Colorado

[lomine]

Start of day 17 and a total of 40 out of 49 have hatched. Unfortunately I had to cull one. I just had to put the poor thing out of its misery. I've moved them to the brooder and left the remaining 9 eggs. One was pipped so I hope I didn't harm it when I opened it to get the others out.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Totally adorable little tiny things they are. Congrats on a good hatch with the quail!

 

[Rock Home Isle]

40 chicks from 49 eggs...wow. That just sounds so cool....

 

[kellywags]

http://boulder.craigslist.org/grd/5670740201.html

I found a girl in Boulder selling these, the Amerauacana looks very pretty. I was about to get them until my husband brought home 2 amerauacanas. I feel bad pulling out of a deal so I hope I can help her! Pic of her Pullet

 

[Hope49]

Helloooo Colorado! We currently live in Anaheim, CA and are moving to Colorado Springs (COS?) ("The Springs"?), possibly in October, with all the hubbub of selling our place and buying another one. In fact, we're getting ready to drive there to look the area over and get familiar with all those neighborhoods!!

Monday we meet with our Realtor and start looking at some of the houses we have picked out in our price range.

We just re-homed our "5 happy hens" to 3 wonderful people who actually sent us photos of them free-ranging with their new friends. Ours had a huge coop and run and never were allowed out because of one very predatory dog.

So, I want to hear from anyone in the Springs who has chickens, and how it all works. I see most homes for sale have "covenants" and I don't really know what that means. We are going to avoid anything with homeowner's fees. But how do I know which neighborhood allows chickens, or is the rule 10 chickens in any part of the Springs?

And most important, how do you keep them warm in the winter? We will be building our own coop/run again, and if you know of any threads about cold weather safety, coop/runs, please point me that direction. We usually keep hatchlings in the house or garage until the weather warms up, but really, I think we just need so much training on this new environment!

Nice to meet you all!! Hope to hear from many of you and maybe even make my first Colorado friend right from Backyard Chickens!

Cheri and my chicken-keeping-husband, Dorian

 

[Auntie Moose]

Helloooo Colorado! We currently live in Anaheim, CA and are moving to Colorado Springs (COS?) ("The Springs"?), possibly in October, with all the hubbub of selling our place and buying another one. In fact, we're getting ready to drive there to look the area over and get familiar with all those neighborhoods!!

Monday we meet with our Realtor and start looking at some of the houses we have picked out in our price range.

We just re-homed our "5 happy hens" to 3 wonderful people who actually sent us photos of them free-ranging with their new friends. Ours had a huge coop and run and never were allowed out because of one very predatory dog.

So, I want to hear from anyone in the Springs who has chickens, and how it all works. I see most homes for sale have "covenants" and I don't really know what that means. We are going to avoid anything with homeowner's fees. But how do I know which neighborhood allows chickens, or is the rule 10 chickens in any part of the Springs?

And most important, how do you keep them warm in the winter? We will be building our own coop/run again, and if you know of any threads about cold weather safety, coop/runs, please point me that direction. We usually keep hatchlings in the house or garage until the weather warms up, but really, I think we just need so much training on this new environment!

Nice to meet you all!! Hope to hear from many of you and maybe even make my first Colorado friend right from Backyard Chickens!

Cheri and my chicken-keeping-husband, Dorian

Hello, Cheri! I was born and raised in COS and now live up in Arvada, near Denver. From what I can gather from posts here I have seen, many of the covenanted properties don't allow chickens at all. Certainly most HOAs don't. I don't know how many chickens they allow in town, either. Up here in and around Denver, it's 5 or 6, no roosters. That can be with ducks and turkeys too, as long as the total population is under the max. What areas are you looking in? I know a great realtor if you don't like the one you are working with! I suggest you look for weather hearty breeds. I think there is a link here, or just google it. My three are an EE, an Australorp and an Iowa Blue. My daughter and her husband just insulated their coop by putting hay bales around the outside. That way it didn't interfere with air flow. Her girls love to play in the snow!

 

[21hens-incharge]

Welcome Welcome Welcome Cheri,

Glad to have another enthusiastic chickeneer joining us! I think the covenants are like HOA rules and regs that sometimes trump local ordinances. Basically they get to tell you what you can and cannot do on your own property with landscaping, house color, shingle type, parking of vehicles, kids toys in the yard or any other rule that someone had the mind to put in place.
It takes research on each and every covenanted or HOA controlled neighborhood to figure out what the specific rules for that area are.

About winter here in Colorado..... The chickens come with a down coat already built in so rarely need additional heat. Picking hearty breeds helps ensure they do not get frost bite or have any issues with the climate. Some small breeds like Japanese Black Tail chickens are quite small and have close feathering so cannot really produce enough body heat and are not "right" for this area. Having a dry, draft free, well ventilated coop is key here in the winter.


Some of my gals having a snow day. Yes even Hamburgs do well here as the two in this picture attest to.

I do not know your requirements for a house or budget (None of my business really) but I did a quick look at how many homes are for sale in the springs and it looks like quite a lot. You should have little if any trouble finding the right house.
Here are a few helpful links you may have already read up on.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/colorado-springs-colorado-chicken-ordinance
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops

Of course I could go on for days and days with the helpful information on here.

Enjoy your trip to the springs and I wish you good luck in your search!

Barbara

 

[lomine]

Helloooo Colorado!  We currently live in Anaheim, CA and are moving to Colorado Springs (COS?) ("The Springs"?), possibly in October, with all the hubbub of selling our place and buying another one.  In fact, we're getting ready to drive there to look the area over and get familiar with all those neighborhoods!!  

Monday we meet with our Realtor and start looking at some of the houses we have picked out in our price range.  

We just re-homed our "5 happy hens" to 3 wonderful people who actually sent us photos of them free-ranging with their new friends.  Ours had a huge coop and run and never were allowed out because of one very predatory dog.

So, I want to hear from anyone in the Springs who has chickens, and how it all works.  I see most homes for sale have "covenants" and I don't really know what that means.  We are going to avoid anything with homeowner's fees.  But how do I know which neighborhood allows chickens, or is the rule 10 chickens in any part of the Springs?  

And most important, how do you keep them warm in the winter?  We will be building our own coop/run again, and if you know of any threads about cold weather safety, coop/runs, please point me that direction.  We usually keep hatchlings in the house or garage until the weather warms up, but really, I think we just need so much training on this new environment!

Nice to meet you all!!  Hope to hear from many of you  and maybe even make my first Colorado friend right from Backyard Chickens!

Cheri and my chicken-keeping-husband, Dorian

Hello Hope49. I'm on the northern side of the Springs, know as the Briargate area. As for the rules in the city, you can have up to 10 chickens, no rooster over 6 months old, within city limits. The only time you wouldn't be allowed them is if an HOA rule says no.

You don't really need an insulated coop, especially if you get good cold hardy breeds. I would say it would be a good idea to cover at least part of your run. I have mine mostly covered and I'm glad I do. Shoveling snow out of the run is a pain.

Good luck in your home search!

 

[lomine]

Totally adorable little tiny things they are. Congrats on a good hatch with the quail!

40 chicks from 49 eggs...wow. That just sounds so cool....

Thanks. This was such a fun experience. I'm going to give the unhatched ones a couple more days but I think I got a great first hatch.

Take a look at these two penguin faced cuties.

 

[StelleKitten]

My husband and I have narrowed down our move to places to two states. One is Tennessee and the other is Colorado. I was wondering if any of you know of a nice place to live without a hoa or any weird laws. (we are from Texas so we understand certain areas have their oddities)

I was also wondering if I should sell off my flock and start fresh or move my flock. I currently have about 80 birds though that varies based on time of year and customer demand. (I am T&P clear and licensed here in Texas)

We would be moving next year so we are still in the planning stages. We would like to set up a small farm with our chickens and cows (we don't have the cows yet so will purchase them when we get there). We are looking for around 25 acres, no buildings needed. Just don't want to live in sand and we are thoroughly sick of the heat!