Belties R Us
Active member
We got a free chicken at the TSC door (it was lost and they didn't know what to do with it) and now we don't know anything about chickens. Does anyone have any advise? It is a _______ Rock.
Chicken help needed
- Thread starter Belties R Us
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A chick? It needs a heat lamp for the cold, medicated chick starter and fresh water at all times. If you have one chicken you might as well get more if you have somewhere to put them.
It needs to be in a box, preferably inside the garage out of the wind. It will die if it gets too cold, so keep it warm. Dont' feed the chick until it gets warmed up. I don't know why, but that seems to be the case with all small, orphaned animals. Maybe not chicks, but you can never be too careful. Water needs to be in a shallow container because it will drown itself.
Don't be disappointed if it dies. They have a tendency to just die when the get stressed.
If you get the crazy idea to take up chickens as a hobby or for eggs, the book Storey's Guide To Raising Chickens is very good. You can get in at TSC. Tells you everything you need to know.
It needs to be in a box, preferably inside the garage out of the wind. It will die if it gets too cold, so keep it warm. Dont' feed the chick until it gets warmed up. I don't know why, but that seems to be the case with all small, orphaned animals. Maybe not chicks, but you can never be too careful. Water needs to be in a shallow container because it will drown itself.
Don't be disappointed if it dies. They have a tendency to just die when the get stressed.
If you get the crazy idea to take up chickens as a hobby or for eggs, the book Storey's Guide To Raising Chickens is very good. You can get in at TSC. Tells you everything you need to know.
mnmtranching
Well-known member
If your right handed, take the chicken by its legs with the left hand holding it so it's head lays on a sturdy block. Take a hatchet in the right hand, take a good aim, and with one blow remove the head. It will flop like crazy so let go of it till the body stops quivering. Using a sharp knife cut the skin at the breast and pull the skin away from the body, cut off legs and wings at the first joint. Cut off the rear end and remove the innerds. Wash real good in cold water, rinse until the water comes out clean. Take the whole carcass put er in the crock pot with a quart or two of water. Let it cook a few hours and add carrots, celery, onion and seasonings. Let simmer for a few more hours. Good Winter food. :cowboy:
TexasBred
Well-known member
Belties R Us":27jb6uyj said:
Put it in the backyard. (preferrably not fenced) If you're lucky it will wander off.
:banana:
donnaIL":3l5yjhfc said:
If you non-chicken people, or you folks who actually raise chickens to be eaten, log on to backyard chickens.com, you will find it extremely amusing. I had to stop posting on it because it made me too mad. I was the Caustic Burno of that site. People asking if roosters lay eggs, what sort of leash to use for a chicken, what to do when the rooster chases you around, (that's a no brainer), people who keep chickens but don't eat eggs... It's a hoot. I wasn't very helpful.
Then again, I have asked some really stoopid questions about cattle. I'm not trying to keep them in the house, though!
It slays me. Go there for a good laugh.
ga. prime
Well-known member
The only chicken I ever had was when I was about 10 years old I got a little green chick at Easter. I fed him crickets. I took him in the house and not realizing he had walked behind the door and stuck his head through the crack, shut the door and mashed his head off. I had him less than a day.
Belties R Us
Active member
no its still alive and we finished the chicken coup for it yesterday. I believe we will be buying at least one more. Does anyone know how to show chickens? My daughter is in FFA and wants to show them.
MistyMorning
Well-known member
Belties R Us":3raebhjj said:
A suggestion here, buy more than one, they don't always have the longest life span.
Get yourself a book on raising them, try Raising Poultry Successfully by Will Graves or I think Storey's has a book on them too.
Good Luck
Belties R Us":1v2b8gv6 said:
I don't know anything about showing them except that I think they have to be pure breeds. She can ask her ag teacher about it. Misty's right. Get more than one more. There are a couple of places you can order them online. Murray McMurray's in one, Ideal Poultry is another. Not knowing where you are, Ideal is in Central Texas. I order from them and have never had problems. The chicken you found came from a similar hatchery, and rather than buying them from TSC, where they have been handled by goodness knows how many five year olds and are stressed already, it is better to just order them. They come in the mail in a box and the post office will call you when they arrive. It will be early in the morning and you must get them when they call. The post office doesn't want to be in the livestock business.
Go get the Storey's book. It will save you trouble in the future. It has everything you need to know and then some. Good luck.
Angus Cowman
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Lammie you are right I thought some of these hobby cow owners were nuts them chicken people are as bad as cat ownersLammie":1j4vrkca said:
i think a few of them flew the coup
I was laughing so hard that the wife came in to see what was wrong
brandonm_13
Well-known member
If it came from TSC (as in they had chicks for sale),then it's purebred, because they get all their chicks from hatcheries around the country. If someone just brought some in to buy feed and lost one, then who knows what it is. Go to your local extension office. You can talk to either your 4-H agent or agriculture agent and they should have info about how to raise them, and probably have info on showing them. Also if your state does a 4-H chick-chain operation, you can purchase baby chicks from them at a reduced price. The hatcheries give 4-H discounts (about 40-50% off retail prices).
Rustler9
Well-known member
I take it that this was a grown chicken. Is that correct BeltiesRUs? You stated that is a Plymouth Rock? What is the color or colors of it's feathers. I'm assuming it is a hen as you said "Chicken"? I am one of those weird chicken people I guess so I might can tell you something about it.
andybob
Well-known member
Try the discussion forum on this site, some helpfull members there;
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/
MistyMorning":3astq2ki said:
This is very good advise. I have purchased 54 chicks in the last 10months, I currently have 31--loss of 23, majority were chicken dinner for the local racoons, but they do just die for no apparent reason.
Angus Cowman":3astq2ki said:
I agree it can be entertaining :lol: ...some of the posts are informative. The poultrysite.com is a great site, also there is the www.poultryconnection.com and a forum called the Happy Hen House.
Belties R Us
Active member
yes it is a hen
it is a barred rock
it is a barred rock
Belties R Us":22b9zces said:
TSC sells grown chickens? I didn't know they did that. I assumed it was a chick because of the location.
I was stopping by the KFC in Granbury one day several years ago, and there were two live chickens roaming around outside in the parking lot.
Run! Run for your lives!!! Don't you know what they do in there???
Angus Cowman
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Back several yrs ago Some guys I know caught there excess barn cats and turned them loose in the dumpster of the local oriental restaurant and the owner was out there chasing the cats with his meat cleaverLammie":3d735fil said:
He wasn't trying to kill them but he came out the back door and just happened to have his cleaver in hand when he seen all those cats and started trying to shoo them off
I don't actually know who was involved in this prank I was just told about it
Kinda like when we were in HS and someone took a baby food jar with skunk glands and threw it against the back wall of the girls bathroom
Never did find the culprits
