Hello to CT chicken-keepers from a complete newbie!
I'm in Tolland, and have been lurking on BYC for months as my husband and I hemmed and hawed over "the chicken decision". We finally gave in to our hearts' desires after lots of lurking on BYC and the temptation of all those happy chicken photos. We've ordered 6 silkies (his manly choice!) from MyPetChicken and are hoping we are one of the lucky orders with healthy chicks and hopefully all hens. We're in the process of choosing a coop and designing our run, and have until mid-June before the chicks arrive.
I'm happy to see a number of other folks with chickens in the area, as I feel a little odd when I tell people we're getting them and they look at me like I'm a crazy off-grid hippy living in a yurt (nothing wrong with that per se anyway) and have 3 heads. I just want some guilt-free eggs and the happy sight of foraging fuzzbutts. Cutting down the tick population wouldn't hurt either.
Anyone else here keeping Silkies? Oops, now I see some a few pages back. Yay! We hear they survive plenty of cold winters in various areas, and will probably insulate (thought not heat) the coop. We're a little worried about predators, as we have hawks, foxes, bears, fishers, opossums, and likely coyotes in the immediate area. Haven't seen raccoons but I'm sure the chickens will draw them in for a meal. We're currently debating whether an apron or dug-in surround of hardware cloth is enough or if we need to lay a hardware cloth base for the whole area and then cover it in dirt. I clearly have to spend more time here reading the various opinions.
I am so jealous of those of you with your chickens already clucking away! I'm in grad school and plenty busy, but I can't wait for June when the little peepers arrive. I want them now!
Edited by Adenium - 2/8/12 at 12:41pm
