Backyard Chickens?

20160303_210900.webp Here's my pullet (above)
Screenshot_2016-03-03-21-27-18-1.webp
One of the silkiesScreenshot_2016-03-03-21-27-48-1.webp
The 3 silkies

Screenshot_2016-03-03-21-27-57-1.webp
One of the redsScreenshot_2016-03-03-21-28-01-1.webp
Love the coloringScreenshot_2016-03-03-21-28-06-1.webp
My 2 redsScreenshot_2016-03-03-21-28-10-1.webp Screenshot_2016-03-03-21-28-14-1.webp Screenshot_2016-03-03-21-28-18-1.webp are you able to tell by the combs whether they're hens or roosters? Tractor supply said the only "definite" hens are the pullets, and even then occasionally a rooster gets mixed in
 
MischasMomma said:
Tractor supply said the only "definite" hens are the pullets, and even then occasionally a rooster gets mixed in
Click to expand...
HEHE, well "pullet" means a young hen, so if they are selling you a pullet, it better be a female. They should be sexed from the supplier before they arrive at the tractor supply. If they turn out to be boys I would send them back. You can sex them yourself (there is a video somewhere on the internet) but it is difficult and can be dangerous for the chick if done wrong. So the breeds you got are Silkies and Rhode Island Reds? or are they Red Stars? The coloring on the wings goes away as they mature....
 
WiglWerm said:
HEHE, well "pullet" means a young hen, so if they are selling you a pullet, it better be a female. They should be sexed from the supplier before they arrive at the tractor supply. If they turn out to be boys I would send them back. You can sex them yourself (there is a video somewhere on the internet) but it is difficult and can be dangerous for the chick if done wrong. So the breeds you got are Silkies and Rhode Island Reds? or are they Red Stars? The coloring on the wings goes away as they mature....
Click to expand...

They said they SHOULD be all hens but can't 100% guarantee because I guess a few roosters slipped through before. I forget what exactly the red were, I believe it was a sort of hybrid. I'll find out tomorrow, since I need to pick some silkies up for my ex husband. There are 2 reds (unsexed), 3 silkies (unsexed) and the pullet- I forget what breed That was now too I was so darn excited haha! I know there were 2 different ones in the pullet bins, and I chose the more tan color than yellow. I figured the coloring would fade as they mature, but they sure are pretty to look at now! I'm hoping I end up with a blue silky hen... The sign said blue, white, black, buff and something else but the chicks all looked the same to me. Guess it's just luck and a gamble as to what color they turn out?
 
Not too sure about the silkies, the only "silkie" I ever had was a Show Girl (silkie, naked neck cross) It may be the ISA Brown you got from T.S. they are hybrids and laying MACHINES!!! (or maybe Red Stars, they are great hybrid layers too) Here is a picture of a show girl (mine was black)10-showgirl-chickens-950.webp
 
Beautiful! I know the reds said they lay large to extra large brown eggs if that's any help. Any idea around how long until I can easily tell what they are? I'm hoping by may so if I ended up with rooster I still have time to try a few more before TSC doesn't have chicks anymore. My ex is taking any roosters for me since we can't have them here, so at least I do have a plan if I end up with roosters.
 
OMG!!!!!! Just catching up here and reading that you got the 'ok' and the Chickens!!!!! :yatta::yatta::woot::woot::woot: How damn cute are they!!? I got the chills catching up on this thread and seeing those cute babies!! Oh, what fun it will be to live through you now ! LOL! And omgg, how stupid am I on chickens! I thought you HAD to have a rooster for them to lay eggs!! :facepalm::rtfm:LOL~!!
 
I would google how to tell the sex of your chick...there are some clues with the saddle feathers and such
 
MyBuddy said:
OMG!!!!!! Just catching up here and reading that you got the 'ok' and the Chickens!!!!! :yatta::yatta::woot::woot::woot: How damn cute are they!!? I got the chills catching up on this thread and seeing those cute babies!! Oh, what fun it will be to live through you now ! LOL! And omgg, how stupid am I on chickens! I thought you HAD to have a rooster for them to lay eggs!! :facepalm::rtfm:LOL~!!
Click to expand...

I knew youd be happy!! And don't feel bad, my dad is still arguing with my that we HAVE to have a rooster to get eggs, even though I've showed him several different sources proving otherwise! The rooster just fertilizes them if we want to hatch chicks, otherwise they'll just be edible unfertilized eggs!
 
WiglWerm said:
I would google how to tell the sex of your chick...there are some clues with the saddle feathers and such
Click to expand...

Looks like silkies are near impossible until their heads start poofing out (for lack of a better term lol) or they start to crow or lay (around 4-6 months I think?) I'm still reading TONS on feathers to see if I can figure anything out (or take a guess anyway) but all the feathers on the red chicks look the same... So I'm betting I have either 2 roosters or 2 hens!
 
Aww so cute!

I'd want at least one rooster just because I love to hear them crow in the morning but I'm sure in town that's a big no go.
 
JanS said:
Aww so cute!

I'd want at least one rooster just because I love to hear them crow in the morning but I'm sure in town that's a big no go.
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Yes, were not allowed roosters around here at all. Even my ex husband who lives on several acres can't have them because of township regulations. He butchers them.
 
For those that use deep litter, is it possible to do in this type of coop?
Screenshot_2016-03-04-21-42-04.webp
I presume the tray would make for easy cleaning, but I'm thinking it would have to be much much much more often... We're getting this coop (can post more pics then, or the actual link) it has 5 star reviews and they had one set up at TSC looked very sturdy and good quality. Plus it matches our shed lol I'm very interested in DLM but not sure if that tray will work or not.
 
WiglWerm said:
HEHE, well "pullet" means a young hen, so if they are selling you a pullet, it better be a female. They should be sexed from the supplier before they arrive at the tractor supply. If they turn out to be boys I would send them back. You can sex them yourself (there is a video somewhere on the internet) but it is difficult and can be dangerous for the chick if done wrong. So the breeds you got are Silkies and Rhode Island Reds? or are they Red Stars? The coloring on the wings goes away as they mature....
Click to expand...

The reds are a hybrid of rhode island reds and new Hampshire red bred for high production. The pullet is an ISA brown.
 
I think you will have to stick with the scrap and rinse method, as the side door lip as well as the chicken door lip is pretty short and the litter would just fall out or be kicked out by the girls. I would highly suggest you glue some linoleum down to the tray, It will make clean up much easier. :thumbsup:
 
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