My, How They’ve Grown!
It is incredible to me how fast chickens grow. In my last post, the chickens were these tiny little creatures. Now it seems as if they are big birds that I can no longer fit within the grasp of my two hands!
Their coop is complete, which I am very happy about. The chickens now have a warm and safe place to sleep at night! It is actually a resin garden shed from Lowe’s that I am converting into a coop. I have a makeshift roost which works for the time being, and I will eventually install some nesting boxes!
I will most likely order some day-old chicks in late winter, that way I can start them off in a brooder indoors and then mid-spring move them outside when they are old enough. When all is said and done, I hope to have about 10 laying chickens. This way I have enough eggs to sell and still end up with some for myself.
Hens or Roosters?
I understood when I bought my chicks that they were too young to be sexed. This means of course that there is a 50% chance that any of them could be male or female. The woman I bought them from was pretty certain that I was receiving four females… I posted photos of the chicks on BackyardChickens.com and the results are not good! Several of the members are pretty sure I have a couple roosters. I am not entirely opposed to the idea of keeping roosters, but I’m sure the neighbors would file complaints over the crowing. And besides, I want edible eggs, not more chicks!
Chickens on the Micro-Farm
Raising hens for eggs has long been a fantasy of mine. My fantasy is now a reality! I picked up four chickens from a lovely family in Greene, NY. I purchased 2 Black Australorp and 2 Buff Orpington for $4 each. They are about 2 weeks old. For now they are inside with a 250w heat lamp, but once they have a full set of feathers they will be (almost) free range outside. Once I have the coop under construction, I will post photos of my coop and run. For now, some photos of the chicks:
