The Summer We Got Chickens In The Mail

three months of raising chickens for the first time

Before we even moved into our new house, I decided we should order chickens. Starting a flock has been on my to-do for quite some time. So long, in fact, that the promise to eventually get them was in our wedding vows. So what does one do when they finally have a place for them? Get them!

I make a ton of lists. One of the lists that lives on my phone is an “ideal flock” based on all of the research I’ve done. The list I came up with has a mix of factors like feather color, egg color,

temperament, and laying tendencies.

Two close up pictures of the adorable chicks at just over a week old. 1.  is a black copper maran and 2.  is a silver laced polish hen

Here is my wish list:

• Hamburg - #1 on my list and not very typical given they are less “pet” friendly than some of the following breeds.

  • Color: Striking black and white, spotted or speckled pattern.

  • Egg Color: White

  • Temperament: Active, energetic, and flighty. Good at scavenging, but not a cuddly pet.

• Buff Orpington and/or Lavender Orpington

  • Color: Fluffy and large with golden or greyish lavender plumage.

  • Egg Color: Light brown

  • Temperament: Extremely friendly, docile, and gentle. Excellent pets and good mothers.

• Maran

  • Color: Varied colors, including the famous Black Copper.

  • Egg Color: Very dark, chocolate brown

  • Temperament: Generally calm and assertive. Good foragers.

• Barred Cochin

  • Color: Black and white barred pattern on feathers with heavily feathered legs and feet.

  • Egg Color: Brown

  • Temperament: Gentle, docile, and easy to handle.

• Golden Comet

  • Color: Reddish-gold plumage.

  • Egg Color: Brown

  • Temperament: Docile, hardy, and very productive.

    
    

My brother has had chickens in Missouri for quite a few years and he recommended I check out Cackle Hatchery. I knew that some of the chicken hatcheries have hatch dates that you need to plan around to receive your flock so I started there. I had a difficult time finding all of the above breeds available around the same hatch dates so I had to make some compromises. Also, shopping for chickens online is a bit clunky because sometimes they come in minimums of at least five and only some listings were guaranteed to be sexed before shipping. I ended up scheduling my order when the hamburg chickens were available, but you had to order a minimum of five. So, add to cart. Then, I found a pack of five varied brown egg leggers (this means the hatchery will randomly pick five hens that are definitely brown egg layers - but for sure hens!).

That checked off a lot of what I wanted by getting my #1 bird and a variety of brown egg layers so I went to check out my cart and got a notification that if I spent just $15 more, I got free shipping! Okay, sold. So I went back and added a “surprise me” pack of five more chickens! Fifteen chickens that haven’t even hatched yet were scheduled for delivery to us in June.

After their hatch date, we patiently waited for a call from the USPS to say they received our package and it is ready for pick up. Walking into the post office was exciting because I could hear our little chicks peeping at the counter as I was waiting in line. Once we got them home, it was pretty straightforward to get them in the brooder. My biggest concern was just making sure they had enough heat because baby chicks don’t have exterior feathers (they have super soft down feathers) and they aren’t able to regulate their temperate.

Over the next few months we spent a lot of time tending to them and socializing with them. We had a couple “chicken cocktail hours” where friends or family would come over and we would just sit around the brooder while the chicks did their thing. Some days we look at them and feel like they’ve actually doubled in size. But, the time was coming up when they would be getting all their exterior feathers and could move outside to the coop, hooray!

By this time, we had officially moved in to the ranch house and I was keeping the chicks in a large brooder in the garage that I could move in and outside. In the fenced portion of the backyard, we have a shed that is in decent condition. This shed seemed like a good location for the coop because it is visible from the house, so we decided to convert it to a chicken coop. This project wasn’t necessarily complicated, but it did take some time. It was nice to have a project to do outside in the sunshine to escape from the projects inside the house, though.

This is the shed we wanted to turn into a nice chicken coop. It is roughly 12' x 8' and in decent shape. We decided not to add siding and simply give it a refreshed look. When we do siding on the house, we will add siding to the coop. (PS - if you see our dog Otto, no you don't. I was lacking before pictures and couldn't be picky.)

We really enjoyed thinking about how to set this up to give the chickens everything they would need and more:

• We added two windows and two vents to the shed for ventilation

• Built a 10’ x 20’ chicken run with mulch on the bottom

• Added a few enrichment obstacles (swing, bench, and a few things to climb on) and dust bath place to the run. We will likely keep obstacles changing when new materials become available to do something creative with.

• Made things predator proof. We know we have racoons!

• Added laminate floor to the inside of the coop

• Hung gravity fed water and food bins inside the coop

• Installed roost bars, which we still need to reposition. Hail the chicken hierarchy.

• AND my husband decked it out in all the latest chicken tech: a solar powered chicken coop door, wifi thermometer, and a camera in the coop.

Below is the finished coop & run:

One of my favorite things about this coop is that it is yellow, my favorite color for so many reasons. Even better, the paint color name is “Frittata”. Seems fitting. Our dogs are still getting used to the birds these last three months, but have been doing pretty well with them!

Now that our flock has gotten used to their routine in the coop & run and can find their way back inside at dusk, we decided we would add an expansion door that gives them access to the grassy field between our house and the corral so they can free range when we are home. All we have to do is slide a 12” x 12” panel open and they can come and go as they please.

The hamburgs are the first to venture out into the free range space, along with the confirmed rooster. We've seen the rooster alert the rest of the flock when a hawk flies over the adjacent field.

The chickens have been so entertaining, to say the least. They definitely have different personalities and can be quite dramatic. I’ve always loved just sitting and observing animal behavior and they are nothing short of a reality tv show sometimes. I think between the brown egg layers and “surprise me” pack, we got a lot of cool birds that hit the mark on my wish list - maybe a few roosters too…

Well now that you’ve met our three month old flock, we are just counting down the days until we have fresh eggs! I’m sure we will have many flock updates in the future.

KB