Ok I know this is dumb, but here goes.

The other day my good friend and neighbor calls me an says Hey would you like some chickens?. ( I'm thinking dead, ready to eat) So I say sure, she tells me to come getum. So I walk over an wouldn't ya know it they are very much alive!! An of coarse I'm not going to go back on my word an say OH No, no way. So now I have 3 young chickens.

I've been around many many animals, and raised many too. But never chickens. So far I've built a coop, picked up some chicken food, but what else should I do?? Does anyone know anything about caring for chickens?? If so HELP!!!! Please?!

( what have I gottin myself into??)

Blessings,
Penny Indeshadows

LOL...I don't know what to say...I have never dealt with chickesn other than in a pan....maybe someone else has some suggestions....have you googled "Care of Chickens"?

I look forward to seeing the responses...and best of luck! You now will have fresh eggs! What a delight! I love them!

Check out http://www.ehow.com/how_5785_care-chickens.html and http://www.kindplanet.org/chickencare.html

Good luck. I had chickens when I was a kid can be fun.

Wolf Shadow

Thank you Wolf Shadow. I'll be checking the links out.

Blessings,
Indeshadows

Hi, I have raised a few in my day.

Have a warm place for them to sleep. I mean maybe a box but make sure you have straw on the base so they can snuggle in.
Change that fairly often so they don't harbour ticks.

Throw weeds to them so they can scratch and pick among the roots for a variety of insects. They'll also eat the greens.

Once you have them at your place for a while, allow them to run free but always make sure you feed them in their own coop so you can safely lock them up at night and they don't make a habit of roosting anywhere but in their own home.

I always let them into the vegetable patch once the veges had grown up (they'll scratch out seeds!!) and they kept the insects down that would harm my vegies. Their eggs were great as well.

Enjoy them they are a delight and they get to know you!

Thank you Loner. They finally laid a few eggs. I wish I could let them run loose in the back yard but 1 of my dogs is a nut!! she wants them poor chickens bad!! She'd kill them if she can get ahold of them. I also took them to a vet to make sure they were healthy. I've had to clip their flight feathers just in case they do get loose, There's a cow pasture behide my house an if they get back there they'll be gone. Only 1 will let anyone get near it, the others run as far as they can!

I think I'm getting the hang of it lol.

Thanks again.

Blessings,
Penny Indeshadows

How funny. ..I got my first two chickens the same way you did. I never saw myself with chickens either but now we're up to 6 and I'm getting 2 more Friday. They are pretty simple to take care of. They have basic needs: shelter, food, proper sanitation, and some exercise. The hen house should have clean dry bedding material to absorb moisture and odor. I spread a layer of cedar chips and top it off with a layer of straw. The combination removes the moisture and cancels out some of that "fresh barnyard smell." It's easy to muck out and should be cleaned no less then once a week. Make sure they have plenty of food and fresh water. In addition to the chicken feed, grit and oyster shells I give my "girls" fresh fruits and vegetables, like apples, melon, grapes, lettuce, tomatoes, corn and spinach and they also love bread and pasta (in limited amounts though). When I want to give my chickens a savory treat, or when I need to bride them back to the coop, I bring out the heavy artillery: cottage cheese.I swear they will jump through hoops for this stuff. Once a week I'll give them a half-cup of low fat, no salt cottage cheese. Foods you don't want to give them are; spicy food, rotten food, sour food, potato chips or any other junk food, cabbage(makes eggs stinky) garlic (also makes eggs stinky) and raw potato peels (chickens have trouble digesting them) ... Hope this helps and if you need some more info, just let me know. Brightest Blessing

http://www.omlet.co.uk/homepage/homepage.php

I have found that this is the best site around for tips on looking aftr chickens! I've had a few myself and they are wonderful to own! Hope that's of use to u!

Foxi xoxoxox

I also like the omlet site it has alot of good information.

I want to thank you all for helping me. Now that I know how to care for them, I just wish I could get them to not be so scared of me, I thought that with time and only me feeding them and careing for them they'd calm down. But no they still freak when I am around, they freak with anyone around. At least they are laying, though a bit small, the eggs are quite good.

Thanks you all again.
Blessings,
Penny Indeshadows

Just wondering how the chickies are doing? I've had chickens off and on for a few years and love them. Out of all the farm type critters I've had chickens seem to give me the most return for my in put (which is really small lol)
I have found that talking to my birds in a calm quite voice helps keep them calm. this years bunch is the first i've gotten actually come to me when i call and love to be petted. i also (although if this gets out they may lock me up !) talk chicken talk to them! yep when no one is around i try to make sounds that sound like my hens when they are out scratching around or just wandering around and this seems to work quiet well. they come to check out the noises and just sort of hang out looking at me and trying to talk to me. it's sort of funny to watch them, they look at you like "what the heck are you trying to tell me"; but then again maybe i've been hanging with the chickens toooo long

anyway don't worry about them getting out to much, some of mine get out and come right back others seem happiest in their pen. i have raised this bunch from babies though so that may make a difference. most of all have fun with them and enjoy their quiet ways.

I adopted a pair of Old English Banties a few months ago. When I first got them they were very afraid of me but after a few weeks of talking to them in a sing-song voice they lightened up. A few weeks after that they began following me around like puppies! lol They've now taken to jumping up onto my patio table, stretching their necks as far as they can to look into the window for me. They actually call for me to come outside and visit with them. It's so funny!

Since they are miniature chickens the hen lays little tiny eggs. She has 4 right now and is happily sitting on them. I can't wait until they hatch and can only imagine how tiny the chicks are going to be. I've arranged for a man who raises chickens to take the chicks after they hatch as I live in a residential area and I'm thinking the neighbors wouldn't be as patient with 6 chickens as they have been with 2.

If the hen continues to lay and since the eggs are way too small to eat, I've been tossing around the idea of blowing out the insides (feeding them to George the Dog), coloring them, and using them as little ornaments to hang on a wire tree for the spring-time celebration.

The chickens are doing just fine though, they still aren't friendly, no matter what I do they still freak at the site of anyone. Ah well maybe it's because they weren't handled when they were babies. But they have been laying eggs now, I can find 2 to 4 eggs very couple days. I came across the remains of a tiny grass snake that found it's way into their pen, poor little thing never stood a chance!! I had planned on getting a rooster but, hubby said no. I don't blame him none, I don't think I'd be to happy when it started to wake me to early!! I am not a nice person in the mornings. lol Must have my coffee before I can deal with the day much less a bird any kind.

I do find it odd that 1 of the chickens lays white eggs and the other 2 lay brown, an they are all the same type of chicken. Doesn't really matter cause they do taste good.

Thanks again for the input. They are silly birds but I enjoy them quit a bit.

Blessings,
Penny

I keep a few "fowl" and I just love watching them run around the yard doing their fowl things! My companion thinks I'm crazy to have them but I find them very entertaining!
My small chickens, Bantams are a bit on the wild side also and I think thats just their nature, being a small breed of bird they are naturally weiry.
I feed mine most of my compost material,peelings,left-over vegs from the table plus the typical chicken scratch-type feed. I'm trying to keep away from the mash type feeds as they add all kinds of hormones and stuff to them to get the birds to grow fast, lay more,ect.
I find their very little work to keeping them(not like my horses!LOL)

I agree that many brands of chicken feed have some questionable ingredients in them. If your chicken run is big enough, or if they're allowed to wander around at leisure, you don't need to feed them at all because they'll eat their fill of grass, weeds, and insects. I have a friend whose chickens lay the best eggs I've ever tasted, and when I asked her what her secret ingredient was in whatever feed she fed them, she looked at me like I was a hopeless city-dwelling moron and said, "Um, grass and bugs."

It reminded me of what Ishmael (the gorilla, not the biblical Ishmael he's named after) said, "Human children dream of a land where the mountains are ice cream and the trees are gingerbread and the stones are bonbons. For a gorilla, Africa is just such a land. Wherever one turns, there is something wonderful to eat. One never thinks, "Oh, I'd better look for some food." Food is everywhere, and one picks it up almost absentmindedly, as one takes a breath of air. In fact, one does not think of feeding as a distinct activity at all. Rather, it's like a delicious music that plays in the background of all activities throughout the day."