If you read my Chicken Origins post, you know why we now have chickens. That said, I now intend to explain how one goes about getting chickens, raising chickens, harvesting eggs from chickens with absolutely no experience. It all started with a book. Actually, I suppose it all started with 5 or 6 books. I personally liked Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens. My wife felt it was geared towards someone starting out in a commercial/farming venture but that was part of what I liked about it.
After devouring most of the books cover to cover, we considered our sources for chickens. Every bit of advice recommends not buying eggs and hatching them. Given my luck with starting seeds for the garden, this seems like good advice. Actually, I can't see ever trying to hatch eggs for anything other than meat birds. There is too much risk and variability. You could end up with 20 chickens or no chickens. We considered buying some pullets from the local county fair, but that would mean waiting until August (and like everything, we wanted them NOW!). We could try to find a local farm, but that seemed like more of an adventure than a process. Plus, there was the added risk of bringing in infected or infested chickens to our virgin yard. In the end, we decided to get day-old chicks. For what it's worth, I wouldn't have done it any other way. How adorable are day-old chicks? I think day-old ducks might be slightly cuter, but baby chicks are pretty freaking cute.
So, how does one get day-old chicks? Well, in our case we mail ordered them. My wife placed the order, so I have no idea what the hatchery is. She initially placed an order for a coop, nest boxes, and chickens from some place in Texas. They delayed the shipment for two weeks because the nest boxes were back-ordered or something. The order was promptly canceled. We didn't want to deal with an unreliable source. After my wife revealed that she didn't really like the coop we ordered anyway and she really liked one she saw on a website, it was resolved that I would build a coop. A new order was placed with the previously mentioned unknown hatchery for 5 day-old chicks. We really only wanted 3 or 4 chickens. Everything that we read said that it was quite common to have one chick die in shipping or shortly thereafter, so the minimum order of 5 seemed perfect. As it turns out, the hatchery must have read the same books, so they sent 6 instead of 5. Guess what? All 6 arrived safe and sound, happy as little, fluffy, yellow clams.
We decided to buy Rhode Island Reds. This was almost a given for many reasons. First, we wanted we wanted something that gave a decent quantity of eggs. Second, we wanted something with decent meat in case we found chicken raising unbearable. Rhode Island Reds are listed as dual-purpose breeds in most books so they fit the bill. Of course, it would almost be sacrilegious to have anything other than RI Reds in Rhode Island. Plus, they are touted as being friendly, peaceful birds which is a plus when you have two small children.
So, how does one receive live baby animals? Well, they are sent through the US mail. The post office calls you when they show up. You take an extended lunch break so your wife doesn't have to try to lug two kids to the post office to pick up live birds. Then, you consider not going back to work because they're just too freakin' cute. They came in a small but very heavy weight corrugated cardboard box with plenty of air holes. There was some stiff straw of some sorts pressed into the sides and bottom of the box. The experience at the post office was an interesting one. I told the guy that my wife got a call that they have our live birds. He goes in the back and after a couple minutes, I hear a faint, "Peep, peep, peep." It got louder and louder until he put the peeping box on the counter. It was certainly one of those moments when you are absolutely certain that everyone in the place is staring at you in either horror or amusement.
I drove home from the post office with said peeping box. We had their temporary home all set up for them. We decided to use an old 29 gallon fish tank with a layer of softwood shavings (covered by a paper towel for their first few days). They all drank right off the bat. After a few hours, they had even found the food. We had a 75 watt infrared bulb to keep them warm which we got at the pet store. We had that in a cheap clip-on reflector which we got from Home Depot. Taking the temp with a digital instant read thermometer, it was 92 degrees right under the light, tapering down to the low 80s at the far edge of the tank.
6 Baby Chickens Born June 1st 2010
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