I'm at the beginning stages of raising chickens, I've been doing tons of reading and just bought my chicken coop! The coop says it's good for 10-14 chickens but we're starting out with 6. My husband and I will be building the chicken run this weekend to get ready for our little additions to the family at the end of February or early March. (according to the place we're getting the chicks from)
Any BEGINNER suggestions are welcome! I have talked with a few people that have chickens of their own but the more advice the better right?! For the most part everything I've been told by chicken owners, I've also read so I'm feeling pretty good so far. Of course there's going to be stuff I'm not aware of so stories and personal experiences would be greatly appreicated; espeically things I might not be able to find in a book or blog.
So I do have some questions...as I've said I've been doing a lot of reading so my questions will be all over the place. Regarding the chicken treats...for example pomagranate...do you just cut a pomagrate open and let them at it or do I need to remove the seeds for them? When I'm giving the chickens fresh produce I'm guessing I should keep it up off the ground somehow; any suggestions? Suet feeder?
We still have not gotten our chickens so I'm looking for suggestions on the friendliest, best egg lying breeds. Also, I wasn't planning on getting a rooster; thoughts?
When I'm picking out/up with baby chicks I'm guessing the age could vary, is there a way to tell the age based on where they are with their feather growth?
I'm sure I'll have more questions along the way but that's all the time I have for now.
Any BEGINNER suggestions are welcome! I have talked with a few people that have chickens of their own but the more advice the better right?! For the most part everything I've been told by chicken owners, I've also read so I'm feeling pretty good so far. Of course there's going to be stuff I'm not aware of so stories and personal experiences would be greatly appreicated; espeically things I might not be able to find in a book or blog.
So I do have some questions...as I've said I've been doing a lot of reading so my questions will be all over the place. Regarding the chicken treats...for example pomagranate...do you just cut a pomagrate open and let them at it or do I need to remove the seeds for them? When I'm giving the chickens fresh produce I'm guessing I should keep it up off the ground somehow; any suggestions? Suet feeder?
We still have not gotten our chickens so I'm looking for suggestions on the friendliest, best egg lying breeds. Also, I wasn't planning on getting a rooster; thoughts?
When I'm picking out/up with baby chicks I'm guessing the age could vary, is there a way to tell the age based on where they are with their feather growth?
I'm sure I'll have more questions along the way but that's all the time I have for now.