CHICKS!!!!!!!!!!

Chatterbox: Down to Earth

CHICKS!!!!!!!!!!

CHICKS!!!!!!!!!!

How many people here own chickens? Well, I have joined your numbers! Today my mom picked up a box at the post office and brought four chicks home! She ordered them online from a farm, and the day they were born they were shipped the very short distance to our post office. Apparently for our post office this is actually quite normal, and they ship chicks all the time.

Well, anyway, now we have four beautiful baby chickens! Two are honey brown with black markings and brown eyes (One has a pink beak and one has a paler beak), one is classic yellow with fuzzy legs and surprisingly opaque blue eyes, and the fourth is orange with a long neck and brown eyes!! Their names are Camila (The yellow one), Henny (The paler-beaked brown one), Penny (The pink-beaked brown one), and Lord Sanwich (Sally for short, the orange one)!

Besides wanting to celebrate adorable chicks I was wondering if any of you CBers have advice on how to take care of them? We already are building a safe, large home for them outside for when they grow older, but I've never owned chickens before and I want to make sure I do this correctly. Any advice? I don't know what breeds they are, or if that would even effect how we take care of them, but I'm sure my mom knows and I can find out from her. 

Thanks! CHICKS!

-Esile 

submitted by Esile, age 12, Back from Tahoe vacation!
(April 30, 2019 - 7:25 pm)

Oh, wow, that's really cool!

My mom wants to get chickens, but we have to wait until August or September or so for... reasons.

I don't have any chicken care advice, but I'm sure my mom would if I asked her. :)  

submitted by Kitten, Pondering
(May 1, 2019 - 6:17 pm)
submitted by ToPPPidyOp
(May 1, 2019 - 7:49 pm)

My grandma used to have chicks, she thought that they were dying becaue they would faceplant into the floor, they were actually sleeping and that's how they sleep until theit legs work better.

You probably knew the falling over thing but if you didn't, THEY'RE NOT DEAD, just tired don't worry.

submitted by Darkking, age Who knows?, A dimension.
(May 2, 2019 - 2:28 pm)

*hurtles into thread, bowling everyone out of way* 

AHHHH! Congratulations Esile, I'm so excited for you! Lord Sanwich is such a cute name. Are you able to post pictures of the chicks?

My family and I have been keeping chickens for around seven years now. We live on a farm and have about a million of them (haha, no, but it's a lot; closer to 60) and I'm not lying when I say they're some of my favorite animals. (Actually, yesterday in speech class I gave a speech on how to train a chicken...Embarassed

~I recommend spending a lot of time with the babies, which I'm sure you'll be doing anyway. If you cluck and 'peck' their food with your hand, they'll think you're their mother chicken and come when you call them! After they get their wing feathers in you can use this to teach them to hop onto your lap/arm/leg/whatever.

~To bolster their immune system you can put a few drops of apple cider vinegar in their water.

~If you want to give the chicks anything other than chick feed, make sure they've eaten chick grit.

~Our grown chickens love scratch! That's all we feed them, because they're free range and get most of their other food from grass and bugs. 

That's all the advice I can think of right now. I'd love to know what breeds they are! Are they all girls?

I just hatched out some chicks at end of March, so they just turned a month old. In fact, I moved them into an outside coop just this afternoon now that they have all their feathers.

Oh! One more thing! If you ever have chicken questions, I recommend looking up Backyard Chickens, which has so much great information. So far they've been my most helpful source of advice over the years.

submitted by Micearenice
(May 2, 2019 - 6:59 pm)

Wow, all this information is so great!! Thanks for giving me advice!

Haha, yeah, Darkking, I've noticed them doing that. Most of the time though they like to sleep in a pile like puppies all cuddled up together! Though Lord Sanwich really likes to act like a carpet. She stretches out and lies flat. All the other chicks step on her and she usually ends up on the bottom of the napping pile.

Sure, I can post pictures!! I'm not a very good photographer, but in my opinion, no matter how bad the photo is, if it includes a cute fuzzy creature it's perfect. Wow, I wish I liked on a farm! That sounds amazing! One of my best friends lives on a farm in Ohio, and she had chickens too. She also has rabbits and a goat... I'M TOTALLY NOT JEALOUS AT ALL. (lies...) 

Aww, that's so cute how they'll think you're their mom!! I'm definetly going to try that! That's really good advice about their food and water, I'm always worried I'm feeding my pets something they shouldn't eat. I'll make sure to check out that website!

Yeah, all the chicks are girls, since it's illegal to own a rooster around where we live. I think I can find out what breeds they are from my mom... Henny and Penny are Speckled Sussixes, Lord Sanwich is a Buff Orpington, Camilla is a White Cochen. 

Thanks again for all this incredible advice!!! I'm gonna go cuddle my beautiful chicks now...  

submitted by Esile, 12
(May 2, 2019 - 10:35 pm)

I prefer ducks myself, but chickens are great too. I like to balance them on my arm 'cause they tend to fall asleep. I also like to take a very small chick and put it on one finger, show someone and say 'BEHOLD!! MY MAJESTIC BABY CHICKEN!' It always gets a few laughs. (3

submitted by Rogue Wildling
(May 2, 2019 - 11:48 pm)

Awww I love chicks! I've had quite a few chicks over the course of my life, and they are so adorable. If the chicks are really young, they need to be under a heat lamp. I would suggest a large cardboard box with shaving and a desk lamp if you are in a pinch. They can get cold really easily.

Good luck Esile!

<3 Fidelity 

submitted by Fidelity
(May 3, 2019 - 4:50 am)

Ooh, ducks. I think if we could have ducks, my mom would get them. Most likely without telling my dad ;) Thanks for the advice, Fidelity! Yeah, I've seen them cuddle next to each other when they get cold. It's so sweet! We have a space heater as one of their walls right now, and it keeps them pretty warm. They like to lean against it and fall asleep. So cute!

Oh, and I was asked to post a picture of the chicks, but I didn't have any photos then. Now I do! Behold! 

My captcha says oyek. hum. either it's trying to say 'okay' and got confused, or it's refering to a small grocery store that I found on google search. The mysteries of captchas.  

submitted by Esile, age 12
(May 6, 2019 - 8:28 am)

Hm, it seems my photo didn't show up... Uh... Behold, AGAIN!

Screen Shot 2019-05-06 at 6.17.47 AM.png
submitted by Esile, age 12
(May 6, 2019 - 10:51 am)

:O They are so cute!!! Aww, look at Camilla's fluffy lil' feet!

submitted by Micearenice
(May 7, 2019 - 7:53 am)

My grandma's chicks, not mine, but-

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submitted by Alizarine
(May 7, 2019 - 5:57 am)
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submitted by Alizarine
(May 7, 2019 - 5:58 am)