Raising Mystery Chicks!

August 1st 2021- I took a trip out to my local Tractor Supply for some feed, as anyone would do when they’re low. I did NOT go for chicks! BUT I saw some Mystery Chicks for .50 cents each! NY state law is a minimum of 6, so of course I brought home 6. They were listed as Pullets (aka females) but we won’t know for at least 3-4 weeks when their combs/waddles come in a bit more. I also believe them to be about 2 weeks of age, maybe slightly older.

Upon further investigation into many many websites on chick identifications I have narrowed it down to two possible breeds (but of course I could be completely wrong!) One being Lakeshore Eggers and the other being Green Queens. At first I thought they were Bantams. I had hoped they were bantams, because we only have 3 different types and 2 mixed breeds in the Bantam coop at the moment and I want more of a variety! But I’ll take what I can get!

I can’t say I was 100% sure on their breed from day one, but as they grew older their colors really *popped*! Or at least what little color a white/brown mix bird can have😅 I will say, we got pretty lucky! Out of the 4 we decided to keep, all 4 of them ended up being girls!

Moving into early Winter we integrated the Mystery Chicks out of the bantam coop and into the main flock. Minus the usual pecking order being established there wasn’t too much fighting going on amongst the birds. We introduced them into the new coop at night, locked them in for a day or so and kept our fingers crossed that they wouldn’t wander back to the bantam coop. For a few days some got out and wandered a bit but they never really seemed to go far from the fence. In fact once they got out they’d pace the fence trying to get back in😂 stupid birds. All was well for a while, until their combs started to change and the roosters took notice.

As the snow started to fall and settle I believe the birds started to notice how much they actually hated winter. One of the four Mystery chicks decided to venture across the snow and over to the old duck coop. I‘m not really sure what her goal was here but she eventually made it. But only after first face planting into the snow a couple times🤣 She has not tried that since.

As of writing this post today (2/11/22) we have not received any eggs (that we know of) from any of these four girls. All the chickens from the main coop have since been moved to the back of the barn to the ‘storage area’ until further notice due to their coop caving in. We just got too much snow in so little time, we couldn’t keep up on keeping the roof clear! They’re in the best place they could be for now, and are able to free range when we’re around (due to hawks it can only be when we’re up there with them), otherwise I did move the kennel to where they’re able to come out for fresh air. Hopefully we get some eggs from them soon too🤞🏻

Update! 3/26/22:

The Lakeshores are laying and they are laying blue/green eggs! I caught one on the nest last month and managed to get a video of them laying!🤩 How exciting! Now they just fight over who gets to lay in what nest. All are consistently laying daily at the moment and I can’t be happier for them! Attached are photos of their eggs (will be added today, stay tuned)