Hello from Alaska

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trinityzmatrix

trinityzmatrix

Chirping
6 Years
Mar 5, 2015
5
0
72
Wasilla, AK
Hi everyone, I am new to the chicken world. I grew up in San Diego, but have farming in my family background. I guess it didn't breed out lol. We have an acre in Alaska and I am wanting to raise chickens. Our family goes through a lot of eggs and I want to have home grown. I know I will have lots of questions as time goes on. I'm going to attempt to make an old wood greenhouse into a coop starting this weekend. I'm hoping to get some chicks for Easter and start from there. Thanks for the informational site!
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided join to our flock. My family and I have visited Alaska on several occasions and love it there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Do you have a breed preference?
 
No breed preference...I don't know too much about them yet. I do have a friend that has a couple Polish girls that he wants to give me since his other hens are picking at them. I've still got to do some homework on which breeds are most compatible with our environment up here and how to keep them warm and happy. We can get to -20 in the winters and sometimes have wind gusts up to 50mph....but we have lots of people up here who have chickens, horses, cows, pigs and all sorts of animals.
 
trinityzmatrix said:
No breed preference...I don't know too much about them yet. I do have a friend that has a couple Polish girls that he wants to give me since his other hens are picking at them. I've still got to do some homework on which breeds are most compatible with our environment up here and how to keep them warm and happy. We can get to -20 in the winters and sometimes have wind gusts up to 50mph....but we have lots of people up here who have chickens, horses, cows, pigs and all sorts of animals.
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Alaska Backyard Chickens has a list of recommended breeds at http://akchickens.org/getting-started/recommended-breeds/. I've personally had all of those breeds at one time or another over the past 50 years (in temps. as low as 30F below zero) and can attest to their cold hardiness. If high egg production is a priority, I would suggest Black Sex Links (Black Stars), which are cold hardy and friendly egg laying machines. I've raised them for years, and they have been my best layers, consistently churning out more than 300 eggs per hen per year. I have been especially impressed at their persistence in laying in really cold winter weather. Whatever breeds you end up getting, good luck with your flock.
 
Welcome!
welcome-byc.gif
I'm glad you joined our community.

One breed that I would recommend is the Wyandotte. They are extremely cold hardy and are pretty good layers. Mine have have been docile, personable, inquisitive, and excellent pets.
 
Thank you everyone for the quick feedback! I forgot to mention I have a 5, 6 1/2, and 17 yr old daughters that will be helping me on this endeavor...this is a great educational opportunity for them. I'm a home-school mom and we are involved with American Heritage Girls so we can get busy lol.
 
trinityzmatrix said:
Thank you everyone for the quick feedback! I forgot to mention I have a 5, 6 1/2, and 17 yr old daughters that will be helping me on this endeavor...this is a great educational opportunity for them. I'm a home-school mom and we are involved with American Heritage Girls so we can get busy lol.
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You're welcome. Raising chickens is a wonderful experience for children. My granddaughter (pictured in my avatar) loves our chickens. My wife and I home-schooled our children as well, and now our daughter is following in our footsteps with our granddaughter.
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.


Buff orpingtons are my favorite breed. They are affectionate, great with young kids, great layers and cold hardy.

My brother and I are homeschooled by our parents too!
 

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