Am I being a chicken here?

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Tashatu

Tashatu

Hatching
5 Years
Apr 10, 2014
5
0
7
First, Hello!

I was about to jump off the fence and finally get some chickens! I've wanted chicken for five years now, but had to wait for a few reasons. But, I've been reading everything here and in this book called City Chicks and I am starting to think this might not be the year after all.

The number one reason is that my husband is expanding his brewery business (from nano to micro) and I'm afraid I won't have the time I will need to really take care of them! I imagine I will be pretty busy with the expansion and don't want to screw this up!

Also, how to choose??? Like Noah, I was thinking it would be nice to have two of each variety of bird, or is this not necessary? We can have a total of 8 hens in my neck of the woods, and I was going to go full steam with that, or should I start with 6 and add two next year?

Any words of wisdom and encouragement to get me off this fence would be so appreciated.

Thanks to all of you who have posted so much great info on brooders, coops, and runs!

Regina
 
images


Welcome to BYC!

Welcome to the world of chickens!! They are so much fun to keep. You won't regret it one bit. To get you started, you might want to do some reading in our learning center here on BYC for lots of great tips and hints on raising your new flock...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

As for breeds, there are so many great breeds out there. I am quite fond of the Orpington breeds as they are so docile, friendly, great on laying and are very hardy over all. Here are a couple of links to some nice breeds pages. I referred to these many times while picking out my breeds...

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/chickenbreedcomparison.pdf

Well, I hope this is brought you down from that fence. Chickens are fun to keep and great for the soul! Good luck with your new adventure and welcome to our flock!
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! X2 what TwoCrows said, you won't regret it one bit! They do not have to take a lot of time per day once you have everything set up either. Those are great links for deciding on breeds, you don't need to have two of each breed, you could have 1 of eight different breeds, as long as they are raised together chickens tend to get along, especially if they are the same general type. If you are limited on birds, it is kind of nice not to get them all at once, but to save a few spots for breeds you decide later you just have to have.
 
Thanks so much! TwoCrows + Flock Master I love diversity and already narrowed my picks down to 23! ; ), but I will checkout those links too!

In NY you can't purchase fewer than six chicks ... so unless I find a chick buddy, I have to start with that as a minimum. Ideally, I would go with three or four.

I'm climbing down! ; )
 
You know, I'd worry a little more about your venture if you DIDN'T think about it and worry a little. But relax - they're chickens. Pretty forgiving critters if you ask me. If there was only one "right" way to do things, it would take less than half an hour to read the entire forum....as it is loads of great people with great ideas, insight, and information are so willing to help and what works for one might not work for you. As Kelsie said, once you are set up they don't take much time. In fact, they'll take only as much time as you have at any given moment. Some days you'll be able to cuddle the chicks and some days you'll only have time to give them food and water and a promise to see them later......and they'll survive! Once they are out in the coop and run they are pretty independent - just protect from predators, make sure their home is clean (or as clean as a chicken coop ever gets <sigh>) and their food and water are fresh and they'll thrive.

Hope you jump in - I was scared to death at first but my confidence grows daily....and so do my chickens. All 22 of them!
 
Thanks Blooie, I appreciate the cheerleading!

Apologies to Kelsie for calling her flockmaster...but she probably is one, any how. Can you tell I'm not a frequenter of forums? : )
 

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