Hi I'm new to the site!

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ab2401

ab2401

In the Brooder
11 Years
Jun 1, 2008
52
0
39
Woodstock, AL
Hello Everyone,

I'm not sure it this was the right place to post this.... if not please move it to where it belongs.


Well my name is Amanda and like I said I'm new to the site and chickens the same. I live NW Alabama in a little town called "woodstock" My husband and I are from the good 'ol peach state though (GA) but are happily settling down here.

I have been thinking about getting some chicks this weekend. I am kinda a dud when it comes to them so I thought I need to start doing some research.

I have a "coop".... well kinda its not really for chickens the people who lived in the house before us had homing doves or something in it.... so I started today cleaning it out and later this week I will setting it up for chickens. Basically moving things down to chicken level.

It has a caged in area on one side... we are going to have to cut a hole out and place a ramp, right? so they are able to go out..... what more should I do?

I know they need boxes right? anything else?

I don't want to many chickens.... as I cant house many and don't have a whole lot of land that my dogs don't already calm as there own.... I was thinking maybe 2 or 3.... at least male and female. Should I have more.... like a flock or something?

For the most part I want chickens as another neat pet.... something besides cats and dogs.... and I think it will be neat for my daughter when she gets older. Eggs wouldn't be bad as all of you know the price of things have go up so much and of course being female I love all baby animals... so I wouldn't mind a few chicks here and there.

Tips anyone?
I need all the ones I can get.... kinda like a flash course in chicken owning.

Thanks for reading. I'm looking froward to meet you all!
~Amanda
 
WELCOME!!!

Well you don't really need a rooster, a bunch of hens would be fine, and if they happen to go broody - you can buy eggs for them to hatch.

If you can post pictures, you'll get lots of tips on your coop project. Nest boxes are only needed when the pullets/hens are of laying age - around 20 weeks. They will need a nice roost/perch to sleep on at night.
other than that, food water and a nice safe place to rest - and you're all set......

You can chose to either buy day olds from a hatchery - buy eggs to hatch in an incubator or perhaps buy some started pullets from someone you know.......
 
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Welcome!

I will be the first to give you fair warning...it's nigh on impossible to stop at just 2 or 3
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Seriously, if you want a rooster, you are best to get at least two hens for him or he may literally wear out a single hen. Roosters are a bit...um.....overactive in the reproduction department, generally.

If you are just looking for pets, consider silkies. They are really cute, stay small and the roosters TEND to be less aggressive towards chickens AND humans. They do lay eggs, of course, but less frequently/reliably than standard breeds.

Otherwise, for good egg laying, standards breeds are a better bet. www.mypetchicken.com has a good breed-finder tool (and they do small orders AND are a BYC sponsor) to help you find the exact breed you are looking for.

Also, once you decide what you most want out of your chickens (pets, eggs, meat, etc) then you can also post here in the Buy/Trade/etc forum and you may be able to find it locally.

Welcome!
 
You don't need a rooster, so stick with getting a couple of hens so you can get the eggs. Are you going to let them free range? You'll need a nest box for every 4 hens. Waterer, feeder and a roost. I would also have a secure run for them. Want to keep them safe from the predators. Oh, pine shavings to cover the floor in the coop.
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Nice to meet you.....Rose
 
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I'm glad you found us. There is also a good book if you can get your hands on it storey's book about chickens. A really good read and gets you started in the right direction. This site is also good for information and good luck with your chickens. The only thing I warn you about they are addicting, and you will always want more.
 
Well I see chickens all the time around here and thats what made me want some.... but I dont know anyone really so I think I'm just going to go down to the feed store and pick up a few....any way to really sex them? Dont you need a male and female to have babies? At some point and time I would like to have a family of them.... is that bad? I would feel crapy for just eating all the egg.
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But seeing how at this point in time I will take y'all word for it and just get girls.... unless they are unsexed or came be then I guess I will get the luck of the draw.

Well like I said one side of the "coop" is caged in so they will not be able to get out.... although its not to big so I'm thinking for a few hours a day (or something) I will get them out and keep an eye on them.... people around here have a bad habit for letting their dogs roam free and I would die if they where eaten or hit by a car.

Only pine shavings? or others too just pines the best?

not the bottem of this thing has gaps all the way around on the bottem (2") so it can be sprayed out easy.... is that t going to be a problem?

Heres a pic fo the "coop" that I'm working with.... I couldnt stand it sitting empty any more... so I'm going to have to mold it to chickens.
(sorry for the lagre pics)

Please dont laugh.... it needs some work.... I'm not sure how old it is for the most part its in good shape.... also I just ran out side to snap the pictures so it is dark.....

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Welcome! Looks like a good place to keep some chickens. What kind of predators do you have around there? Silkies are very friendly, but they lay very small eggs too, I don't mind the small eggs but some do. You'll have a lot of fun with your chickies, good luck!
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dogs and cats manly... but there are raccoons out here.... other then that... nothing that I know of.


I have no idea what kind of chicken, I want need.... or even that I can find.... and I have no means of ordering them off line. So I guess I'm just going to end up with what the fed store sells me.

I'm sorry that thing is so mess... but it does look better then it did this morning....

I am so darn excited!

Is there a way to "train" them to not go out into the road??
 
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Ah don't feel bad. Just think how happy your hens will be compared to those poor ocmmercial chickens the stores get their eggs from. They're all cooped up in tiny spaces. Yours will be happy to lay eggs for you.
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And yes, to have chicks you need a rooster, but not for eggs only.

Oh, and welcome to the club.
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Nice dovecote/chicken coop.

Welcome to the insanity.
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First couple of things I'd do before I got the birds would be to add hardware cloth or welded wire where there's just the chicken wire...raccoons can get their hands in and grab a piece of a chicken and rip it off. I'd also change that slide lock on the door because raccoons can open those too easily or at least put it up so that they can't reach it.

If you go here:
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
it will give you some ideas about the breeds of chickens that you might want.
 

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