Chicken Noob: Starting Out

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deforestfoley

deforestfoley

Hatching
Sep 6, 2015
4
0
7
Hi, I have never had chickens, been around chickens, or even really held a chicken until this past month. My best friend introduced me to her flock and I fell in love. I looked up all sorts of things about them after that and decided I wanted to raise a flock myself, how to care for them, how to house them, and how they work as intelligent, social beings. A lot of the stuff I found was here, so thanks so much for being friendly informative people :)!
But right now I'm sort of trying to get ready for them. I'm trying to figure out how to build their coop and run right now, but looking at the area in my backyard where I want to set up shop I started to imagine where my chickens will go when I let them freerun, which I hope they can with supervision.
So my questions are along the lines of
1. Do chickens typically jump up to very high areas for fun/safety as I have a tree in my yard here that has fallen down but continued to grow. I imagine to the adventurers in my flock that the branches might be a fun idea, but I'm worried they might try to jump into my neighbors yard from there and won't be able to get back out before their dogs get them.
2. Do chickens like to forage/rest in thick foliage as my yard has much of that and I'm worried someone might get hurt on the bramblebushes.
3. Lastly I was wondering if anyone had any links for beginner builders?
I guess that's all. :) i hope this was appropriate and in the right place. Any advice on the first year that isn't typically mentioned on guide pages would be approeciated too. Thanks so much.
 
Welcome to BYC!
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The Learning Center is the best place to start...there are a lot of articles there covering all sorts of poultry topics.

You will want to be sure your chickens stay in your yard (and remember, they can fly somewhat) so you might have to trim the fallen tree so it's not so close to your neighbors dogs. Dogs and chickens don't usually get along unless the dogs have been trained not to hurt them.

Scratching around on the ground comes naturally to chickens but they could get hurt in brambles (for example, puncture their feet on thorns).

For fun, you might want to check out this thread...it's about things no one thinks to tell you about when you first get into chickens:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...books-dont-tell-you-my-experience-as-a-newbie

Thanks for joining us!
 
deforestfoley said:
Hi, I have never had chickens, been around chickens, or even really held a chicken until this past month. My best friend introduced me to her flock and I fell in love. I looked up all sorts of things about them after that and decided I wanted to raise a flock myself, how to care for them, how to house them, and how they work as intelligent, social beings. A lot of the stuff I found was here, so thanks so much for being friendly informative people
smile.png
!
But right now I'm sort of trying to get ready for them. I'm trying to figure out how to build their coop and run right now, but looking at the area in my backyard where I want to set up shop I started to imagine where my chickens will go when I let them freerun, which I hope they can with supervision.
So my questions are along the lines of
1. Do chickens typically jump up to very high areas for fun/safety as I have a tree in my yard here that has fallen down but continued to grow. I imagine to the adventurers in my flock that the branches might be a fun idea, but I'm worried they might try to jump into my neighbors yard from there and won't be able to get back out before their dogs get them.
2. Do chickens like to forage/rest in thick foliage as my yard has much of that and I'm worried someone might get hurt on the bramblebushes.
3. Lastly I was wondering if anyone had any links for beginner builders?
I guess that's all.
smile.png
i hope this was appropriate and in the right place. Any advice on the first year that isn't typically mentioned on guide pages would be approeciated too. Thanks so much.
Click to expand...

Hello!! Welcome, welcome! Just like you, I stumbled upon this site last month and have been addicted since!
Beware though.. I started with 5 and ended up with 12 within a month..
idunno.gif
lau.gif

You'll find that this community is so sweet and helpful. You made the right decision joining! If you're like me, you're endlessly researching and asking questions about every little new thing. Thankfully, everyone here has been really patient with me and I've had more help than I could imagine!

What breeds do you have? Can you take pictures? I'd love to see!

1) It depends on the breed! Some like Silkies - barely fly since they don't really have feathers while I've heard Easter Egger's can clear up to 6 foot fences! Luckily, chickens love to stay in a flock and many people have assured me that they probably won't venture/roam because they learn to love the backyard and see it as their sanctuary. If all else fails, you can always clip their wings! It's completely safe for them and limits their flying ability but if you live in areas with many predators - I suggest you not do so since flying is one of their ways to escape predators!

2) Don't worry about that! Chickens have scales on their feet that will protect them. And yes!! They LOVE to forage! How's your set up? Will they be free-ranging or do they have a run? Either way, it's always good to let them forage around. This not only keeps your chickens happy but will give you healthier eggs with better yolks (think orange instead of yellow, yum!)

3) NorthFLChick gave you a great link! Here are some others you can check out:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/getting-started-raising-chickens - Everything you need to know!
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/ - She's a member of this community and has great articles on poultry care!

Once again, welcome! Hope you enjoy your stay<3
 
Exotica said:
Hello!! Welcome, welcome! Just like you, I stumbled upon this site last month and have been addicted since!
Beware though.. I started with 5 and ended up with 12 within a month.. :idunno :lau
You'll find that this community is so sweet and helpful. You made the right decision joining! If you're like me, you're endlessly researching and asking questions about every little new thing. Thankfully, everyone here has been really patient with me and I've had more help than I could imagine!

What breeds do you have? Can you take pictures? I'd love to see!

1) It depends on the breed! Some like Silkies - barely fly since they don't really have feathers while I've heard Easter Egger's can clear up to 6 foot fences! Luckily, chickens love to stay in a flock and many people have assured me that they probably won't venture/roam because they learn to love the backyard and see it as their sanctuary. If all else fails, you can always clip their wings! It's completely safe for them and limits their flying ability but if you live in areas with many predators - I suggest you not do so since flying is one of their ways to escape predators!

2) Don't worry about that! Chickens have scales on their feet that will protect them. And yes!! They LOVE to forage! How's your set up? Will they be free-ranging or do they have a run? Either way, it's always good to let them forage around. This not only keeps your chickens happy but will give you healthier eggs with better yolks (think orange instead of yellow, yum!)

3) NorthFLChick gave you a great link! Here are some others you can check out:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/getting-started-raising-chickens - Everything you need to know!
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/ - She's a member of this community and has great articles on poultry care!

Once again, welcome! Hope you enjoy your stay<3 
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I don't have any feather babies yet. My bf is being real stubborn about it, but I'm making plans to really go head first into building up their coop and run. If anyone still has exp, please share more. Thank you all so much. :)
 

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