Jumping off the deep end

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Cresina Farm

Cresina Farm

Hatching
6 Years
Jun 30, 2013
7
0
7
I recently bought a mini-farm in rural northwest GA. I've had horses for years, but decided to see how far "off the grid" I can manage now that I have such an ideal place for it. My first purchase was a flock of 20 2-day-old Wyandotte chicks. I got 12 hens and 8 straight run. I've used this group to help out with caring for them and bringing them along. I look forward to when I'll have a momma hen do the work for me, but I have to play that role for the first batch. I've always tried to keep my horses' lives as close to "natural" as I can, and they've always done very well. No vet bills other than annual for over 7 years. So, I've adopted the same philosophy for my chicks. They're in a 150-gallon trough right now with pine shavings and all the necessaries, but I started them on grit and treats on day 2 and some time in the yard in a protected pen on day 3. So far, so good. They are currently 7 days old. Thanks so much for all the advice and good ideas here! I'm so worried about doing something wrong and losing some of my babies along the way. It's good to know they're pretty hardy and should do well as long as I don't leave out the important stuff.
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Welcome to BYC!!
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This is a wonderful site to get information about farm fowl. It sounds like you have a few Wynadotte's. They are a hardy breed of chicken. My favorite chickens are the sex links (black, red and golden). They are excellent layers and tolerate the cold well. When I got my Black Sex Link chicks, there were a couple of Wynadottes mixed in with the sex link chicks. The Wynadotte chicks did just as good as the sex links in the winter. They laid large brown eggs. They were beautiful hens! Last year I had a freak accident happen. A pack of dogs came onto our property and killed all but one of my chickens. I had to replace my entire flock! My husband shot the wild dogs. Now I have Red Star hens (red sex links), Speckled Sussex, 1 Black Sex Link hen (the survivor), and 2 turkeys. I am sure you will enjoy your hens. What I feed my chicks is a basic chick starter and they thrive. After the chicks were about 2 months old, I started feeding them lay crumble that I get at the Big R feed store.

Again, Welcome from Spokane, Washington
Chicken Girl Sue
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Hello and welcome....so glad you joined BYC

Your chicks look great. Sounds like you have your plan in order. Best wishes to you raising your chicks up happy and healthy :)
 
Oh, I'm keeping a close eye on them. We don't leave them unattended for a sec when they get their short outdoor time. And we keep them under the shade trees so they don't overheat - it's a bit toasty down here!


 

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