ALABAMA!!

[Wisher1000]

Greetings everyone! I'm a new member from Baldwin County. I'm getting ready to purchase my first flock and I'm just doing the prep work and trying to find the right birds and breeder. Everyone have a happy 4th!

Hello and

!!
You have found the friendliest, most caring and helpfull bunch of chicken lovers on the net! We're glad you joined us! Tell us about your coop or your plans for one!

 

[alachickenman]

Well, I would like a low intensity flock so I'm going to try and free range my birds. I had an idea to put their coop inside of a orchard I'm planting. It's about 9,000 sq ft and I'm going to try and sew some good grazing perennial grass in there. At first I thought about attaching a run to the coop and moving the coop and run around whenever I needed to, but it'd be really nice if I could just let the flock wander around the whole thing themselves.

I only want a small flock, 5 or 6 hens would give the 3 of us plenty of eggs and of course I'd like a rooster. In a dream world, once or twice a year I could get some new chicks from my own eggs to raise for the table.

I have been trying to figure out if that set up will A) lead to over grazing in some areas of the orchard, B) Salmonella in the fruit I would like to eat, and C) a buildup of parasites in their yard.

 

[akashia26]

doubtful that it would lead to over grazing, especially for just 6 or 7 birds. unless you are getting fruit off the ground and have an unhealthy flock salmonella probably won't be a problem. most cases of salmonella are from meat that was contaminated during processing, not while the bird still had an immune system. and lastly i have had chickens for years and have never had parasites in my yard from the chickens. not sure what kind of parasites you would be worried about. to my knowledge chickens don't get fleas due to the flea's adaptation to clinging to hair. ticks are usually eaten. you may eventually end up with lice or mites but those will be mostly in the coop.

what you can expect. the chickens will "dig" a hole to dust in. this helps with getting rid of pests. we provide hardwood ash for them since it is finer and the lime in it kills most lice and mites. also most fruit that falls will be eaten by the chickens.

 

[Orps]

Greetings everyone! I'm a new member from Baldwin County. I'm getting ready to purchase my first flock and I'm just doing the prep work and trying to find the right birds and breeder. Everyone have a happy 4th!

Welcome to the group!

 

[Wisher1000]

Well, I would like a low intensity flock so I'm going to try and free range my birds. I had an idea to put their coop inside of a orchard I'm planting. It's about 9,000 sq ft and I'm going to try and sew some good grazing perennial grass in there. At first I thought about attaching a run to the coop and moving the coop and run around whenever I needed to, but it'd be really nice if I could just let the flock wander around the whole thing themselves. I only want a small flock, 5 or 6 hens would give the 3 of us plenty of eggs and of course I'd like a rooster. In a dream world, once or twice a year I could get some new chicks from my own eggs to raise for the table. I have been trying to figure out if that set up will A) lead to over grazing in some areas of the orchard, B) Salmonella in the fruit I would like to eat, and C) a buildup of parasites in their yard.

Okay, just to throw out some numbers. If you want 6 hens then you need to plan for at least 12 (trust me on that.) That means 4 square feet per bird inside, under some sort of covered roof and dry. A 48 square building could be 8x8 and that would be a nice size because the material will work out and it will have room to stand inside to clean it. Bear in mind that there will need to be roosts, food and water, and nest boxes in there as well. In Mobile, you will need to be concerned with keeping them cool in the summer with lots of windows (mine are framed openings covered with hardware cloth, if I ever need to close them I will cover them with plastic sheeting, it hasn't been necessary since built in 2007!) and dry in the winter with a good roof. I used metal roofing and have been pleased with it. You will also need 10 square feet per bird in an enclosed run (even if you plan to free range them all the time.) There will be times when you want to confine them and a run comes in handy for that. A 120 square foot run could be 10x12 or 8x16 which would be slightly more room but cheaper in lumber. Build both the coop and run raccoon and dog proof and you will never have to worry if they are safe at night. I used 2x4 welded wire (cheaper) and it has proven tough enough to keep out very large determined dogs and delivering bloody mouths to boot! Half inch hardware cloth is better but real pricey. I think an orchard would be a lovely place for a coop!

 

[Alabama ee]

What you might want to try is a mobile coop. We have two They have worked very well. I like the ease of keeping them clean, having control of where they go, and keeping predators away from them . I move ours to a fresh spot of grass about once a week. You can still have the option of free ranging. We tried free ranging, and it did not work for us. We have too many predators, and I wanted to keep them from eating my garden. Ours LOVE tomatoes, cucumbers, and watermelon.

 

[Back2MyRoots]

So I checked out that auction in Clay Co. last night..... Not too bad, but I swear they had more rabbits than chickens. I went with the intent of purchasing 6-9 chickens, but came home with 19. (Darn chicken math!!!) I'm pretty pleased though. I ended up with 2 buffs (8 weeks), 2 cute black and gold chickies (10 weeks) that I have NO idea what they are, and 15 rhode island red straight run chicks (1-3 days). It's fabulous to have babies again---my other girls are so big. But I don't have room for them all---I'm looking to sell a few of the rir's once they get a bit bigger. If anyone is interested, send me a pm.

 

[jdywntr]

Oh I wish I was closer so I could hit that auction. I have been looking for some chickens, at or almost at laying age and have been having a heck of a time locating some that aren't 2 hours away. I am about 30 minutes south of Huntsville and would love to find some heritage large fowl. I really don't want to get chicks and have to wait. I did find some 1.5 year old white leghorns. I got 2 so I could get some eggs.
I really want something dual purpose, that is broody and matures somewhat quickly (not cornish cross fast but quicker than jersey giants) there are lots of chicks available around me but very few hens.
The guy I bought the leghorns from suggested the flea market in Falkville. I think that is Lacon Trade Day flea market. Has anyone been there?

 

[Hennyhandler]

Does anyone know of anyone around Cullman that has raw milk for sale so that I can make homemade cheese? I can't seem to find any. Thanks.

 

[wayne hulgan]

hello there!!!