Central Florida Newbie looking to learn

[Florida4evr]

Hi! @Florida4evr. Welcome to BYC We're in Osceola. Curious what county you're in. Be happy to help get you started with your birds (and all the ins and outs of raising in our great Sunshine State!)

Hello CFLRanching,
Thank you for your response. We are in Mount Dora, in Unincorporated Lake County. Turns out we don't need a permit. We are allowed 5 hens, no roosters. I do not know where to buy them. We just ordered a 6ft x 10ft. Run and a hutch with 4 nests. We are expecting delivery this week. We are going to use hardwire cloth all over the run and also install a 2 foot apron around the perimeter. We learned that on YouTube. We are going to put the hutch on cinder blocks so that it stays dry during our heavy rain season. The run has a waterproof tarp. My husband wants to install clear plastic panels of roof the kind that is wavy, and dig a water flow trench so that the heavy rains don't cause puddling. We bought the automatic door and will place the hutch inside the secured run where we can see it from our lanai and glass doors. He is also going to secure the run posts in the ground with concrete so that high winds doesn't affect it. We have a heavy rain and heavy wind season. What kind of bedding do you recommend? I read that Hemp is good? We have not decided on a feeding or water system. We'd like it to contained so the feed stays dry and maybe a rain collection water system that self fills by gravity.

Thank you for any suggestions or comments based on your experience that might help us get off to a good start.

 

[triciayoung]

Welcome. At this time of the year, you can get chicks at Tractor Supply. I heard that orphington's, barred rocks, and brahma's are heat tolerant chickens. I have heavy rain this year. While I use pine shavings for bedding, tractor supply sells pine pellets that are pretty inexpensive. I use these in the runs to soak up water. They work well. Designed for horse stalls but safe for chickens. As far as the winds, the lower 2 1/2 feet of my run walls are 6 ply plastic, which seems to do well cutting the winds.

 

[Florida4evr]

Welcome. At this time of the year, you can get chicks at Tractor Supply. I heard that orphington's, barred rocks, and brahma's are heat tolerant chickens. I have heavy rain this year. While I use pine shavings for bedding, tractor supply sells pine pellets that are pretty inexpensive. I use these in the runs to soak up water. They work well. Designed for horse stalls but safe for chickens. As far as the winds, the lower 2 1/2 feet of my run walls are 6 ply plastic, which seems to do well cutting the winds.

In my neighborhood we cannot have a rooster, so we are looking for Hens. I would prefer buying them older than babies. I have never raised a chick. Thank you for the suggestion regarding the Pine pellets and the run walls information. I have been watching YouTube and these are some of my notes so far.

ODOR MANAGEMENT DEEP BEDDING METHOD.

1. An earth floor, 6 to 12 inches of wood shavings (no aromatics), high carbon, de-compostable material (deep bedding). Galvanized metal run to avoid wood rotting. Turning it and adding high carbon shavings to it keeping a balance. Trying to not let it get to the point where it smells. Not letting the nitrogen get ahead. Adding less more often. Remove Compost what goes above 12 inches.
2. Water management, concrete block perimeter or corrugated fiberglass panels. 12 inch high to protect the bedding from moisture. Corrugated fiberglass roofing on top of hardwire cloth to direct rain away from bedding.
3. We are calculating 5 sf per hen (4). The run is 60sf which is 15sf per hen. The sleeping hutch is 6x4 = 12sf, 3ft per hen (4). We plan on elevating the hutch off the floor on concrete blocks. The hutch has a tray that slides out to clean. Not sure if we should just remove the tray and put on the ground on top of the deep bedding?