Brand new to the chicken raising world

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Buffs are a great choice for your first birds,I started with them too. Just to clarify nest boxes are for laying not sleeping. Your girls should sleep on a roost which is an elevated pole of some sort that should be higher than the nest boxes so they will sleep there and not the nest boxes. Chickens poop all night long which is not a good thing for where they lay. If you start with chicks block the nest boxes off so they can't get in their till their till their about 18 weeks old. When you do open them put in some kind of fake egg in there so they get the idea of where to lay, I use golf balls and they have worked well for Me.
Dan

And
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Congratulations on getting chickens! Yes, 2 nesting boxes are enough for 3 to 4 chickens. I have only have 4 nesting boxes and its enough for 10 laying hens! And yes, raccoons will kill chickens. I have heard countless horror stories about raccoons and chickens. Make sure your tractor is very secure. I recommend Orpingtons. They are very good chickens, I have had only one but she was fantastic! She unfortunately died of old age in January. Hopefully my our towns annual 4-h chicken sale will have some orpingtons this fall.
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They are tame, lay lots of eggs, and are very hardy chickens. I would really encourage you to start with these chickens. Here is Bobby Joe my missed orpington:
 
What do you mean live on their own? Did you mean free range? You mentioned about raccoons, you kind of have to protect them from predators (wild & domestic animals that will kill and eat your chickens). Our cats and dog are not allowed to go near them. I never knew we have hawk in our area until I found one inside our fenced and roofed run one Sunday morning. Got in a 3' opening on my unfinished end of the gable roof, also couple of owls been perching on my trees @night making noises to have chicken tenders.
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I guess I said that wrong. I meant do they have to be a certain number of weeks old before we can get them? They will mostly be in the coop except when someone is around. Don't want to take a chance of a predator getting them.. I will do everything I can to keep them safe.:): love the picture of Bobby Joe! You
 
We just got our first chicks 3 weeks ago and I am smitten. I love watching them, talking to them and seeing their personalities develop. Their feathers are coming in and I can see their looks changing every 12 hours. I have mine on our screened in back porch in a kiddie pool surrounded with cardboard for extra height. Nothing fancy, just things I already had. They don't mind. And I can peek at them through my window all day.
Anyway, babies or adults, I guess it all depends on what you want.

Hello from Decatur.
 
Dgrundy14 said:
I guess I said that wrong. I meant do they have to be a certain number of weeks old before we can get them? They will mostly be in the coop except when someone is around. Don't want to take a chance of a predator getting them.. I will do everything I can to keep them safe.
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: love the picture of Bobby Joe! You
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No, most hatchery chicks are shipped out at a day old. If you get babies like that, they will need to be kept in a brooder with heat - lots of ways to do that - the most common is with a heat lamp. About 90* is a good starting place. I don't usually use a thermometer, though. I watch the chicks. If they are huddled under the lamp and peeping loudly, it's probably too cool for them. Scattered to the edges of the brooder, too hot. Lounging about evenly, they're just right. Raise the heat lamp a little each week to wean them off it. By the time they're fully feathered, they shouldn't need it in your warm climate. My chicks are brooded in the coop not in the house, although I have, in the past, kept a few in the house for a week or so in a big plastic tote. I wouldn't keep them in the house very long, though, as chickens put out a lot of dander and dust.
 
Oh how cute! Can't wait to get ours. We are going to look at some at a farm near us tomorrow. What kind are yours? If I wasn't going on vacation in a couple of weeks I would already have mine too. I'm so excited! I uses I have something to look forward to after vacation, right?:)
 

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