Over the weekend The Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird and I headed to the feed store and picked up 8 day old baby chicks for fall. When we brought them home Lucy flipped out!
She LOVES chickens, and especially baby chicks. When brought baby chicks home earlier this spring she sat outside of their little chicken yard every chance she got and watched them for hours. It was the sweetest thing ever, so you can imagine how excited she was to see the new flock.
Mottled Java #1
We picked up 8 chicks. 4 for us and 4 for Girly Girl’s kiddos. We haven’t named them yet because we are still waiting for her kids to choose which ones they want.
Mottled Java #2
Girly Girl has a larger dog, 2 cats and a toddler so she is afraid to raise baby chicks. We told her we’d be happy to raise her chicks until they are about 8-10 weeks old and then bring them up to their enclosed chicken run/coop for her kids.
Araucana #1
Once her kids choose the ones they want, we’ll name ours. I’m pretty sure she’s not going to pick the Buff Orpington though. 😉 Not after the whole Buff the chicken fiasco last year.
Araucana #2
The Girl wants to keep this one and name it chippy. She says it looks like a chipmunk.
Buff Orpington
Can you see Lucy in the background? Oh my word, I think she would sleep with those chicks if we would let her.
Blue Laced Red Wyandotte #1
These blue laced red wyandotte chicks are going to be beautiful. We have a lot of black chickens right now so it will be nice to add some color to our flock.
Blue Laced Red Wyandotte #2
These were day old chicks so we only snapped a few photos because we didn’t want to handle them too much on the first day. I’ll take some better photos next week so you can get a closer look.
Cuckoo Maran
Cuckoo Marans are one of my favorite birds. All of the cuckoo’s we’ve had have been very sweet. {And quite}.
How about you? Do you plan on getting chicks this fall, or will you wait until Spring?
~Mavis
Thinking about getting some chickens? Check out Keeping Chickens by Ashley English. It’s got everything you need to know about how to care for a happy healthy flock.
pat says
I have wanted to raise our own flock for some time now. I have enough problems with my home owners association right now. I am sure a chicken coop would throw them over the edge. I would love to move to be in a position to do this.
Alicia says
I did research for months and sent a whole report to our HOA requesting to be allowed 3 hens. It took them 48 hrs to send me a big fat NO reply. Jerks. So I feel ya. I bought 3 bunnies instead so I at least get some good compost for the garden. It’s not the same though.
Beautiful chicks Mavis!! 🙂 I can’t wait to start a little flock one day!!
stephane brazeau says
Townships can`t do anything if your chickens or any animal is in a pet class example; pot belly pig is not considered a farm animal but a pet. If you can find breeds that fit that class your in luck. Stay away from roosters there very,very Noisy. Keep the litter clean and share the eggs with Neighbors and keep your flock small.
Alicia says
I did a ton of research on this trying to find a loophole. Home Owners Associations fall under different laws. You sign papers when you move into your home agreeing to their code and covenants. Ours specifically says no poultry, among other things. If I had them and they caught me I could be fined and forced to get rid of my flock. Not something I am willing to go through. HOAs suck. I’ll never buy a house again in a neighborhood with one. I don’t appreciate paying hundreds of dollars a year so that they can tell me what I can and can’t do on my own property.
renay says
I would ask the Board to update the HOA codes/covenants to allow for chickens. If they won’t do it, get yourself on the HOA Board and make it happen. ‘Well behaved women seldom make history.’ Go for it sister! 😉
Annemieke Cowles says
Hi Mavis, was wondering where you ordered your chicks? They look really healthy and such a great assortment!!! How do you decide which ones to choose?
Barbara says
Hi Mavis. I was wondering why you got more chicks now. It seems like the ones you have are sufficient.
Sheila M. says
I had a small flock of two hens to which I added 6 new chicks early in the spring. The younger girls recently started laying and together they are laying up to 7 eggs a day. Loving it. I wish I had a source for food scraps to save on feed…but until then, eight girls are plenty for me. I don’t care if people think I’m weird when we’re at a barbecue and I ask them to save their corn cobs or watermelon rinds….always thinking about treats for my chickens 😛
Ellen Green says
Your chicks are beautiful, and I envy you some of your babies. We received our chicks from McMurray Hatchery a few weeks ago, and they will be our new girls for next spring. We’re hoping to experiment with growing our own meat chicks, with 3 Dark Cornish roosters, and 10 barred rock females. Also got 10 Rhode Island Red girls, and 3 New Hampshire Reds to make 25. They’ve done well, all fully feathered now. The free rare breed chick got squished…not good to ship one banty with 25 standard chicks, I guess. Next step is to find an incubator that will work properly—not as easy for me to do as I once thought.
Jill Frank says
We started raising chicks this year – 11 for eggs, 24 for meat. The meat chicks did really well!! We did Cornish X. We butchered at 8 weeks, but next year we will likely butcher between 6 and 7 weeks. The 8 weekers were really big! go for it. We are really enjoying having raised our own meat.
Helen in Meridian says
Does Lucy bark much? I am not into yappy or barking dog, and wondered how often Lucy barks. Some dog lovers don’t mind barking dog, but me, not so. The Sweet Babboo, half chow, half airdale., only barked when the doorbell rang. He was an inside dog, and the world’s best., but sis’s schnauser is all yappy, yappy. jump jump jump.. That drives me crazy when I go to her house and have to endure 15 min of yap and jump before I get to visit with her.
Mavis Butterfield says
Lucy sleeps indoors but is outside in the garden whenever I am and she only barks at the Garbage Man. 🙂
Lisa says
No chickens for us. I sort of promised my kids we would when we moved, but then learned how much trouble they really can be. To raise from chicks I mean. And the illnesses to watch out for, and mites, and… the experts at a garden fair were telling us about it, and they sort of turned us off chickens at all!
Then we got a goldendoodle who would definitely kill chickens.
We can have chickens within city limits, if they don’t smell or make noise to the extent neighbors complain, so obviously no one has roosters!
We can get our eggs fresh though. Lots of people sell them by the roadside. Like your veggies the other day, they leave the eggs by the roadside (in coolers).
How come you wanted more chickens? Are some of your “girls” getting older and slowing down on the eggs?
Susan says
Too bad the “experts” turned you off to chickens. They are great pets! ANY animal can have health issues, mites, fleas, lice, worms, etc. That’s the chance you take !
Jamie says
Hmmmm, sounds like chicken math has taken over the Butterfield home! Lol I know the feeling, I asked for a Black Birchen Marans roo for my birthday to put with my Black Copper Marans girls!
Laura says
I wouldn’t be so sure Lucy “loves” those chicks! She is half hunting dog! I have had dogs who would stare at small animals too, and they just wanted to find a chance to kill them.
I don’t have chickens. I don’t use eggs very often, and I don’t want them just as pets.
Madeleine says
I’m with you on this. My Austrailian Shephard used to watch the baby chicks like Lucy is. He ended up trying to “herd” them in the coop one night and ended up killing three. I hope Lucy is better behaved but I’m paranoid now.
Karen says
We always get our chicks in the Fall. I think they really only have one good laying season which I try to maximize by having them mature over the Winter into Summer egg-laying superstars. I have been trying to get my flock into alternating breeds each year, making it easier to distinguish which are in superstar mode and which are in moocher mode. Today I hope to get 4 Plymouth Rock chicks. In 7 years of keeping hens, we’ve had one rooster. We put him on Craig’s List as a freebie and he went off to a ranch.
julie says
Your chicks are adorable and such a wonderful variety. we get ours in the spring. the first round we ordered a variety and they did very well once we got rid of the roosters. the next year we went to TSC and bought the ten day old ones for a dollar. we were so grateful they were all girls and after a short trial period they have become sisters with the rest. we enjoy our girls,spoil our girls, and they lay like champs. such a great addition to our lives and fresh eggs everyday for us and our family.
christie says
I’ve been thinking about it and now I think I will. I’ll have to mail order since none of our stores have chicks in fall. We’ve lost half our chickens to a stray dog. It’s getting harder to get attached when they might show up dead! So sad.
Jill Frank says
so, is it easier or better to have the chicks in the fall? what are the advantages/disadvantages for each season?
Mavis Butterfield says
That is a great question. Most people get them in the spring I think because they are worried about taking care of small birds in the freezing winter months. Luckily up here in the Seattle area we don’t have to worry about it.
SusieQ says
I’m wondering why you got more chickens? Do they not live very long or lay very long? Or was it just time to increase your flock?