Nick, I raised chickens when I was in high school and FFA, both show birds and layers. First and foremost, it's way more work than it's worth. You need a good, clean, and secure coop. Otherwise disease and predators will relieve you of your birds. Depending where you live, the predators include dogs, cats, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, hawks, and these days, probably tweekers.

Keep 'em warm when they are little. I had an incubator that had a heating element with a thermostat. I vaccinated birds when they were between 20 and 28 weeks old and beginning to lay eggs. Can't remember what the vaccine was for, but it was easy enough to do. A little double needle on a plastic stick that I'd stick in the webby section of the wing elbow. Good ration helps a lot with health and egg production. It's expensive, or was in the 60s.

If you have any roosters and they begin showing some attitude, trust me, it won't get better. Take the cleaver to 'em sooner rather than later.

I had a lot of fun raising livestock as a kid, probably learned a bit about responsibility, but stock and owning a car were the main reasons I had to work all through high school. Cattle and poultry cost me way more than I ever made off them. And that's the main reason why I haven't owned or kept any livestock since. I'm happy and much money ahead to pay the farmer to do it for me.

It's cute when you retards resort to the short jokes because I'm so intelligent and handsome.

You gotta play the cards you have, I guess.

Thanks Salmo and everyone else for the good advice.

I got all the supplies, coop and run from my neighbor that was forced to get outta the chicken business (something about felonies and pervert lists - I didn't ask too many questions). The coop is a very nice and very secure 8' x 8' x 8' backyard shed with power, lights, heaters, full floor, security and the whole shebang. I built a full 4"x6" pressure treated lumber base to rest it on. It's been dug out a foot deep all around the base and I've lined it with miles of chickenwire underneath to prevent critters from trying to dig under. A grizzly bear couldn't break into this thing.

I have some work to do on the run itself. Also dig down and line with chx wire all around and then poultry netting across the top. The location in my yard may lend itself to predators coming in from the field behind my house, but the system I'm putting in should be pretty tough to defeat. I can always set up an automatic .50 cal machine gun nest to patrol for critters. I might take out a neighbor or two, but hey....fresh eggs.

We'll see how this whole thing works out. I almost bought some ducks, geese and turkeys too, but that would just be dumb at this point. I'm trying very hard to not be dumb these days. Somedays are better than others, but as you can see, I still have a very long way to go.

FREEEEEDDDOOOMMM!!!!

Lol..

(Cue the trumpets)

Have had layers for a decade or so. Use to buy chicks but that was over pretty quick as a broody hen is a far better mother than I. Here are some of my suggestions:

Chicks can't generate enough BTU's to keep themselves warm without a heat lamp. Adjust heat lamp height based upon what the little blighters are showing you--Huddled together, too cold. Pushed into corners of your brood box, too hot. No lamp or momma hen to keep them warm, they can die.

Without a heat source, could be why you've got some that are lethargic. They will fall over mid-stride for a nap. They're not dying....

When handling adult birds, pick them up with hands over their wings so they can't flap. Rotate dominant hand under their breast bone with pinky and index fingers pointing aft on outside of legs. They won't flap once supported in such a manner. If they get carried away for some reason, you can hook the index/pinky fingers around the back of their legs to hold better, tucking their head under your armpit to quiet them. Chicks will also rest calmly in your palm in similar fashion.

For a brood box, get a big Rubbermaid storage tote (~18"x30"x15" deep) and make a frame with chicken wire (or even old oven grates) for a lid so the heat lamp can shine through. They'll start vaulting over the edge in a few days as their wings feather out.

Keep the brood box in an enclosed space like a spare bathroom or small side shop area. They will make a ton of dander/dust as they feather out and get boisterous. They will coat that whole space with it.

Don't put them outside until they're fully feathered-out and have a secure place. Death can come swiftly from land and air....

Start building your coop now. They need shelter and protection from extreme weather and things that will eat/kill them. Make sure it has a drawer or similar detail so cleaning out the litter is easy-peasy. Can even be a PVC tractor built with 1" Circo PVC fittings and PVC roofing/siding over chicken wire that you move around the yard/property.

Straw is sprayed with a fungicide to prevent mold/mildew. We use organic straw for litter so it goes straight into the garden.

Give them a place to lay eggs. Can be old milk crates, 5 gallon buckets on their sides with half the lid cut away for an opening, cat travel crates, etc.

They will turn any area that they are enclosed in into a lunar landscape in mere days. We're on acreage so they free range, keeping the bug and rodent population down. Makes for the healthiest birds and eggs.

Buy them quality organic feed! Scratch & Peck or Modesto Mills are good ones available locally. We use the latter. If you don't eat GMO corn or soy, why eat eggs made with same? In spring/summer when the grass is green and there abundant natural food sources, I hardly feed them at all. Watch what they leave in their trays.

A trough feed tray should have a return lip at the top of the tray or they will bill-out most of it onto the ground. This will also attract vermin.

Roos: If you've got the space for one and have at least 10 hens, they are the best early warning system for your flock. While their girls a beaks down/butts up eating, a roo is ever-vigilant, watching. Any threat will be forewarned with a Bruce Lee shout, allowing the girls a chance to get under trees/shrubs. A good one will take food from your hand and give it to his girls rather than partake himself and not be a serial rapist. Their absence is palpable after having them as part of your flock. Getting a good one requires effort from the get go. I handle ours every day from the time they start to show a larger comb as chicks. If they get uppity, they get laid on their side and pinned with my fingers at their neck and sides, pecking them with an finger like a dominant roo would do in a fight. They're legs/feet will curl up and shiver into a submissive state. Stand up slowly after about 5 minutes and they will oft stay there for a spell before bouncing up. Like all animals, you are either dominant or submissive in their eyes. Seems like Salmo was the latter.... *grin*

Get a kill cone. You will invariably have to humanely cull the sick/old hens and spare roos....

Good luck with that!

Unless they are penned, you don't want geese. They will eat your cedar siding, tarps, rope, shrubs and anything else within their reach. They're like goats with wings....

That's some really good intel Driftin'. Thank you for spending the time to write out your advice. I figured you'd have some good stuff to share based on your past experiences with these critters.

Adjustable heat lamp check. Good brooding box check (big galvanized feeding trough). They are in my protected garage right now and the temp seems to be staying pretty consistent.

They are on medicated chick feed now and seem to be doing well. How long do I need to feed them medicated scratch before feeding non-medicated? The young gal that the chicken shop said I could switch after they've ate the first 40 pound bag, but she was like 17 years old and possibly full of chit. Is that true?

Also, once they get old enough, what do you like to feed em' as supplemental treats and how often? Dried meal worms, live crickets or ???

I doubt I'll free range em' as the neighbors dogs are not nice, but their protected run will be about 12' x 16'. That should be plenty of space for 9 or so birds right? Well...soon to be 8 birds. The little retarded one isn't going to make the cut.

Speaking of which....what's the fastest, most pleasant way to dispatch a struggling chick? I could wring its neck or lop off its head, but I want it to be quick and painless for both the chick and me. I hate killin' little tiny baby animals. Adults no problem, but I have a hard time with babies.

If you bought them at Costco, you could just return them now...no questions asked.

12 gauge.
Just turn away from it.

Now you see it, now you dont.


Nick, i have a galvi tub that is like new if you need another.
If I were to eyeball it, I would say it's anywhere between 50-70 gallons.

Holy crap! So you just jam this "Finisher" device thing into the back of a bird's skull and twist? That's so messed up on so many levels. I mean, it appears to work on the YouTube videos just fine, but damn - what kind of person thinks that up? "You know what the world needs right now? A big sharp twisty stick thingy to jam into the back of birds heads!!!"

I must have missed the Shark Tank episode where this idea got pitched. Does it also work on Dark Siders?

Maybe I'm not cut out for this chicken business. Free chicks to a good home only!

Is the little one drinking? If not, grab it up with index fingertip behind head and gently dip its beak into the water. They should have it figured out in a couple days. Try yogurt or kefir with LIVE cultures to get their gut flora going for all of them, not just your slow starter. Your medicated starter will likely kill the good bugs too....

Have never fed medicated starter. Hatchery chicks are always shot up for Merek's so you're good. Get a bag of Scratch & Peck or Modesto Mills starter. Call around to source or go to their websites to find distributors. Are you prone to trusting 17 yo girls?

Give the slow starter some more time to see if it can pull in together with good support. They sleep alot the first few days and can run off their yolk bank account during that time....

Possibly - yeah - sure I'll take it. Could make a good duck water tank in the future. Send me a PM with price.

I did have to take out a sick baby bunny the other morning with my .22. Pop to the back of it's head and it literally blew brains about 10 feet up into the air. Baby bunny brains missed my face by inches. I dodged that chit like I'm Neo in the Matrix. Gnarly!

Yep - it eats and drinks pretty good. I'll try the yogurt trick. I think its neurological or something because it does seem to do the basics normally, but it just sits there and wobbles. It doesn't interact with the others at all. Its a fraction of the size of the other growing birds now. I've had them for almost a week and the other ones have doubled in size, but this one hasn't grown at all. I'm trying to be patient with it, but I don't want it to hurt the others or suffer needlessly. So far the others seem to leave it alone for the most part and I hope they don't start pecking at it. It is a sad little thing. I'm rooting for it. I'll try some more things and give a couple of days longer.

This.

Kill cone with razor sharp carpenter's knife for adult birds. Lift out legs from cone. With palm to back of bird, slide thumb & index finger down neck to jaw line, exposing flesh and slice down/across with blade tip safely passing between your index & middle fingers. Hold their feet together. If done right, they will openly flow from their near side carotid artery and slowly drift off as BP crashes, bucking a couple times at the very end.

Check its vent/cloaca to see if its blocked with poo. If so, soak its hiney in warm water to loosen and remove. They can get blocked up but it's rare. Must be that medicated starter.... *grin*

Don't forget the rat traps. I hear they like chicken coops.

Ratinator.

Bait it with chicken feed mixed with PB. Wear latex or nitrile gloves when handling/baiting it. They can smell your scent.

Nothing like taking a big, hissing buck rat for a swim....

Don't make this so difficult. Nothing purchased. Table scraps, apple cores, the extra cream off of your Brown Cow vanilla yogurt (hilarious feeding frenzy/food fight!)....