I have dreamed of having chickens since I was 14 or 15. For a home school project one of these years, I obtained fertile eggs from the local feed store and attempted to hatch them using a homemade incubator (basically a box, lamp, thermometer, and bowl of water to keep the humidity). Unfortunately, the bulb burned out 3 days before they were set to hatch (they incubate for 21 days). I hurriedly put in a new bulb when I found this disaster, but it was too late: the eggs were already cold. The next day, we dissected them at a friend's house, and we found 2 chicks that were fully formed with their feathers (well, down, I guess). I would've had 2 baby chicks had the bulb kept burning!!
So now, 7 or 8 years later (and 7 or 8 years wiser!) I'm attempting my project again, except that I am not going to play mother hen! I found a place called Ideal Poultry, located in Cameron, Texas, that hatches and ships day-old chicks 52 weeks a year. (Funny story: when I e-mailed them for more information, the lady that e-mailed me back had the same last name as me! I'd never met someone with the same last name who wasn't related to me.)
So on July 22nd, Ideal Poultry will be shipping "my babies" to me: 7 Barred Plymouth Rocks and 7 Rhode Island Reds. They will lay brown eggs and are very friendly and great for beginners. They'll arrive at the local post office, who will call me as soon as they arrive, and then I'll pick them up and bring them to their new home! They are sexed, so they should all be females. My plan is (after they get older and are distinguishable from one another, not just little balls of fluff!) to name them after First Ladies of the White House! Among the definites are Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Letitia Tyler, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy, Mamie Eisenhower, Lady Bird Johnson, and Barbara and Laura Bush. Mama said I should go in order, so then whenever I get new chickens I can just keep on going in order. But wouldn't it be fun to have a hen named "Lady Bird"? I also think "Letitia" and "Mamie" are fun...I'd never name a child those, but I'd give those names to hens! Many of the names are wonderfully old-fashioned, so I think "my girls" will fit them perfectly. Or how about "Lucretia Garfield"? That almost sounds like a name one would give to a villain...so maybe if I get a mean hen that'll be her name!
So, besides the chicks, here's the supplies I'll initially need:
- Brooder: A sturdy box (cardboard or plastic) that is 12" by 12" square.
- Litter: The litter that will probably be most feasible for me are pine shavings or old bath towels.
- Feeder: Trough or mason jar feeder
- Waterer: Make one using a mayo or 1 quart canning jar attached to a metal or plastic base (bought from the feed store)
- Heat and light source: Buy infrared red heat lamp from feed store (with extra bulbs!!)
- Feed: Buy "chick starter" that is non-medicated. Some books recommend medicated feed to guard against coccidiosis, but as long as you take proper care of your chicks, you shouldn't need the medication. I'm going to be eating their eggs someday, so I want to raise them as naturally as possible! If money permits, I'd ideally like to raise them on organic feed, but I've heard it can be quite expensive. They will definitely be free-range chickens, though, allowed to peck around within the borders of their fence all day...and periodically I'll take a few on a "walk" to the garden so they can pick out the bugs!
Where are they gonna go when they grow up, you ask? Well folks, I'm going to either: 1) build a henhouse and erect a fence myself, or 2) find an already-made henhouse for a cheap price (most likely from Craig's List, which is basically an online garage sale). I think I would have a good sense of pride if I built the house myself, and once I get an idea into my head, I just want to get started on it!
After my chicken endeavor is up and running, my next project will be:
GOATS!
More on that in an upcoming post.... :)