I would appreciate any suggestions

I have recently retired. I live in an established neighborhood. I have two backyard sections approximately 20 x 30 feet each enclosed with brick fences. One section has a 10 x 10 fenced in area that a long time ago I used for my two labs, the floor is old bricks. I am thinking of using this area for chickens. The top is not covered as the other fenced in walls are not covered. The back walls are protected by the back go my brick house. I am thing of adding a fiber glass roof and leaving the walls open to the climate here in SC. Any suggestions concerning type of chickens and how many would be appreciated. I am thinking of buying chickens for eggs.
Many thanks,
urb2165 [email protected]

In SC you would do fine with the big combed breeds, they are more heat resistant. Small bodied breeds also do well. My neighbor had Jersey Giants and they suffered from the heat a lot.

How high are the block walls?

even though you live in SC I would suggest a coop still, and I would take up the bricks and put grass down if you did a 4X10 coop that with the run would give you enough room for 10 birds you can sell the extra eggs to cover the feed bill. it doesn't have to be perfect but it has to work for you

chicklover 1998 said:

even though you live in SC I would suggest a coop still, and I would take up the bricks and put grass down if you did a 4X10 coop that with the run would give you enough room for 10 birds you can sell the extra eggs to cover the feed bill. it doesn't have to be perfect but it has to work for you

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oh for breeds you could do leghorns, campines, egyption fayoumis, marans, EE,

urb2165 said:

I have recently retired. I live in an established neighborhood. I have two backyard sections approximately 20 x 30 feet each enclosed with brick fences. One section has a 10 x 10 fenced in area that a long time ago I used for my two labs, the floor is old bricks. I am thinking of using this area for chickens. The top is not covered as the other fenced in walls are not covered. The back walls are protected by the back go my brick house. I am thing of adding a fiber glass roof and leaving the walls open to the climate here in SC. Any suggestions concerning type of chickens and how many would be appreciated. I am thinking of buying chickens for eggs.
Many thanks,
urb2165 [email protected]

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Oh - lucky you! Retirement is so great. You have time -- (I love being retired) -- And what fun to start your chicken adventure in a nice mild climate.

some questions to ask yourself as you get started. It sounds like you have some good ideas and a really nice place for your chickens.....

1. Do you plan to get babies - and raise them, or pullets that are started or POL?
2. If babies, are you allowed to keep a rooster, - do you even want to have one? One of my breeds is "autosexing" - and that means that the day they hatch, I know for certain that they are male or female. So often people can only have females, but a 'surprise' male shows up in the bunch -- and they have to find a way to rehome it. So you could consider Cream Legbars and be sure that you have an egg layer right from the get-go. They lay blue-shelled eggs (some lay greenish or green) -
3. Is there a chance that predators are in your area? One of the very worst is raccoons, there are opossums - and in cities feral cats. All three of these can sometimes make short work of walls especially if there are nearby trees. raccoons and opossums can be found in urban areas -- since they are nocturnal they aren't often seen...
4. Heat can be more destructive to chickens well-being than cold -- extremes of both are bad. Fiberglass roof could make a greenhouse effect and trap heat in your chicken pen... If the area gets hot -- then shade for your flock will be really important
5. One chicken raising approach is coop and run. A safe run will protect them from predators and keep them in -- usually this is some kind of wire - most often 'hardware cloth' -- The coop is where they spend the night and needs a good roost for them, and then -- of course a nesting box for those eggs you will be getting.

One really good choice to start with is 'golden comet' or any of the "red sex-links" and another good one is 'black sex-link" -- they may have various names. Both breeds are calm and friendly and amusing and they lay large and frequent brown eggs. - another fun choice is 'Easter Egger' -- these will probably lay green eggs.

You may want to consider the non-brick side of your yard for your chickens. Taking up brick if the whole area is paved sounds like a TON (literally) of work.

so here are some chickens for you to consider:

• Golden comet or any red sex-link
• black sex-link
• Easter Egger

• Cream Legbar

Good luck with your adventure!!

The fenced in dog lot that I am using is 10 x 10 and 8 feet tall. The flooring is made of old bricks. Two sides of the fence are against the brick house. There is no roof at this time. The location gets good sunshine on two sides.

Anyone out there near Dillon SC that is active in this hobby that I could maybe learn from??

urb2165 said:

Anyone out there near Dillon SC that is active in this hobby that I could maybe learn from??

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Probably there is -- BYC has a thread for each state.....

try this link:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/127943/south-carolina

I started that thread, there are a lot of nice folks on that thread.

enola said:

I started that thread, there are a lot of nice folks on that thread.

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How cool is that? Now urb2165 just needs to find someone near enough to touch base with!