Hello! SE Ohio here... new to the site and new to chickens...

Hello everyone!

I live in Guernsey County with my boyfriend, his 13 year old son, my 19 year old daughter and my 4 year old grand daughter. I have 10 acres that is home to 3 horses, 5 dogs and many cats.. not to mention a Hahn's Macaw, 5 Cockatiels and a ferret. Future home to chickens, rabbits and goats, Lord willing.

I am quite new to the chicken world. We attempted it 3 years ago.. and it was a miserable failure. We had no idea what we were doing. My bf said he knew people who had chickens and could build an enclosure... and he is one who hates to ask for advice... so all of our chickens were ready made meals for area predators. I also had 2 ducks, which I gave away before something happened to them as well.

NOT THIS TIME! I'm scouring the internet for info and tips. It's my baby this time. Although his heart is in the right place and he has good intentions, he is what I call an unrealistic optimist.... his idea of a functional chicken coop can be slapped together in a couple days. We've come to the agreement, that if I can find plans for a coop I like, he'll build it to my specifications. Yay!

So, anyway, that's what led me here... I look forward to meeting new people and to asking questions and learning way to give my chickens the best possible life. I am afraid you all might get tired of seeing me... cause I have LOTS of questions...

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

Thank you very much! I'm very happy to be here!

I do have a question though, (are you the site owner?) Are all of my posts going to have to be up for moderation before they actually post?

I think just the first post. We have been blasted with spam many times - so new rules, hopefully will weed most of them out.

Have you checked out the coops section, a lot of styles, shapes, sizes, - some with step by step detailed descriptions. The most important is size (chickens get nasty when overcrowded. Allow 4-5 sq.feet per bird inside the coop, not including nest boxes and roosts. Allow 10 sq.feet per bird in the outdoor run. Chicken wire only keeps chickens in, does nothing to stop predators. The gold standard is 1/2" hardware cloth securely affixed ( not with plastic ties) to the run frame. Costs more, lasts much longer and predators will not bite or claw through it. A run cover can be essential in areas that have a lot of hawks. It will also keep out climbers and jumpers and make sure your great flyers do not leave the run. The cover, if solid can also provide some protection from the elements.

Above all Welcome to Backyard chickens.

Drumstick diva has given you some good tips for your coop. If you haven't already, check out the Learning Center. There are excellent articles there on all things chicken (including information on predators):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

To 'meet' other members in Ohio, you can find your state thread here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread

Thanks for joining us and good luck!

Hi and welcome to BYC - glad that you have joined us. Other greeters have given you all you need for the moment, so I'll just say a big hello and wish you all the best with your coop build.

CT

Drumstick Diva
Thank you very much for the info and welcome! I've been all over the site.. sooo much information here! It's wonderful! I have looked at a lot of coop designs! I have so many new bookmarks on my computer now.. lol

NorthFLChick
Thank you for the links and the warm welcome!!


CTKen
Thank you, I'm happy to be here!! And thank you for the luck... I have a feeling I"ll be needing it!

There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to join the BYC family. I look forward to seeing you around the run.