Hello from Missouri!

Hello everyone! I am very excited to be here to learn about my soon to be new additions! I have been actively reading as much as I can on BYC for the past few days, so I thought it was about time to sign up and join the fun. I don't have any chickens at the moment, but will be getting some soon from a friend of mine - she is the one who told me to check out BYC! I am in the process of building a coop and can't thank everyone enough for all of the wonderful pictures and ideas in the coops section. I live in the country and have plenty of space, so I'm looking at starting with about 10-12 birds - the list right now consists of: Golden Seabright Bantams, Australorps, Easter Eggers, Americaunas, Tolblunt Polish and Maran.

In addition to being addicted to chickens (and they aren't even here yet...) I love to read, and train and compete in dog sports with my dogs. I currently own a German Shepherd, 3 Belgian Malinois, and a Chihuahua - we train and compete in IPO, Agility, Dock Diving, Obedience, Barn Hunt, and soon to add Frisbee and Weight Pull.

I own my own Dog Training and Pet Sitting business and also volunteer with local rescue, so animals are pretty much my life I am fascinated with animal learning/cognition, body conditioning and nutrition - I can't wait to get my chickens and spoil them with the rest of my gang!

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Cute avatar!

Sounds like you are looking at a lovely flock! Those sebrights are sure gorgeous! You may also look into buff orpingtons. They are great layers, foragers, curious, affectionate and super friendly/

Be sure to check out these links.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...cken-guide-to-picking-backyard-chicken-breeds

Glad you joined!

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

This is the place to be when you own poultry!

Have you stopped by our learning center yet? Lots of good articles on all the aspects of keeping chickens...https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

Enjoy this new adventure you are on! If you have any further questions when you get your new birds, feel free to ask.

Welcome to our flock!

Good for you doing the research first. There are so many people that jump in and say, "I have my chicks, now what"/

I'm in Missouri too and for the most part you have a good list. I'd like to add that sebrights aren't particularly cold hardy and polish have a predator problem, especially from hawks because of sight restrictions.

If you want a pleasant experience, make a list of birds that handle your climate well and can handle the location they'll be in.

These charts can help.
http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/chickenbreedcomparison.pdf

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

Hello and Welcome To BYC!

Welcome to BYC Glad you joined us!

Thank you for all of the warm welcomes everyone!

Mountain Peeps - thanks for suggesting the Buff Orpingtons, I will have to check them out - and thanks for the links I have been reading like crazy for the past few days and I'm really excited to get started on the coop! I have a friend helping me get started with it next week - I don't mind putting in the elbow grease, but I am not good with any sort of construction projects without guidance of some sort - the friend I've enlisted to help built the chicken coop that he and his wife have been using with success for the past few years. My avatar is my little Taco, he's my "foster failure" that has to help me with everything I do.

TwoCrows - I have been digging through the Learning Center and can't get enough of all the great information!

Chicken Canoe - Thanks for the charts! I'm a research machine - I can't do anything halfway, lol. I had heard the Seabrights aren't the best in the cold, I am only getting two of them though, and don't mind moving them inside temporarily if it gets too cold for them outside this winter. We live out in the middle of nowhere, and don't have any restrictions, so I am planning on getting a rooster to hopefully help with the Polish predator problem.

Thanks again everyone, I'm really excited to be here!

There may be better but I like a good Mediterranean breed rooster for protection.

My breed of choice is Black Penedesenca, but also Empordanesa or Minorca. All are extremely wary, light enough to fly to meet a hawk and big enough to do some damage to a daytime ground predator

Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. You have been given some good information and links from the other BYC members. You have a nice mix of breeds. Black Australorps are my favorite standard breed; very hardy, calm and gentle, and excellent layers of large, brown eggs. The Easter Eggers are my granddaughter's favorites. She loves their colored eggs. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in building your coop and getting your chickens.

Big welcome from Ohio!
I know what you mean about immediate addiction to chickens!
Definitely look forward to seeing around BYC.
Best wishes for a healthy and happy flock.