thanks

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## cowgirlup

> Now THAT is cool......LOL
> Thanks


I bought one for one of the hens that got attacked by a hawk. She was bald and getting sunburned.  I figured the camo might help her considering she was already almost dinner once.

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## hunter63

Is the chicken's name....Lucky...The one eyed, half plucked, sunburned....Rambo Hen?

Maybe should have been orange?.....Like orange deer vests on dogs cows?
Did it work?

Had a hawk after my pheasants...they would run under a trailer....watched pretty close

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## Rick

If reincarnation works I sure hope I don't come back as a hen at cowgirlup's place. I'm beginning to think she just doesn't eat a good hen all at once. Just pieces parts at a time and calls it a "hawk". Yeah, right.

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## Pennsylvania Mike

> Gotcha covered....
> 
> 
> Camouflage_chicken_jacket_on_chicken.jpg


This is super cool Cowgirl, I have never seen clothing for chickens before.

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## cowgirlup

It's called a hen saddle. It's generally used when the rooster is paying too much attention to the girls and their backs are all torn up.  I'm sure someone someplace has gone overboard and started knitting sweaters for them too.

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## hunter63

> It's called a hen saddle. It's generally used when the rooster is paying too much attention to the girls and their backs are all torn up.  I'm sure someone someplace has gone overboard and started knitting sweaters for them too.


I can truly say that was a new one on me....Thanks for that.

I wonder if they make Kevlar hen saddles....
This is one for hunting dogs....protection for weeds, rush thorns.......
http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/p...FYq2wAodOTYFGA

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## crashdive123

Where do they find jockys small enough to fit in the hen saddle.

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## kyratshooter

You do not know much about the mating rituals of chickens Crash.

The Roosters are not gentle with the hens, no candle light diners or strawberries and whipped cream.  

They will sometimes pick out one hen  and nearly kill her, and all the feathers will be pulled from her back in the process.  It takes months for the hen to recover.

That little saddle protects the hen from the talons of the rooster while he pins the hen down to mate.

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## Wildthang

Man we sure jacked this thread LOL

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## hunter63

> Man we sure jacked this thread LOL


What?......This is all real important for new chicken raisers.....Yeah, That's the ticket.
Well maybe not the chicken jockey part...

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## kyratshooter

yea, we have gone all the way from unloading a box of new chicks to hen defense from avian sexual predators.

You can learn a lot from chickens, especially about instinctive behavior.  They are equipped to take care of themselves from day 1.

As soon as they hatch they are scratching and looking for food.  

I lost a week old chick off the back porch where I was keeping the hen and clutch while they got big enough to turn in with the flock.  That little chick stayed under the porch for protection and ran out to eat and drink on her own until I turned the family out to run with the flock a few weeks latter.  She shot out from under the porch and joined the family as if nothing had happened. 

She was even showing the others where the good weeds and bugs were and where to find the best water puddles.

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## Wildthang

> yea, we have gone all the way from unloading a box of new chicks to hen defense from avian sexual predators.
> 
> You can learn a lot from chickens, especially about instinctive behavior.  They are equipped to take care of themselves from day 1.
> 
> As soon as they hatch they are scratching and looking for food.  
> 
> I lost a week old chick off the back porch where I was keeping the hen and clutch while they got big enough to turn in with the flock.  That little chick stayed under the porch for protection and ran out to eat and drink on her own until I turned the family out to run with the flock a few weeks latter.  She shot out from under the porch and joined the family as if nothing had happened. 
> 
> She was even showing the others where the good weeds and bugs were and where to find the best water puddles.


This only proves that chickens are smarter than some humans!

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## Pennsylvania Mike

Here are the latest styles for chicken elegance 
https://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/chicken...cken_clothing/ 

And if you don't like that style, chick I mean check this out
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ery-farms.html 
 and if you are into tweed, check this out
http://www.petproductmarketing.co.uk...nt.php?sid=957

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## hunter63

Well I never.......Tsk, tsk.....
Cool.

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## cow_rancher

OK, back on topic... This is start of Week #2, big chicks, no losses so far, still 52, and the hatchery sent me 2 females for extras according to the NPIP certification. A couple of days ago I had to do a vent cleaning, if you don't know... don't ask.
Barred Rock Chicks Week 1a.jpg

*Rancher*

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## hunter63

Well it only took 57 post to hear how thing are going.....Sorry about that.
Was pretty entertaining and informative ,though.

Congratulations....on th success so far....like being a Mom....

Neighbors lost heat in the hen house on a bitter cold night...so had the chicks running around in the kitchen with the oven going.
Talk about venting

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## Pennsylvania Mike

They look nice and healthy, they got a lot bigger in just a week.

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## cowgirlup

> OK, back on topic... This is start of Week #2, big chicks, no losses so far, still 52, and the hatchery sent me 2 females for extras according to the NPIP certification. A couple of days ago I had to do a vent cleaning, if you don't know... don't ask.
> Barred Rock Chicks Week 1a.jpg
> 
> *Rancher*



Bummer on the vent cleaning....... :Wink: 

I had one with pasty butt and had to put a little mineral oil on her after clean up to keep her open.

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## cow_rancher

Start of week #4, lost one due to rough playing,... broken neck, got 51 left.

RancherBarred Rock Chicks Week 3b.jpg

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## cow_rancher

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.

Sorry no pics, upload failed...

*Rancher*

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## Rick

They may have been sized wrong. 640X480 or anything close to that will work.

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## cow_rancher

OK here we are at 16 weeks, I told everyone they would be mature at 16 weeks, some didn't believe me...
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Two large eggs, small "first" egg in the middle.

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

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

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## hunter63

Cool.....I'm thinking you are gonna have a lots of eggs.

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## cow_rancher

> Cool.....I'm thinking you are gonna have a lots of eggs.


Trading material...

*Rancher*

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