Chicken Beginners, Are you Proactive or Reactive?

[Three Stents]

What made you start raising chickens, without knowing the basics on how to raise chickens? What came first, the chickens or the knowledge?I don't have any chickens yet, as the coop and run are not quite ready. And when it's ready I won't be having all these questions about "it's very cold, will my chickens survive the winter", "how to keep water from freezing", " a predator broke thru the chicken wire(not hardware cloth)
and killed all my chickens". Then there are all the summer questions.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi, welcome to BYC! A person can get into chickens with a pretty good idea of the basics and think they are very well prepared - only to come across something entirely unexpected because it's something they hadn't heard of before. The good news is when they come here and ask, there's a 99.99999% chance that somebody here HAS heard of it or experienced it themselves, and will have an answer for them. That's what we're here for.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

We talked about getting chickens for years and decided this winter to go ahead. But I lurked here beforehand and read a LOT (on and off for a year) and bought several books (Damerow, Ussery.) I knew how much space I would need, etc. Still quite a leap in the dark!

 

[hammyanne]

Welcome! I was chicken-curious before I got my first few birds, and I definitely stalked this forum for beginner tips. I also have some friends in the area who I tapped for advice.

In general, I think I experience a bit of both proactive and reactive—there’s always something unexpected that you can’t prep for. I think I’m also handier than most, and can quickly visualize and build things, so I can be pretty nimble with adjustments.

That said, I’ve been so impressed with how hardy chickens are! Protection against predators and moisture seem to be my biggest challenges, otherwise the birds virtually take care of themselves. Keep us updated on your journey!