I'be been wanting to keep chickens for years. Fresh eggs, sustainable unaltered meat.... Hundreds of points of importance. But I've never had chickens before. 2.5 years after buying our property, I am determined that this is the year! So when a friend asked me to care for her chickens over a weekend I was elated! What could go wrong? Ha ha ha...
I learned oodles about how to keep them from her setup, she breeds, incubates, and hatches her own designer breeds, I just wanted a few... 6-8... Standard chicks to grow into birds, and likely butcher for meat when it got cold. But I learned they can and will survive the cold... Even the nasty cold winters with 50 mph winds and -35 degree mornings... With probably only needing a heat lamp and well built shelter.
Anyway... Back to chicken sitting. First I check the incubator. No action. They are 2 days overdue and she thinks they are duds. Easy. Next, check the babies in the back 1-2 weeks old... Change their water. But when I ger to the 6 week olds.., their heat bulb has blown, and the garage is too cold for me to leave them. Small panic. But I refill 5 gallons worth of water for the 11 week olds who are almost big enough to join the adults outside in the real coop, instead of in the garage in a cardboard enclosure. Waiting to hear back from the friend about the heat bulb I go out to check the coop.
The big chickens dislike being stuck inside for 36 hours and totally run me down while I tried to fill their water dish. Then I check the boxes for eggs. I looked yesterday but I guess some instructions were missed... Today I lift the board on the rolling nest box and find GASP a total of exactly a dozen! I snatch them with my chilly-too small kids mittens. Now I just have to get the chickens back in the coop. It's like herding toddlers. After my third try I get all but one stubborn hen in there! And she has big claws and a wicked beak, so I chase her for a good 10 minutes before I corner her on the open side of the door and shoo her in. Whew!
The heat lamp issue I solve by stealing the -1 week olds lamp and giving it to the 6 week olds. Done!
But that's not the funniest part. I got my eggs home and was filling my sink to check for floating eggs... But six oblong ones float and one of the others has a patch of broken shell so I tossed it. These eggs can't be more than 36 hours old... What gives? The answer "did you grab the decoy eggs?" Doh!
I have much to learn about keeping chickens.
