Chick Frenzy Season Begins!

Chick Frenzy season begins this time every year. You can learn to recognize the symptoms in your friends and family members. Symptoms of Chick Frenzy includes quickened heart beat upon seeing a hatchery catalog. It begins in most of the country in February. You will begin dreaming of spring and the inevitable start of chicks hatching. You will begin calling your local feed store daily, to ask when they expect the first shipment of chicks from the hatchery. Words like awww and “oh, how cute” fall from the affected person’s  mouth. Temporary insanity takes over as you purchase “just a dozen chicks, to start with.” 

 

Where do you catch Chick Frenzy?

There area few places where chick frenzy is rampant and should be avoided

1. Mail order hatcheries. Online ads and ads placed in magazines such as Backyard Poultry Magazine. Do not allow yourself to look at these ads. You are vulnerable. If you give in and place an order, tell the phone representative that you are suffering from Chick Frenzy. They will appreciate this and sympathize. Make decisions before hand about whether you want straight run or pullets and , full size or bantam breeds.

2. Any site that sells chicken keeping supplies will also contribute to chick frenzy symptoms. Buying a  Brinsea chick warmer was a particularly bad move because now I don’t have to worry about potential fire hazard from the heat lamp. Which of course meant that I could raise even more chicks each spring.

3. Other chicken raising friends will tell you about the order they just placed and how they are looking forward to acquiring a certain trendy breed of the moment. You will then want this breed too, and pick up the phone to call the hatchery. If you follow any farm or homestead type blogs on social media, you will be seeing all kinds of cuteness as these thoughtless individuals begin to hatch out chicks from the fertilized eggs from their coop. Then they will show you pictures of the adorable chicks minutes after they hatch. (see item #1 above)

4. Under no circumstances should you enter a country feed store, a local feed dealer or any farm and garden type shop during the spring chick season. This will bring on acute symptoms of Chick Frenzy. You will not be able to resist the sweet little puffs of down that stare back at you from the bins of baby chicks. If you plan on going into one of these tempting shops, just go ahead and take a sturdy box in with you. Choose carefully because all the chicks will want to go home with you. 

 

Cure and Treatment

To date, no cure or treatment has been shown to be effective against Chick Frenzy. When you notice the signs of Chick Frenzy immediately start building a new coop or enlarging the coop you have. Stock up on pine shavings and chick starter feed. And remember, this too shall pass. Just not in the immediate future.

 

This post was shared first on Backyard Poultry Mag.com

 

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