Hi, I live in the Catskill Mts near Woodstock with my husband, 2 cats, and (now) one Bernese Mountain Dog (one at the bridge). Lurking here for a while and decided to join BYC. I have no chickens now but am planning for a small flock next spring. My sister is a long-time keeper of a large flock of Buff Orpingtons on her Vermont farm and I am lucky to have her experience to tap into as well.
I already have a nice 8'x7' chicken coop on my property that we built about 10 years ago. Hubs and I were planning on a flock then, but a rash of chicken coop break-ins in our neighborhood by bears scared us off for a bit, and we thought with our work schedules it may be tough to get the girls in the coop early enough in the evenings, so we held off awhile. Time flies. We now have a very large fenced in yard around that coop for our dogs (7 ft. tall, 1/2 in. wire mesh over post & rail), and we think that will be a good area for the girls to forage during the day. So now, with my sister's encouragement, I'm planning for a flock again, we really want those wonderful eggs we enjoy at her house. We also have about an acre of pasture and apple trees outside the fenced yard where I'd like to free-range the girls on days I'm home and can keep an eye on them. I regularly see bears, fishers, coyotes, bald eagles, hawks, owls, foxes, and even a bobcat on our property, so protecting the flock will be a challenge.
I'll be reading over on the NY and the Wyandotte threads for awhile as I have some questions I hope to find answers to (breeders for local sources of chicks for pickup, etc.). I'm interested in starting a mixed flock to see how they do and to get a variety of egg colors, very interested in Wyandottes, Welsummers, Black Copper Marans (hubs is from France and he likes these), and Wheaten Ameraucanas.
I also need to train my dog not to go for the hens. Like most big working breeds, my boy is very sweet, gentle and obedient, and great with my cats, but he definitely sees birds as prey, since he was not raised around chickens like other LGDs. I will have to subdivide the fenced area and fence the girls off from him.
I look forward to reading up here, the site is very addictive with all the great info and photos, my head is swimming with ideas on how to complete the inside of my coop. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.
--Terry
I already have a nice 8'x7' chicken coop on my property that we built about 10 years ago. Hubs and I were planning on a flock then, but a rash of chicken coop break-ins in our neighborhood by bears scared us off for a bit, and we thought with our work schedules it may be tough to get the girls in the coop early enough in the evenings, so we held off awhile. Time flies. We now have a very large fenced in yard around that coop for our dogs (7 ft. tall, 1/2 in. wire mesh over post & rail), and we think that will be a good area for the girls to forage during the day. So now, with my sister's encouragement, I'm planning for a flock again, we really want those wonderful eggs we enjoy at her house. We also have about an acre of pasture and apple trees outside the fenced yard where I'd like to free-range the girls on days I'm home and can keep an eye on them. I regularly see bears, fishers, coyotes, bald eagles, hawks, owls, foxes, and even a bobcat on our property, so protecting the flock will be a challenge.
I'll be reading over on the NY and the Wyandotte threads for awhile as I have some questions I hope to find answers to (breeders for local sources of chicks for pickup, etc.). I'm interested in starting a mixed flock to see how they do and to get a variety of egg colors, very interested in Wyandottes, Welsummers, Black Copper Marans (hubs is from France and he likes these), and Wheaten Ameraucanas.
I also need to train my dog not to go for the hens. Like most big working breeds, my boy is very sweet, gentle and obedient, and great with my cats, but he definitely sees birds as prey, since he was not raised around chickens like other LGDs. I will have to subdivide the fenced area and fence the girls off from him.
I look forward to reading up here, the site is very addictive with all the great info and photos, my head is swimming with ideas on how to complete the inside of my coop. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.
--Terry
