Cluck Rogers Reporting For Doodie

Hi everyone -

If someone told me 3 years ago that I'd be getting married, starting a family, moving out of Los Angeles and joining a chicken forum - all by 2015...well, I'd call them crazy. But here I am.

I'm currently living in Santa Monica Ca. but about to move back to my home town of Chico, Ca. which is about 1.5 hours north of California's state capital - Sacramento.

My wife and I are renting a 4 bedroom place with a very large backyard and greenhouse. The backyard is about 15x75 yards - long and shallow. It is secured by 8' fences on all sides. Known predators include opossum, raccoons and cats.

Stuff I'd like to learn:

• Chicken hacks - for example, this one (pure genius)
• Chicken/egg yields
• General care and maintenance - we want healthy birds
• Getting started
• Coup selection
• Pest / predator control

I know all this stuff is in the forums and on the main site and that is why I'm here. My wife and I are VERY into organic eating and thought it would be fun to raise chickens.

- Cluck Rogers

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

Welcome to BYC, Cluck Rogers. Glad you decided to join our flock. I love your avatar and pic. Congratulations on the marriage, family, and moving back to Chico. Is your wife's name Wilma? We lived and raised chickens for seven years in the Corning area not far from Chico. We used to drive over to Chico quite frequently and eat Mexican food at either La Comida or Casa Lupe (depending on the budget for that week). ) Raising chickens is a wonderful experience for children. Our children and granddaughter (pictured in my avatar) loved our chickens and made lap pets of the calmer and more gentle breeds. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is loads of useful information there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in getting your flock.

Awesome thanks Michael. Great info! My wife is new to the area, so probably not the person you were thinking about

Hey, Cluck, welcome to BYC.

Hi Cluck, Welcome to Backyard chickens. I think you'll be clucking a lot after you read all the good stuff in the Learning Center.

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us!



For information on the topics you listed, check out the "Learning Center" tab. It is full of a lot of helpful information.

cluckrogers said:

Awesome thanks Michael. Great info! My wife is new to the area, so probably not the person you were thinking about

Click to expand...

LOL! You're welcome. I was actually referring to Wilma Deering (Buck Roger's girlfriend in the books and show). It was a joke, but I guess the punchline was missed so the joke's on me. )

Michael OShay said:

LOL! You're welcome. I was actually referring to Wilma Deering (Buck Roger's girlfriend in the books and show). It was a joke, but I guess the punchline was missed so the joke's on me. )

Click to expand...

OMG I'm pathetic. That was a good one!!!

Hi Cluck Rogers, welcome to BYC!

Life sure can take some twists and turns, but that's what makes it so interesting! As for egg production, I don't think you can go wrong with either the red or black sex link girls...those hybrids are machines. We have 3 red sex links in our mixed flock and get an egg almost every day from them, plus they are curious, entertaining, personable birds. One of the articles you'll see in the Learning Center is very good on selecting the best breeds for various traits such as egg laying, climate, foraging capabilities, etc., so take a look at it:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...cken-guide-to-picking-backyard-chicken-breeds

As far as coops go, there are a few very important considerations, some of them being:
* size...the bigger, the better. Chickens hate being crowded, and with more room, you'll be able to add more later (and you WILL want to add more lol, chickens are addictive)
* make it easy to clean...birds are poopy, no getting around that
* make it predator proof to protect your flock and your investment
* add a run to it. Free ranging isn't always practical and it's another way of protecting your flock
There's a good forum for asking coop/run question:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/9/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance

When it comes time to getting your birds, choose a reputable breeder or hatchery. Don't try to skimp by taking freebies or going through something like Craigslist...you can't trust that you'll be getting healthy, non-vermin-ridden chickens or even getting the breeds/hybrids you want. This time of year, it can get harder to find chicks (most people buy in the spring) but take a look around, you might find chicks or you might be able to pick up some point of lay girls. When you do get some, spend as much time with them as you can. The more you handle them, the more comfortable and people-friendly they will be which makes keeping poultry a lot more fun.

The other best tip I can give you is to be active right here on BYC! The information available is awesome and the members are so helpful, you'll learn tons and have fun too.

Good luck to you Cluck and thanks for joining us!