Hi everyone, longtime lurker, now new member, and first-time chicken wrangler!
We're going to add some excitement to our city backyard in a month with three 7-8 week old pullets. One Buff Orpington, one Barred Rock, and one Easter Egger. Fortunately, city regs (and our 1/6 acre lot!) will put a limit on chicken math, so we will probably top out at 5 hens, adding a Barnevelder or similar and an Olive Egger. No roos. We've been talking about doing this for years, and now we're doing it!
We live in the mountains of western North Carolina, four legit seasons although getting warmer all the time, of course. I miss our snows! For recent temperature ranges: I can't remember if we actually hit 100F (38C) last summer, but we were in the 90's for much of June, and we were dyin'. (We're a bit spoiled in the mountains.) A week or two ago (late January), we hit 7F (-14C) one morning. And then of course there was the devastation of Helene, several hundred miles from the ocean. For the gardeners, we were USDA 6A or B, but now 7A-7B. I grow a lot of native plants, along with vegetables, which will need protection from the winged dinosaurs.
My son-in-law is helping me design and construct our backyard run and henhouse, which will "come off" the side of a 16' long shed. The plan is for a 120 sq ft (15'x8') (~11 sq m, 4.6 x2.4m) run wrapped (including above) in 1/2" hardware cloth with a raised 5'x5' (1.5x1.5m) henhouse inside the run, dust bath area beneath. Lots of ventilation will be the maximum goal, followed of course by hen comfort and safety. The hens will have full access to their run during the day, plus coming out to play in the fenced backyard for several hours in late afternoon, although occasionally all day if we two-leggers are outside. We have a pretty significant hawk presence here (but lots of crows to fight them off), plus the usual raccoons, possums, feral cats, etc. About once a year or so, a juvenile male black bear wanders down the street of our subdivision, but most yards are unfenced, and we haven't been invaded. Yet.
I'm fortunate in knowing about a half-dozen people who have chickens, so I have multiple brains to pick, but I'm especially looking forward to tapping into the hive brain here!
We're going to add some excitement to our city backyard in a month with three 7-8 week old pullets. One Buff Orpington, one Barred Rock, and one Easter Egger. Fortunately, city regs (and our 1/6 acre lot!) will put a limit on chicken math, so we will probably top out at 5 hens, adding a Barnevelder or similar and an Olive Egger. No roos. We've been talking about doing this for years, and now we're doing it!
We live in the mountains of western North Carolina, four legit seasons although getting warmer all the time, of course. I miss our snows! For recent temperature ranges: I can't remember if we actually hit 100F (38C) last summer, but we were in the 90's for much of June, and we were dyin'. (We're a bit spoiled in the mountains.) A week or two ago (late January), we hit 7F (-14C) one morning. And then of course there was the devastation of Helene, several hundred miles from the ocean. For the gardeners, we were USDA 6A or B, but now 7A-7B. I grow a lot of native plants, along with vegetables, which will need protection from the winged dinosaurs.
My son-in-law is helping me design and construct our backyard run and henhouse, which will "come off" the side of a 16' long shed. The plan is for a 120 sq ft (15'x8') (~11 sq m, 4.6 x2.4m) run wrapped (including above) in 1/2" hardware cloth with a raised 5'x5' (1.5x1.5m) henhouse inside the run, dust bath area beneath. Lots of ventilation will be the maximum goal, followed of course by hen comfort and safety. The hens will have full access to their run during the day, plus coming out to play in the fenced backyard for several hours in late afternoon, although occasionally all day if we two-leggers are outside. We have a pretty significant hawk presence here (but lots of crows to fight them off), plus the usual raccoons, possums, feral cats, etc. About once a year or so, a juvenile male black bear wanders down the street of our subdivision, but most yards are unfenced, and we haven't been invaded. Yet.
I'm fortunate in knowing about a half-dozen people who have chickens, so I have multiple brains to pick, but I'm especially looking forward to tapping into the hive brain here!
to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!
