beginner byc'ers!!

[axjohnson]

Hi all, We are moving into a new house in two weeks and it's .33 acres...we're so excited!! We have been living in a condo for a few years now and reading alot about byc and we both love to garden so we can't wait. Any advice on where to start would be appreciated! And where do I go to find out whether it's even legal or not! I'm pretty sure it's okay in Sandy, UT but not sure! Thanks and can't wait to get started! Alexa

 

[PunkinPeep]

Welcome to BYC! And congratulations on your new place!

I think the first place to check is your home owners association if you have one. After that, i would ask around city hall or your county courthouse. Someone should be able to point you in the right direction.

Next is deciding how many chickens you think you'd like to have and how much space you have available to devote to them.

There are lots of options for coops and lots of options for breeds. Chickens are lots of fun. And there are lots of people here with knowledge to answer pretty much any question you think of.

 

[BriteChicken]

http://www.animallaw.info/statutes/stusutodmoab_saltlakecity.htm

Hope that helps!

 

[b.hromada]

and

from S. Florida! Glad you joined!

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Once you find out if it's legal or not, think about your build. Go as big as you can. Even though you start with 3 birds, you'll have 2 dozen within a year, lol. You can find scrap lumber to build to keep costs down. Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation.


Oh yeah, Welcome to the funny farm!

 

[JRchickchick]

I agree on going as big as you can build.

Think about how many you want, and then double that number, because next year, or the following, you are going to want more! There are a couple of free chicken coop plans on the web, this one is a nice medium sized coop... http://www.buildeazy.com/chicken_coop_1.html

Don't go to the feed store unless you have something in the works for chicks! Resist temptation until you are READY to commit! Depending on how fancy you go, a coop can take upwards of 2 months (or more!) to build even if you are planning on working on it all weekend long, every weekend.

Go to the library and check out chicken books! Makes for nice reading in the evening, and you can start your plan...

Check out Craig's List for freebie items that you can use for the build...windows, doors, even scrap lumber too. (check with your friends too, they might have some taking up space that they want to get rid of). If you are building a small coop, there are some plans that you can build using pallets for the bones of the structure...

Good luck!

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

and

From the great state of Texas glad to see you joined us here.

Advice:
1) Build big cause you will always want more chickens
2) Raising chickens is addicting so besure to add the BYC to your favorites or bookmark the site
3) screws are best when building the coop
4) always have a way out from inside the coop (so you don't get locked in)
5) BYC is addicting so besure to allow time to read posts before doing anything else
6) make sure you choose the breed you want to have before looking at any other's and 1-2 from this one or that one add up quick so be ready when you get them ordered.
7) always remeber to look at all the BYC areas for advice like coop building.
8) when planning the coop think about free ranging/free choice/ or timed feeding
9) when drawing up the plans for the coop remember the words this is not big enough I must build it bigger I must go to BYC to get plans for making a bigger coop
10) BYC is your friend for advice and things you never thought you need advice for or about
11) when doing a garden think cover to keep chickens out of it
12) BYC is the best palce to ask about anything you need to know about when it comes to chickens so you should always come back to BYC very often to look at the new post's
13) after getting your chickens you will need to buy a laptop (if don't already own one) with wi-fi so you can get on the BYC forum while in the coop cause you no longer have a life the chickens will be your life so you will need BYC to have friends that are human

14) Seriously all the advice you need is and can be found right here on BYC forums belive me if you can't find the information here that you seek it simply does not exist I trust my chicken knowlage to the people of the BYC forums and so should you.

Good luck you to you and happy to see new chickens .......ahahahI mean people to the BYC forums