New Chicks
on Jun 19, 2013, Updated Jun 27, 2024
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I love me some chickens. Last spring we got our very first bunch of new chicks from the feed store, raised them inside our house (because we were in the middle of remodeling), and then moved them out to a coop that I lovingly made from scrap wood. In August I found my very first egg and it totally sealed my love of backyard chickens. They are so rewarding and make awesome pets. I had 9 hens for the summer and fall and then in October our neighbors dogs killed 6 of them for fun. It was such a hard day… they were our hand raised pets!
So all winter long I’ve had three hens, an Ameraucana (who lays light green to blue eggs), a Barred Rock (who lays white eggs), and a New Hampshire Red (I think… I don’t actually know what she is, but she lays huge dark camo-green eggs with brown speckles). They were great layers all winter long but I still had to buy eggs. We love eggs and eat lots. So now that it’s chick season again and we’ve moved and got settled I thought it was time to get a few more chicks.
There’s a high school boy, right here in town, that has taken up chicken breeding/chick selling as a little business. He needed wood for more coops and I had a huge pile of scrap wood at the Shanty. So I traded him 3 loads of wood for 8 chicks. I feel like I got the better end of the deal on this! He hauled off what I felt like was trash and I got chicks. Awesome!
Here they are in all of their chick craziness!
I got three white Leghorn and two barred rocks. These chicks will be great egg layers. And then, just because, I also got three exotic or rare chicken breeds. I got a Golden Polish “Top Hat” which has a crazy feather plume on it’s head, a Black Sumatra, and a Modern B.B. Game Hen which looks like a road runner. None of the chicks were sexed before we got them so I have no idea how many are actually hens verses roosters.
I keep them in a box in a little mud room off the kitchen. It’s so pleasant to be making dinner and to hear their chick peeping noises at the same time. It’s also nice to have them close (opposed to in a garage or something) because it’s easy to hear when they are distressed. Their chirping changes to loud and frantic and then I know to check on them. Sometimes they are just picking on each other and other times they’ve knocked their water over and are getting thirsty.
The chicks that we got this year are really really wild and so very skiddish. I mean, like crazy scared of everything! We would walk by the box and they would flip out. I think it is because they’ve been handled so little. Chicks from the feed store have been born, packed, shipped, unpacked, and then poked at by every kid who walks by them until you buy them. They have a lot more exposure to people. Mine were born and then I picked them up… wild little things I tell you.
In an effort to tame them a bit and make them more friendly we hold them and pet them a lot. Thomas also had the smart idea of feeding them treats when we get them out to handle them. Our treat of choice is watermelon; it’s easy for them to eat and they love it. We take them out of their box one at a time, talk to them softly, and offer them watermelon. I hope they’ll be really friendly like our other hens.
Here’s the Golden Polish getting a treat, and in between bites she’s yelping and hollering her displeasure. Aren’t its head feathers hilarious! I can’t wait until they come in all of the way.
Not everyone gets as bent out of shape about being held. In fact, the Barred Rocks love it. They are the youngest and we like to play with them together. They even both fell asleep in Thomas’ hands one night. If that doesn’t make your heart melt…
I don’t like them to stay in their box all day, so lots of days I make them a little cage of sorts out of a box and a baby gate in the yard. The weather is super warm, so they don’t need a heat lamp or anything, and this gives them access to the ground. They love to peck at things, scratch, and take dust baths. Their chicken nature is really amazing because they just seem to know what to do.
Here is their funny little play yard that I make during the day:
A few times we get them completely out of their box so that they can explore the yard a bit and so that we can play with them. This is a bit trickier and we normally only do it when Thomas is home to help. It’s a bit of work to get them caught and back into the box when play time is over; they are fast little buggers.
I’m sure one of the white leg horns is a rooster. Can you see his comb on the far right? It’s twice the size and a lot redder than the one on the left.
Yard explores that always stay close to each other:
And here are the kids loving on them:
If you can’t tell by their faces, the kids love the chicks. Chicks are a great choice in my opinion because they can be loved on and very kind, but at the same time they aren’t needy. If you are busy they sure don’t mind if you don’t hold them! And then they grow up and produce something delicious that you can eat, without eating the actual pet. If that isn’t earning your keep then I don’t know what is!
I’ll be sure to keep you updated on the chicks and the hens. I still have to figure out what I’m going to do with them. I can’t have 11 birds roaming my little yard. I have no idea how to transition new birds in with the old. And I can’t wait figure out who is a hen and who is a rooster.
This is such a fun hobby for me and something that I love to tell you all about. Thanks so much for letting me indulge!
Any other chicken loves out there?!
how have you upgraded your coop to protect the chickens from the marauding dogs?
Yes, we ended up making a run to go with it… you can see the pictures here. https://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/07/diy-portable-chicken-run.html
I still like to let them out in the yard when we are around but this is how they are when I can’t be there to watch them.
I really appreciate all that you have shared! Would love to keep up with how your chicks are doing. I have been seriously considering adding to our family. This will be an all new experience and I’m excited! Thanks Misty
Love reading about you adventure of keeping chickens and getting new chicks, we are new at it too and just let one of our year old chicken hatch 5 new babies, they are 5 days old today!
I’ve had my first ‘flock’ of chicks about a week. They are such a hoot. I find my housework has suffered, as I enjoy just sitting out I. The yard and watching them. They are still in a converted large dog crate in our garage right now, but I put them out in a make-shift run when the weather is warm enough. Please continue to share!!! I have much to learn.
Boys do have the bigger, redder combs. When you put them together, do it at night when the big ones are asleep. Then they all wake up together. Short term memory chickens.
but watch them close the first few days
I do love chickens!! TO EAT! Oh gosh, everyone is going to hate me now…
I enjoyed this article so much! I’ve always wanted chickens and a tiny homestead, but am stuck in a condo for the time being. Hopefully, some day soon. Until then I’ll just wait for your next chicken update. Please keep us posted! 🙂
It’s taken us years of apartment living to get here… you’ll be there sooner than later just keep the dream!!!
I squealed all the way through this post. SO many cute chicks! And the kids faces with the chicks are just adorable! I can’t wait to have chicks/chickens one day! Do they smell much? And what do you do about it? My experience is on farms where there are a million chickens, so I’m sure it’s different than just a handful.
Great question! Last year I had my first set of new chick and I kept them in a wire cage with newspaper underneath. I changed the news paper just about every day and they did stink, not horrible like dog poop on your shoe but stinky none the less. This year I opted for using a box with pine shavings (purchased in a big old bag at the feed store) on the bottom. I’ve liked using the pine shavings 100 times better! The pine soaks up a lot of the moisture and holds the smell. I only change their litter about every 5 or 6 days (and I bought a composting bin so I just throw the used pine shavings in there). Plus, I think the chicks like it better too. They have something to scratch around in and they act a lot more like big chickens. I think the shavings give them something to do too. I hope you can get chicks one day! It’s the best hobby ever… and you get eggs!!!
How fun! I love the look of the Golden Polish chick, it looks like adorable bed head!
So fun!! We are first time chicken owners, and I am having a total blast. I’m sure I’ll be doing this the rest of my life. I like it so much, I actually changed the name of my blog and Etsy shop to incorporate my chicken obsession. Haha! We just finished our chicken coop and also used quite a bit of scrap wood for it. I even made some cute little signs to dress it up.