Researching Chickens and overwhelmed!!

[DebFred]

Hi all.

I have been researching chickens for eggs, with the possiblity of more for food later. I went to BYC. There is a wealth of info there for sure! I thought I had a pretty good plan in my head for a coop and run. But now I have all this info rolling around in my head, and I am wondering what on earth was I thinking, raising chickens on a half acre lot. Seemed a lot easier in Kentucky when I was a kid. We had a coop for them and they free ranged, and went in the coop at night. We fed them, and that was pretty much it. Seems so much harder these days....

 

[watsonlane]

I feel the same way!!! LOL We have 9 ladies and 1 roo, with no eggs daily right now! These queens aren't paying rent! I would like to have chickies and sale them either online or at local auctions but scared to take the dive of more coops to seperate the flock from the mother queen. Then take into account the dogs, 4 kids, full time job and hubby with a full time job and part time in school......UHG.....it's hard enough to remember to change the bed sheets!!!!! Any ideas for me?!?!? lol

 

[Denim Deb]

How many chickens are you looking to get? If you're planning on free ranging them, you need less room for a run than if you're going to keep them penned up. And, the coop doesn't need to be elaborate. Right now, I have 9 hens and a roo. 6 of the hens are young and are just starting to lay. And, I have them on less than an acre. At this time of year I'm feeding them more, but even now, there are days when I don't put out much food for them.

 

[Cindlady2]

Take a deep breath and relax!
BYC is a great place for info and I know it can be over whelming but I would recommend going to the "Where am I? Where are you? " threads and find your state/area. I found that the closer you can get to "home" the more relevant the information is. Also there is usually an "old timer" or 2 that can answer almost any question. You can also pick up tips on local breeders, shows and people near by to help.

Start small, personally I would stay away from "production" breeds and go with a sturdier breeds.

Good Luck!

 

[FarmerJamie]

Hi all.

I have been researching chickens for eggs, with the possiblity of more for food later. I went to BYC. There is a wealth of info there for sure! I thought I had a pretty good plan in my head for a coop and run. But now I have all this info rolling around in my head, and I am wondering what on earth was I thinking, raising chickens on a half acre lot. Seemed a lot easier in Kentucky when I was a kid. We had a coop for them and they free ranged, and went in the coop at night. We fed them, and that was pretty much it. Seems so much harder these days....

a half acre lot is plenty of space, depending on what you are trying to do. You can still raise a small, healthy, happy flock even if they aren't living the chicken life you remember from your youth. Not every one with chickens has acres of open farmland for free-ranging flocks.

Start by identifying your goals, how many chickens/eggs do you want, are there any zoning restrictions where you live, what is your climate like, how do your neighbors feel about your plan, etc. My first coops were pretty basic affairs, you have to figure out what works for YOU.

No matter what we try in life, there are always many, many different ways to accomplish your goals. Some breeds, like Barred Rocks, are good "starter" breeds".

Don't let the wealth of information or opinions intimidate you, I doubt anyone got it "perfect" on their first attempt, I know my friends and I didn't.

Embrace the project and have fun!

 

[Boogity]

I think Farmer Jamie has given you the best advice. Relax. Chickens are very easy to have and to keep. I used to go to BYC once in a while but I found that it's crowded with up tight people who seem to be control freaks. Why I even found a thread there a couple of years ago about taking chickens for walks on a leash. Then I found one about dressing up the chickens. What???? I guess it's OK.

I live on a small farm out in the country and we always have 10 or 20 chickens wandering around. They pretty much take care of themselves and all we do is make sure there is food and water available to them at all times. Oh yeah, we collect eggs every day and once in a while we chop some heads off. A couple times each year we see little tiny chicks running around after mommy out in the yard.

Here's my advice to you. Build or buy a coop (8 ft. X 4 ft. will do) with a roost and two laying nest boxes. Chickens don't care what it looks like. Put up a fence around it with a gate. If you want to free range keep the gate open. Purchase two pullets of your choice and stick them in the coop with the door closed for 6 or 7 days to teach them that it's their new home. They won't like it but our soldiers in boot camp don't like it either. Then after boot camp open their little door every morning and close it every evening after they go inside. They will go inside all on their own. Chickens are chicken and they do not like to be exposed after dark. It's called instinct.

If you like it and want more either get a rooster or purchase more at the farm store. If you don't like it chop their heads off and sell the coop. Yum, chicken soup for the soul. But what ever you do don't get up tight about it. Chickens can be great fun. If a hawk eats one feel good about feeding another fine feathered friend. By the way, a rooster will cut back on predator attacks. So will well trained dogs.

One last thing. Free range chickens love to poop on your porch and your car. Enjoy life, it's short.

 

[Hinotori]

Chickens are easy to take care of. They don't need fancy things, or really care.

I make sure I have food and water in their pen. Toss them some of my seed mix as scratch in the morning and let them out around noon to go free range for the rest of the day. They put themselves to bed when it starts getting dark.

The only birds I have paying feed bills right now are the barred rocks and brahma from last year. Molting is our current issue. The silkies aren't broody right now so they are outlaying everyone with their 6 little eggs a week each.

Don't get silkies for your first birds since they do have a few special needs. Get easy birds. I recommended the rocks to a friend of my hubby who was getting chickens for the first time. They are sturdy birds and lay decent.

 

[Beekissed]

Here is the thread on BYC that will help you center down and will answer all your questions in one thread....feel free to start at the beginning and read but if you have a question that needs answering immediately, the folks there will help you quickly~just ask..there is no question we haven't heard and answered. This thread is filled with the old timers in the art of chicken who can give you very plain, simple instructions on how to proceed. No clothing on chickens allowed there....by pass all the other newbies who want to give you advice and ask the old farts who've been doing it for years upon years.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/6...l-up-a-rockin-chair-and-lay-some-wisdom-on-us

 

[nachoqtpie]

I very very VERY rarely ever post on BYC.... it seems like unless you are a regular there, your questions go mostly unanswered.

I think cindlady and farmer Jamie are right. Don't overthink things. I live on less than a half acre and have a garden, chickens, ducks, a few fruit trees, and dogs. They all seem to do well on my small space.

 

[Beekissed]

Things have changed a little over there. For the past year there has been one thread where your questions are sure to be answered and by someone who knows the answer instead of someone who has read it from a book or a website.

Now there are two such threads, one is dealing with general flock management and the other about all natural husbandry methods regarding flock health.