A Newbie from Lakeland, Florida

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BC Williams

BC Williams

Chirping
8 Years
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
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I swore I'd never live in this heat ever again. Four years in my early twenties was enough for any Ohio girl to endure, but LOVE brought me back. Recently married, I now live in Lakeland Florida, with a wonderful guy, a girl dog named Pete, and a fixer-upper on an acre +. I had a few chickens up north, so I know a little about the wonders of having them. The situation here is different, as I can't let them free range like my gals and roos up in the hills. (That girl-dog-named-Pete is a wrestler of anything that moves:-)

My husband and I just bought a 12x12 x6 chain link dog run off a CL ad for 100.00. We now need to build a proper coop and get some girls. I'm not really into raising chicks from scratch without a momma, so I'll be looking for hens getting close to laying age. That too is on CL, but I'm not ready yet.

Couple questions:

{?} For the size of pen, how many hens (plus a roo?) can I manage?
{?} What breed of chicken will work in this heat?

I'm so glad I found this place! I needed some kindred spirits, as my husband know nothing of raising chickens:-)

Bev
 
A big Texas-sized
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and welcome back to sunny hot Florida. I live near Ocala. We have a lot of things going on around your area and in mine. I know several BYC members who can help you with chickens when you are ready.

As for your question on space requirements, in the coop the standard space is 4 square feet per bird and in the run 10 square feet per bird. Also, as far a breeds go, most breeds do well in Florida. The most important thing is to provide shade and plenty of water when it's hot. I also put sprinklers in and turn on the sprinklers when it's hot and the birds love it. I also wet down with cool water the shaded areas for them. They like to dust bathe in the damp soil in the shade. Good luck and have fun!!!
 
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Hi, from Valdosta Ga!
I would kep about 12 hens and a rooster there. A LOT of breeds are just fine living here. It is more like what breeds arent best suited for here.
 
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Hello and welcome to BYC! The heat is something else! Good luck starting your flock!
 
Well thank you all for the nice welcome:-) I'm getting so excited! We're working on the house and as soon as I finished posting earlier, I went over to . . . er . . . work! But we always come home for a break in the afternoon. My mind is buzzing with ideas. I'd never thought of having that many birds in what I considered a medium sized pen. Thank you cmom for the ratios of birds per feet:-) Great info to know. What about red ants? My girls up north wouldn't even touch regular ants. Should I worry about my Florida girls?
 
mine eat ants. When i first put the run up it had a lot of ant beds on the inside as well as some termites as it used to be my wood pile. They devoured the termites, and i am pretty sure they ate the ants too. If they didnt eat the ants then the ants went somewhere else because i havent seen any in the run.
 

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