Newbie

[lazyday]

I agree with Pinky and every-one else also....you may need to conceder if you want hatchery breed or heritage breeds. Your hatchery layers lay nicely but burn-out after two years and if you are not wanting to process them you will have hens you are feeding but not laying. Heritage breeds live and produce longer but does not lay as often. Oh glad you joined us

 

[lorihadams]

I'll chime in...I agree with everyone as far as the coop suggestions go. Check out the coop page on Backyardchickens.com There are wonderful ideas for lots of different styles and sizes of coops. One word of warning though, you will get lots of different suggestions on the "right" way to do it. Chances are that once you build your first coop, which I suggest over buying one prebuilt, you will know what you should/could have done differently after a few months of having chickens in it.

I suggest that you look at what kinds of predators you have in your area when you consider what kind of coop/run you have too. If you live in the city then you may not have to worry about foxes or weasals but if you live in the country then you have to take that into consideration. Do you have neighborhood dogs that could be an issue? That kind of thing.

I suggest that you give them a permanent run that is enclosed and give them the opportunity to free range when you can supervise. If predators are going to be an issue then go with hardware cloth and NOT chicken wire....it's stronger and will be more predator resistant.


Now, the breed issue. If you want lots of chickens and don't have a lot of space then consider bantam breeds...you can get more birds in the same amount of space as fewer larger breeds. You will get smaller eggs but you get to have more birds. Start small and see how it goes and then consider if you have the space for adding more birds later. Its always best to start with fewer birds and then increase your flock than to get a bunch and realize you don't have enough room cause then you either have to spend more money to expand their housing or get rid of birds and neither of those is an easy option.

Take a look at the breed pages on BYC and get a feel for what you like/don't like. Send an email to several different hatcheries and request catalogs...Meyer Hatchery, McMurray Hatchery, Strombergs, Randall Burkey, and Cackle Hatchery should all send you free catalogs with descriptions of all the birds they offer. You also need to decide if you want to start with chicks or started pullets and if you want to do pullets then try looking on your local Craigslist for people selling 3-4 month old birds come spring time. Also see if there are any chicken swaps in your area cause they are good ways to make connections to local poultry people. Take care to examine any adult birds that you might buy from a private farm and if you add any chickens to your flock at a later time then make sure you have a large crate or small mobile pen/tractor for a quarantine pen and observe them for signs of worms or anything else that might spread to your current flock.

I suggest getting hens only to start with. Roosters can be trouble and if you are only interested in eggs then you don't really need one. If you want a way to sustain your flock by hatching out your own chicks year after year then consider one rooster.

I like a mixed flock of birds cause the different breeds have different personalities but I have had lots of different types over the years and we are planning on adding several new types this spring to our flock. Breeds that we have had and liked are brahmas, barred rocks, black australorps, red sex links, easter eggers (americaunas), and japanese buff black tailed bantams. We want to add a Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, dominique, cochin, black copper maran and maybe another brahma to our flock. Go with what you like...

 

[nancyeason]

Thanks so much for all the advice everyone. I'm excited about the new adventure.
Nancy

 

[Marianne]

Welcome!
I echo what everyone else has said. Just remember that you don't have to spend gobs of money to have shelter for your hens. They aren't too picky as long as they're safe, out of bad weather, have some chow and water. Letting them free range will really cut back on your feed bill.

We don't butcher but I keep my older hens. They may not lay as much as the young ones do, but they still eat tons of bugs plus give me some fertilizer and do a bit of light tilling and cleanup in the garden. Oh, and they're pretty entertaining when you take the time to watch them.

A neighbor gave me a Barred Rock and I'm pretty impressed with that ol' girl. She's at least three years old and still lays really well.

 

[carlmarkony]

Hi,

Welcome to this forum.