countrygirl86
Songster
- Apr 4, 2014
- 125
- 13
- 126
Hi everyone! I am 27, wife and mother of 3 beautiful kids. We have a little over an acre of land in Lancaster County (Amish country lol). We have been talking about getting some chickens for quite a while now and I think it is finally time!
I have been reading the boards here for some time now just soaking up all the information that I can. A big thank you to everyone who posts here and makes all of this information available for others to learn. I feel I have learned so much.
We are looking at getting 10-12 hens. I have it narrowed down to a few breeds but we will most likely have a mixed flock. The most important qualities that I looked for are temperament (kids will be handling them under supervision), cold hardy, dual purpose for eggs (not sure about meat yet), and lastly appearance.
I have started planning the coop. We will be designing and building it ourselves. My husband was able to get a huge load of pallets for free so we will be taking them apart and re-purposing them. I have not settled on the design yet. Initially I was thinking a bi-level coop with two floors both 6'X5' but I think that may not be practical for cleaning purposes. We are getting 10-12 hens, but I plan on building the coop to accommodate 14 hens each with over 4 sqft per hen. The run will be large enough to give 14 hens over 5 sqft of space each. I think I am leaning towards an 8'X8' coop with 5 nesting boxes and an 8'X12' run.
I have been looking into local laws but I am having difficulty finding any solid information. We live close to farms with cows, pigs, horses, chickens, goats, peacocks, you name it. I know there are houses close to me that have free range chickens. The only thing that I have found is that livestock and poultry cannot be kept within the city limits of Lancaster. If anyone close by can point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated! Although, I don't think any of our neighbors would complain but I want to be sure in case there are any limits or regulations that I need to follow.
I look forward to getting to know everyone here and can't wait for the day that we bring our girls home!
I have been reading the boards here for some time now just soaking up all the information that I can. A big thank you to everyone who posts here and makes all of this information available for others to learn. I feel I have learned so much.
We are looking at getting 10-12 hens. I have it narrowed down to a few breeds but we will most likely have a mixed flock. The most important qualities that I looked for are temperament (kids will be handling them under supervision), cold hardy, dual purpose for eggs (not sure about meat yet), and lastly appearance.
I have started planning the coop. We will be designing and building it ourselves. My husband was able to get a huge load of pallets for free so we will be taking them apart and re-purposing them. I have not settled on the design yet. Initially I was thinking a bi-level coop with two floors both 6'X5' but I think that may not be practical for cleaning purposes. We are getting 10-12 hens, but I plan on building the coop to accommodate 14 hens each with over 4 sqft per hen. The run will be large enough to give 14 hens over 5 sqft of space each. I think I am leaning towards an 8'X8' coop with 5 nesting boxes and an 8'X12' run.
I have been looking into local laws but I am having difficulty finding any solid information. We live close to farms with cows, pigs, horses, chickens, goats, peacocks, you name it. I know there are houses close to me that have free range chickens. The only thing that I have found is that livestock and poultry cannot be kept within the city limits of Lancaster. If anyone close by can point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated! Although, I don't think any of our neighbors would complain but I want to be sure in case there are any limits or regulations that I need to follow.
I look forward to getting to know everyone here and can't wait for the day that we bring our girls home!
and Welcome To BYC! Good luck with your poultry projects, the BYC member reviews on the Breeds section can be helpful info for the breeds you are considering. Have fun with the coop build, pallet coops are are always and interesting build, and good idea to build bigger in case of chicken math.
