Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[fisherlady]

I made watermelon jelly, watermelon strawberry jam, and apple pie jelly last night. Going to make apple pumpkin butter and pumpkin pie jelly tonight. My apple pie jelly is a little loose even after adding more sure jell. Not sure why.

Hi everyone! I am new to the site, and new to chickens as well. I posted in the New Member section but wanted to say hello to my fellow Pennsylvanians.

I live in Adams county, and am hoping to start a small flock for eggs/pets in the spring. Currently my favorite breed is Speckled Sussex, but really interested in Australorps and Buff Orps, too. I love vegetable gardening, and growing some of my own food led me to the prospect of having my own eggs, too! I had dairy goats in my teens, and still LOVE me some goats, but prefer a smaller livestock this time around.

My biggest challenge will be getting a coop and run ready and predator proof, as I have very poor knowledge and skills with construction and carpentry. There are some people who post coops on Craigslist periodically. I am in a rural/agricultural area and have plenty of room, fortunately. I have a pole building/shed but I think it would be too much work to make it secure for just 4-6 hens. But the possibility is open for the future of the "chicken math" thing happens.

Welcome from Cambria county! I think you should definitely use the shed and just mostly worry about making a predator proof run attached to it. Chicken math will hit hard, no matter how prepared for it you think you may be lol

X2 on what Aurora said. Plan and build a stout outside run with a secure run closest to the shed and a more open but still safe run connected to it. The secure area should have protection to below ground level and have wire over the top also. This is the best line of defense against your most determined night critters.... during daylight they can go to the secondary pen which still offers protection from stray dogs and similar daytime predators. Deer netting or strung parachute cord hung over the secondary penn should deter daytime hawks.
You can install a light activated pop door between the two so the birds can get out in the morning without your being there, if you want or just keep it as a manual one for tighter control.

 

[fisherlady]

Even better than a wire roof on the secure pen area would be a slope roof from the side of the building. This would give you and area you can protect from weather by placing tarps in cold weather and will give them a dry and shady spot to hang out when weather isn't so nice ....which is about half the year in Pennsylvania, lol.

 

[Northern Appalachian]

We’ve learned that only one of our girls is laying. Amazingly, she’s maintaining at two eggs per day! Just hope it’s not exhausting her to do so. The other two have yet to start laying.

I cooked and ate one of the eggs from today. Phenomenal! I can’t go back to store-bought ever again.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I think I have 2 new layers as of today! I found a little white egg in the coop shed and a brown egg in the nest box. Right before I found the brown one, one of my RSL girls was hanging out in the coop. It's about time I her some eggs lol. I got 5 today! More than I've gotten in one day in a couple weeks!

 

[Lelanae]

Hey there, just dropping in to say hi and share some pics! It's been awhile, and the chicks I got from @dheltzel are 25 weeks old today. They have turned out to be really lovely.

The Legbar, Poppy
View attachment 1153759

The Olive Egger (left), Goldilocks, and the Welbar (right), Ginger:
View attachment 1153764 View attachment 1153765 View attachment 1153766

The Blue Egg Black Sexlink, Viola:
View attachment 1153762

The whole group awhile ago. It is hard to get a pic of Viola, she is very cautious and shy, but she has a lovely black green sheen and is growing up to be very pretty.
View attachment 1153761

None of them have started laying yet, although I've been waiting eagerly! @dheltzel, any idea about when these breeds generally start laying? I'm hoping it's soon, or else I figure they may wait until after winter to start.... :/

What charming pictures! I would love to know if the Legbar becomes friendly!

 

[Lelanae]

View attachment 1154389 View attachment 1154390
It’s been way too long since we’ve had chicks around here.

Adorable and soul soothing! What types are they?
I squeezed in ten minutes at the Fair and am so glad I did! I got to see a Guernsey Heifer--I LOVE Guernseys!

 

[gonehencrazy]

I was at TSC getting my puppy her shots yesterday and was talking to a little girl about how Pearl likes to chase my cats and my chickens. She asks " how many chickens do you have?" Hmm. "Well 18". As soon as the words were out of my mouth I was like "liar." You just lied to that kid.
She said "that's a lot" lol.

Chicken math

 

[dheltzel]

Speak of the devil! I just went out and found this:
View attachment 1154943

Based on the size and color, I'm pretty sure that's the first egg from the legbar! It's a pretty dark blue with a hint of green. My adult blue and green egg layers are all molting, and their eggs are bigger, so I don't think it's them--and I'm guessing the sexlink's egg would be lighter and bluer, but maybe @dheltzel will correct me if I'm wrong. Happy day!!

It's hard to say for sure. The sexlink's eggs fade to light blue more because they lay more, but their first eggs are usually very blue. That is a pretty egg! I love getting the first eggs from a pullet. I have a Welbar still out on range with her siblings that has started laying. Eggs are small, but very dark. I wish I knew which pullet was laying, I'd give her some treats for her efforts. I guess being on fresh green grass is a continual treat for her. I had 2 older Legbars that I had in a pen for breeding experiments and they had stopped laying, so I put them out with the Welbars on grass and 1 has started laying again. I wish I had the time and room to keep all my breeders out in the field for the spring/summer/fall. They seem so happy out there.

 

[dheltzel]

Hi everyone! I am new to the site, and new to chickens as well. I posted in the New Member section but wanted to say hello to my fellow Pennsylvanians.

I live in Adams county, and am hoping to start a small flock for eggs/pets in the spring. Currently my favorite breed is Speckled Sussex, but really interested in Australorps and Buff Orps, too. I love vegetable gardening, and growing some of my own food led me to the prospect of having my own eggs, too! I had dairy goats in my teens, and still LOVE me some goats, but prefer a smaller livestock this time around.

My biggest challenge will be getting a coop and run ready and predator proof, as I have very poor knowledge and skills with construction and carpentry. There are some people who post coops on Craigslist periodically. I am in a rural/agricultural area and have plenty of room, fortunately. I have a pole building/shed but I think it would be too much work to make it secure for just 4-6 hens. But the possibility is open for the future of the "chicken math" thing happens.

Welcome! I grew up in Carroll County, MD so Adams Co seems close. We will certainly give you advice it you want it. I would probably use the shed that you have. If you feel like posting some pictures, I can tell you what I would do to convert it. I've built a lot of coops "on the cheap" and using an existing structure is always a win, if it is strucutrally sound. Predator proofing is now something that I have gotten good at because I have lost birds before and it makes me so sad/mad that I now build in a way that nothing can get to my birds.

 

[FluffyButt789]

We found a 3rd nest this morning! this one was in the fire pit...the 5 eggs are covered in soot!

The hubby put brand new hay in the coop nesting boxes and added in a set of make shift cubbies (cinder blocks standing on end, spaced about 12 inches apart with a large board on top.) For today, I have them out, but I might keep them in for several days to retrain anyone who is deciding not to lay in the coop.

If I knew where all they are laying I wouldn't mind as much. But even with the found eggs (18 in total now) we still aren't getting as many eggs as I feel we should be. Still each day, I see egg eating evidence in one of the nests....so maybe it is better that they are laying elsewhere!

How funny, but I'm sure it is frustrating for you! When my chickens lay elsewhere, I generally lock them up for a day so they have no choice but to lay in the nesting box. But I have no idea how to handle an egg-eater. I hope you figure it out!

Hi everyone! I am new to the site, and new to chickens as well. I posted in the New Member section but wanted to say hello to my fellow Pennsylvanians.

I live in Adams county, and am hoping to start a small flock for eggs/pets in the spring. Currently my favorite breed is Speckled Sussex, but really interested in Australorps and Buff Orps, too. I love vegetable gardening, and growing some of my own food led me to the prospect of having my own eggs, too! I had dairy goats in my teens, and still LOVE me some goats, but prefer a smaller livestock this time around.

My biggest challenge will be getting a coop and run ready and predator proof, as I have very poor knowledge and skills with construction and carpentry. There are some people who post coops on Craigslist periodically. I am in a rural/agricultural area and have plenty of room, fortunately. I have a pole building/shed but I think it would be too much work to make it secure for just 4-6 hens. But the possibility is open for the future of the "chicken math" thing happens.

Welcome! Yes like others said - use your existing structure. More room for the hens isn't a bad thing! We have a variety of breeds but love our Speckled Sussex and Buff Orpingtons. They are the friendliest. We also have Barred Rocks that are super friendly too!