Hi - Our 17 yo son thought it would be fun to have some chickens. We didn't say no fast enough so here we are. We live in the suburbs near San Francisco - needless to say chickens aren't too common around here, but now some of our neighbors are thinking of raising some.
Our son and grandpa built most all of the coop themselves, patterning it off one of the designs we saw on this site. What a great resource this site is - it's been a real help as we started this adventure! We've been reading the forums for a while but just joined.
The "girls" are a kick and we've all enjoyed having them. They wander the yard when we're home to keep an eye on them (we have a low fence and racoon and chicken hawk sitings aren't infrequent). We have a White Leghorn and Red Sexlink (looks like a RIR to me) who are almost 6 mos. old, 2 White Crested Black Polish, and a Barred Rock - the last 3 about 4 months old. Eloise (the Leghorn), started laying a few weeks ago and her eggs, while a bit on the small size compared to the store bought we're used to, are delicious.
Unfortunately, one of our WCB Polish "hens" turned out to be a rooster - we can't keep him due to the local laws so we're looking for a home for him (yes, we did post an "ad" here, but no takers so far). I wish we didn't have to give him up - so far he's got a great disposition, only crows in the morning for a few minutes (never before 6 am) and is one beautiful bird.
We look forward to learning a lot more from the site. Great job!
Our son and grandpa built most all of the coop themselves, patterning it off one of the designs we saw on this site. What a great resource this site is - it's been a real help as we started this adventure! We've been reading the forums for a while but just joined.
The "girls" are a kick and we've all enjoyed having them. They wander the yard when we're home to keep an eye on them (we have a low fence and racoon and chicken hawk sitings aren't infrequent). We have a White Leghorn and Red Sexlink (looks like a RIR to me) who are almost 6 mos. old, 2 White Crested Black Polish, and a Barred Rock - the last 3 about 4 months old. Eloise (the Leghorn), started laying a few weeks ago and her eggs, while a bit on the small size compared to the store bought we're used to, are delicious.
Unfortunately, one of our WCB Polish "hens" turned out to be a rooster - we can't keep him due to the local laws so we're looking for a home for him (yes, we did post an "ad" here, but no takers so far). I wish we didn't have to give him up - so far he's got a great disposition, only crows in the morning for a few minutes (never before 6 am) and is one beautiful bird.
We look forward to learning a lot more from the site. Great job!
