Chicken newbie

[HenningTrealoff]

We are wanting to start raising chickens... We would like a mix flock. What is the best way to get started?

 

[Spookwriter]

Best way?

Start with your coop. Chickens need a home before
you rush out and buy a chick.

Coop, run...Get their home ready.

Think think of what you expect from your chickens.
Some make great fryers, some better eggers. Some
breeds are more docile. Perhaps you want to hatch?
Need a rooster or two?

No set answer. Depends on your desire.

So...do you have the coop? Now size of coop? 3-4
square foot per bird or better.

Lots of help over in the various threads for you to check
out. Come on over, look around, ask a few questions, make
a few friends.

Spook

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum. Glad you found us.

How to get started. That is a wide open question, there are so many different ways. Why do you want chickens? What purpose will they serve? Eggs, meat, to show, bug patrol, eye candy, a breeding project, pets, some combination of these, or maybe something totally different. Roughly, where are you located, rural, suburbia, which county or state (A real rough idea of your climate)? Do you want them to hatch and raise chicks themselves? How much room do you have? All these and more could have a bearing on my answer.

My suggestion is to read various posts and threads on here, whichever ones catch your interest. Spend some time in the Learning Center at the top of this page. Again, read things that catch your interest. Try to determine to yourself why you want chickens and learn a little bit about their housing and care.

Do you want to start with baby chicks or start withholder chickens? How many? What options are available to get chicks or chickens wherever you are?

It’s just hard to say much because there are so many different options and I don’t know your circumstances. But keeping chickens doesn’t have to be that hard if you can provide food, water, predator protection, and environmental protection.

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. The other members have given you some good advice. You need to establish your reasons for wanting chickens. If high egg production is your priority, White Leghorns (for white eggs) and Black and Red Sex Links (for brown eggs) are the best layers in the world, consistently churning out more than 300 large eggs per hen per year. It's the reason that these are the hens used by laying houses. If you want a docile breed that makes for a good dual purpose bird (both eggs and meat) then I would suggest going with the better laying breeds that have a good reputation for being calm and gentle (good lap pets) such as Australorps (excellent layers), Faverolles, Orpingtons, Sussex, and Brahmas (all good layers). Of course there can always be an exception with any breed. If you are strictly wanting lap pets, then Silkies and Cochins would be a good addition to this list. They are poor layers but excellent brooders and mothers. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is lots of useful information there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.

 

[HenningTrealoff]

Thank you for all the great advice, I will start getting into the posts get some ideas and so forth.

 

[Michael OShay]

Thank you for all the great advice, I will start getting into the posts get some ideas and so forth.

You're welcome.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC. As you can see from responses to your post, we have some very knowledgeable and friendly members here. I wish you all the best with your impending chicken adventure!

All the best
CT

 

[drumstick diva]

You may also want to check out the coops section, many, styles, materials, sizes some with descriptions. If you want to check out your state thread, put the name in the search box and it should pop up. You could ask what breeds do best in your climate, and maybe run across some Bycers, living near by.

 

[Bluechick2u]

Some things I wished somebody told me before I got my first chickens: make the coop big enough to stand up in if your hens are going to live in a tractor. Very hard chasing a hen while on your hands and knees trying not to let the others out. (Hawks overhead, dont want to feed them with my hens) and diatomaceous earth filled bowls to ward off mites, etc (my ground is hard clay). And wattering nipples under hanging water buckets are the best way to keep their water clean, my hens were determined to deficate in their water at all times. I'm still learning after 4 years of having hens, but this site has all the info you could want. Welcome!

 

[N F C]

You've been given some great food for thought from the other greeters. One other thing...when you have a question, use the Search feature in the upper left side of the screen (under the logo). Many times you'll find the info you want from previous posts.

Good luck and have fun!