City-turned-country Newbie Chicken Owner

[MegsAndFeatheredFriends]

Hi
I have been living in the country with my family for several months now & have finally worked up to getting our first chickens -- really soaking in the country life. I couldn't have afforded or had space for chooks in Brisbane, but here we are now!

When I was a teenager my dad had 3 chooks for about a year or two. Even though I wasn't always at his house, I have fond memories of those funny birds walking around the yard, pecking at kitchen scraps, and collecting their eggs. It was such a novelty. I knew I wanted chickens myself one day.

In a couple of weeks I'll be taking on 2 pullets - sussex and orpington crosses. Later, ordering Easter egger and olive egger eggs to do the chick raising thing

☆ Random thing about me ☆
I actually have a mild fear of birds! I'm hoping to treat this as a controlled way of getting exposure therapy alongside all the other benefits. I know I can do this! Have any of you experienced anything like this but still kept chickens? What breeds do you recommend? How did you go with handling the chickens for their healthcare and for petting? I'll have a brave face on for my kids, that's for sure.

I have a newbie question! How do you manage to go away on holiday and still keep your chickens happy and healthy? We have neighbours who will check in daily and help with feeding etc. But I understand that there's regular cleaning and possibly other things to consider too. I want to make sure I've covered all bases and only go away for a reasonable amount of time so I don't add cleaning up to the to-do list for my neighbour. Was thinking deep litter method would help with this.

I may be overdoing it here, but I have what I consider a small run for the chooks - 7mx7m - and I wanted to get thoughts on how many I could reasonably have in there at maximum? Keep in mind, these are family chickens so the breed types will be docile, which i hope will aid in keeping a peaceful flock and mean they won't be likely to be bullying as much as other breeds could in that kind of space.

Oh, one other thing, I wonder if I'll be able to leave the run as is (dirt) rather than adding anything to it since they like to dust bathe anyway. Thoughts? I'll be at the store this week and getting wood chip to get started with, but if it’s not completely necessary then I would consider skipping it.

Any diy or cheap tricks to share? Let me know!

 

[WingItRanch]

Welcome to BYC and congratulations on your new country home!

I had a strong dislike of birds, myself. I had a terrifying experience with ostrich at a wildlife park and we always had these nasty birds around called Grackles that were so loud and would poop on everything. Like you, I knew I still wanted chickens for the ranch. Honestly, they're so much fun. It's different when you raise them. They're pretty relaxed and it's calming to watch them scratch around. You can definitely do it!

I built my coop and run with holidays in mind. Make sure it's predator proof with a dig-proof design. Always built bigger than you think you need. You mentioned getting docile breeds but any breed will have issues if they don't have enough room. I have several large feeders and waterers around that can last a week if needed. If your climate is right, you can collect rain water and pipe it back into the run.

I use the deep litter method and only clean out my coop twice a year. Super easy. You could use the compost for your vegetable garden!

You can definitely leave the floor of your run as just dirt.

Good luck!!

 

[ChickenChick46]

Welcome! I'm still very new to chickens myself so I don't have much advice to offer. But I wanted to say congratulations on your move and jump into chickens!

My first ever chicks, a group of 4 bantams, are almost 5 weeks old now. I'm enjoying them so much that I bought anther group of 4 on Sunday, lol. You're going to love it!

The people here are great, and the things I've learned are priceless. You're in a great community!

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

You will definitely warm up to birds once you get your little chicks and they grow up with you.

We have a Learning Center packed with helpful articles about raising chicks, chickens, and more. If you don't have a coop yet, here's our Coop forum.

Probably the lowest maintenance there is for coops is horse bedding pellets. We don't do anything to those in our coop but once per year we clean them out, spread some of that sawdust mixed with dried out poop around trees, in our garden, and in our compost bins. We use those in our brooders too, but those we change out every few weeks as they change to sawdust from absorbing the poops.

You can leave the run as dirt, then if you have a garden, raise greens for them, like lettuce, kale, etc. We bought sod for our breeding pens, and in some, we had to weed wack it and others they wear it down. Just make sure if you buy sod, it has no backing on it; is pure dirt.

We're glad you're here!

 

[ChickenChick46]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

You will definitely warm up to birds once you get your little chicks and they grow up with you.

We have a Learning Center packed with helpful articles about raising chicks, chickens, and more. If you don't have a coop yet, here's our Coop forum.

Probably the lowest maintenance there is for coops is horse bedding pellets. We don't do anything to those in our coop but once per year we clean them out, spread some of that sawdust mixed with dried out poop around trees, in our garden, and in our compost bins. We use those in our brooders too, but those we change out every few weeks as they change to sawdust from absorbing the poops.

You can leave the run as dirt, then if you have a garden, raise greens for them, like lettuce, kale, etc. We bought sod for our breeding pens, and in some, we had to weed wack it and others they wear it down. Just make sure if you buy sod, it has no backing on it; is pure dirt.

We're glad you're here!

Once per year seriously? Horse bedding pellets, here I come!

 

[Bsmac]

Hello! Welcome to BYC! 7 meters x 7 meters equals roughly 484 square feet. Here, we figure 10 square feet per bird in the run. So you could have as many as 48 birds as far as run size is concerned! I would start taming them as soon as you get them! Just start by putting you hand in with them and gently try to pet them. Then after a bit try putting some feed in the palm of your hand and see if they will eat from your hand. Just remember it takes some time! Don`t give up they will get used to you! Not many chickens actually like being picked up but after they get used to you and begin to trust you that will make it easier. I can handle all 23 of our birds some are more aloof than others and some are just the friendliest things! We have numerous birds that are lap chickens. They will come over where you are sitting and jump up on your lap for attention! I have some that will come when I call their names and I will say come up here! And then they do! No need to be afraid they may accidently scratch you with their toenails if not careful but that is about it. Be mindfull of your eyes if they become lap chickens they may try to peck you out of curiousity. I leave part of our covered run plain dirt and most of it I use pine shavings. You will fall in love with them! They are such characters! Best of luck to you! Sorry So long lol!

 

[N F C]

Hi, not speaking from personal experience (I've always loved birds of all types), but reading what others have posted about dealing with a fear of birds, they have said it helped to start with chicks rather than full-grown chickens (chicks are probably less intimidating because of their small size). Start off spending quiet time sitting closely to them and talk quietly. You can put a little feed in your open hand so they can see it and some may eventually get on your hand to investigate, just don't make any sudden moves, let them come to you. And don't reach down from above to try to pick them up as they may interpret that sort of move as threatening. Take things slow and steady, some birds will become friendly and some will always remain standoffish.

Give things time, it will work out!

 

[GodLovesU]

You can find your state/country thread here! If you want to learn more about navigating the website you can check it out here. God bless and have a great day!

 

[Pigeony]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens. This is a great place to explore and hang out.