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MontanaMama

(24,004 posts)
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 04:20 PM Feb 2023

I brought home 6 new chicks yesterday! Photos!!!

I have four adult hens that are four years old...they're slowing down in terms of egg laying so it was time to pull the pin on an additional flock.

Meet Peep Team 2023! This is so much fun.

Scarlett:


Polly


Kitty:


Nugget:


Roxanne:


Fig:

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I brought home 6 new chicks yesterday! Photos!!! (Original Post) MontanaMama Feb 2023 OP
As I clicked on this post, I thought.. jls4561 Feb 2023 #1
So cute wryter2000 Feb 2023 #2
Squeeeeeeee. They are so precious. niyad Feb 2023 #3
When I go to tractor supply, I always dawdle at the chick cages.... getagrip_already Feb 2023 #4
I've never gotten chicks cilla4progress Feb 2023 #5
Our Murdoch's farm and ranch store MontanaMama Feb 2023 #7
Cool system you have! cilla4progress Feb 2023 #10
He loves them...but MontanaMama Feb 2023 #11
How adorable! cilla4progress Feb 2023 #13
Adorable! Freddie Feb 2023 #6
Yes! MontanaMama Feb 2023 #8
So adorable! Can't wait to see more pics as they livetohike Feb 2023 #9
Same here, on future pics. ShazzieB Feb 2023 #12
We had a black chick as a pet years ago hauckeye Feb 2023 #14
Awwwww. I love that story. MontanaMama Feb 2023 #15
My husband Rebl2 Feb 2023 #16
As far as I know, they are shipped via USPS. MontanaMama Feb 2023 #17
Same here Rebl2 Feb 2023 #19
They are still shipped through the USPS. TNNurse Feb 2023 #25
Yes it's still done. I'm ordering some silkies in March and they will be mailed to me. Autumn Feb 2023 #30
Silkies Rebl2 Feb 2023 #32
They are. Their personality is wonderful and they love their humans. Autumn Feb 2023 #33
First I ever heard Rebl2 Feb 2023 #42
Awww! Adorable chickies! Diamond_Dog Feb 2023 #18
Maybee is VERY interested in them. MontanaMama Feb 2023 #21
Eggsalent RoadRunner Feb 2023 #20
May I ask what happens when they get older? Do they stop laying eggs? If so, are they euthanized CTyankee Feb 2023 #22
Nope, not in my coop. They are retired and pampered till they die. Autumn Feb 2023 #31
Great question! MontanaMama Feb 2023 #35
They are all adorable. I lived on a ranch with lots of hens and roosters lol judesedit Feb 2023 #23
Oddly, I don't mind cleaning the coop. MontanaMama Feb 2023 #36
Adorable! SheltieLover Feb 2023 #24
With such a variety of colors KS Toronado Feb 2023 #26
Haha! MontanaMama Feb 2023 #37
Most enjoyable post of the day!! (N/t) Guilded Lilly Feb 2023 #27
ok.. these little ones are PRECIOUS!! AmBlue Feb 2023 #28
Chick #2 is Polly. MontanaMama Feb 2023 #38
See there? AmBlue Feb 2023 #41
What cuties. 3catwoman3 Feb 2023 #29
Incredibly fast! MontanaMama Feb 2023 #39
What a delightful post! llmart Feb 2023 #34
Awww thanks. MontanaMama Feb 2023 #40
This takes me back in time Butterflylady Feb 2023 #43
My neighbor has Barred Rock. According to him they Emile Feb 2023 #44

jls4561

(1,451 posts)
1. As I clicked on this post, I thought..
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 04:24 PM
Feb 2023

Please, please, let there be pictures!

And there were indeed pictures of adorable little baby chicks!

Thank you!

getagrip_already

(17,404 posts)
4. When I go to tractor supply, I always dawdle at the chick cages....
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 04:30 PM
Feb 2023

They are like little chirping kittens. Now they are golden geese.

MontanaMama

(24,004 posts)
7. Our Murdoch's farm and ranch store
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 04:41 PM
Feb 2023

got their first bunch yesterday and I was there when they opened and got these 6. I went back this morning because they were to get a large shipment of Buff Orpingtons and Blue Laced Wyandottes...both of which I really wanted but they sold 250 chicks in 15 minutes!! I wasn't able to get any more. I may try again tomorrow.

I typically get chicks in mid-February and keep them in the house until it's warm enough for them to spend time outside in a secure enclosure where they are safe from the older chickens and predators. This bunch will sleep inside until May or until they're fully fledged. I don't know another way to do it so that they are full grown and laying by fall.

MontanaMama

(24,004 posts)
11. He loves them...but
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 04:59 PM
Feb 2023

not as much as Maybee does. She runs in the house and goes to check the babies. I believe she thinks they belong to her.

MontanaMama

(24,004 posts)
8. Yes!
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 04:44 PM
Feb 2023

This bunch consists of a Red Star, a Black Star, a Brown Leghorn and 3 varieties of Ameraucana's which will lay blue/green eggs!

hauckeye

(721 posts)
14. We had a black chick as a pet years ago
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 05:06 PM
Feb 2023

The other chickens on the farm rejected it and mom brought it inside in a box. It used to hop in my lap when I was reading a book. I was about 8 maybe.

MontanaMama

(24,004 posts)
15. Awwwww. I love that story.
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 05:13 PM
Feb 2023

I like to several breeds in my flock...a chicken melting pot if you will. No meanies allowed!

Rebl2

(14,603 posts)
16. My husband
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 05:14 PM
Feb 2023

retired from the main post office in area where we live, and early on in his career he worked in an area where he would hear the baby chicks that were being shipped. I had no idea they shipped them through the post office back then. Don’t know if it’s still done that way.

MontanaMama

(24,004 posts)
17. As far as I know, they are shipped via USPS.
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 05:16 PM
Feb 2023

I actually don't like to think about it...I know some babies don't make it. The six I brought home arrived early yesterday morning at the store and then a couple hours later, they made the trip to my house!! What a day these little ones had.

Rebl2

(14,603 posts)
19. Same here
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 05:20 PM
Feb 2023

Don’t like the fact they are shipped that way either. I always figured they were bought locally from people who raise chickens.

TNNurse

(7,105 posts)
25. They are still shipped through the USPS.
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 05:46 PM
Feb 2023

I picked up some for a friend a couple of years ago.

When I was a child, my grandfather was a postmaster in his little town. He would let me know when there were chicks so I could see them.

I check them out at the Co-op and Tractor Supply as well.

Autumn

(46,150 posts)
30. Yes it's still done. I'm ordering some silkies in March and they will be mailed to me.
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 06:36 PM
Feb 2023

My mail lady will bring them right to my door.

Diamond_Dog

(34,536 posts)
18. Awww! Adorable chickies!
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 05:17 PM
Feb 2023

I know zero about raising chickens. Wishing you and the flock lots of success!

How does Maybee like them?

MontanaMama

(24,004 posts)
21. Maybee is VERY interested in them.
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 05:23 PM
Feb 2023

I believe she thinks they are hers. I have to watch her closely because she's a little rough. She did share her favorite squeaky doughnut toy with them...they were not very impressed.

CTyankee

(64,929 posts)
22. May I ask what happens when they get older? Do they stop laying eggs? If so, are they euthanized
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 05:29 PM
Feb 2023

and eaten?

MontanaMama

(24,004 posts)
35. Great question!
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 07:09 PM
Feb 2023

My chickens are pets and while I technically have them for eggs, I really keep them because they are wonderful to have around. They’re a laugh a minute and they follow me everywhere. When the girls are done laying, they live out their days in my care. My oldest chicken, Squirt, was 12 when she passed. She spent her last few days wrapped in a blanket in a homemade hospice in my laundry room. They’re part of the family.

judesedit

(4,509 posts)
23. They are all adorable. I lived on a ranch with lots of hens and roosters lol
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 05:34 PM
Feb 2023

Got to experience, the brooding and the hatching of quite a few eggs. It's really something. Nature is amazing. We had eggs every day of course, but they seemed to be on the smaller side. Enjoy your chicks. Keep them safe. There are different critters that will try to get at them. It sounds like you're already experienced with them, so you probably know way more than I do. 🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣

I'll admit I wasn't too crazy about cleaning the chicken coops, though. lol 🤣

MontanaMama

(24,004 posts)
36. Oddly, I don't mind cleaning the coop.
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 07:13 PM
Feb 2023

The girls all like to “participate” in the action which is hilarious. I just found natural help bedding for their roost and left hutch. It’s low dust and doesn’t have to be changed nearly as often.

Yeah…predators…my current coop is solid. We have a lot of raccoons and bears and this coop has never been breached. Fingers crossed that continues. I free range the girls during the day but lock them up tight every night.

KS Toronado

(19,508 posts)
26. With such a variety of colors
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 05:49 PM
Feb 2023

You can name them everything from Blondie to Daniel Boone. You could have a naming contest,
that way you could tell Maybee which one to go gather eggs from.

AmBlue

(3,436 posts)
28. ok.. these little ones are PRECIOUS!!
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 06:04 PM
Feb 2023

They are all so damn cute!! #2 has a special sparkle in her (his?) eye.


MontanaMama

(24,004 posts)
38. Chick #2 is Polly.
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 07:16 PM
Feb 2023

She’s the fluffiest of the group and is very sweet tempered. I am holding them all several times per day to get them used to being handled…whenever I return a chick to the brood box, Polly is first the check on the returnee.

🐥

MontanaMama

(24,004 posts)
39. Incredibly fast!
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 07:21 PM
Feb 2023

These chicks will start fledging any day. They’ll be pretty much fully grown by early summer and they’ll start laying anywhere from 18-24 weeks of age. The chick stage is so short, unfortunately.

When our snow is gone and the days warm up, I will put this group in a round pen in the back yard so that they can meet the big girls but also be safe from them….but they’ll continue to sleep indoors until they’re fully fledged and can keep their body temp stable at night. It usually takes me 3-4 full days to get two flocks to accept each other and get along. I don’t tolerate meanies…they get a quick tap on the beak and a stern word if they cause a ruckus.

llmart

(16,331 posts)
34. What a delightful post!
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 06:53 PM
Feb 2023

How can anyone not fall in love with baby chicks? I love all the names you've chosen too.

MontanaMama

(24,004 posts)
40. Awww thanks.
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 07:23 PM
Feb 2023

It’s impossible not to love these cuties. Everybody gets a name because they really are pets. Chickens are so smart…they will absolutely come you call their names.

Butterflylady

(3,961 posts)
43. This takes me back in time
Thu Feb 16, 2023, 10:51 PM
Feb 2023

At Easter time one could go into your local 5&dime store ( yes I know a lot of you youngens are asking "what is a 5 & dime store), well it was a store sort of like Walmart only way, way, smaller. It carried everything from clothes to plumbing supplies. Whenever you needed something that was where you went.

Anyway, at Easter you would fine baby chicks in all colors. Pink, blue, green and of course purple. It was like seeing a jumping Easter egg. I always asked for one but the only answer I got was what are you going to do with a chick when it grows up to be a chicken?

Still wonder today what became of those chicks.

Emile

(29,388 posts)
44. My neighbor has Barred Rock. According to him they
Fri Feb 17, 2023, 07:49 AM
Feb 2023

are great layers. I think they are beautiful birds.

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