Complete novice; been reading but plain n simple overwhelmed!

[yelim]

I know how you feel about being overwhelmed with info. You will want to check your zoning laws and any deed restrictions before you start.
Are your birds going to be pets or livestock? Alot of people on here keep chickens as pets and would never eat them, which is fine for them.
Chickens don't require much. They need water and feed and protection from predators. Everything likes chicken. For me building fort chicken knox got expensive.
After all was done I now enjoy them very much.
Just take from this forum what you need and don't worry about the rest. It doesn't have to be the best, chickens don't compare digs.
At first I didn't want to let mine out of their run but now they are out more and more, but I am close by just in case.
From 21 Rhode Island Red hens I am getting 16 to 19 eggs a day.
Coop and run combined are about 30' x 26'

 

[secuono]

I haven't noticed much different in taste, but I'm not much of an egg fancier. It is different, a good different.
Like others have said, you will want more period, lol. If your family and friends start telling their friends and family...you will have a lot more people wanting eggs!

 

[patandchickens]

Build as big a building as you can possibly manage, at LEAST 8x8 but bigger is better. I promise you that even if you do not in the end choose to fill it with chcikens, it will come in handy for all sorts of OTHER things; and if you DO get the chicken 'bug' you will be glad you built large to begin with!

If you think you want to raise meat chickens as well (like, CornishX supermarket-style chickens, as opposed to having a rooster and hatching/growing your own dual-purpose breed chcikens to eat, which is a very different *kind* of chicken meat) then I suggest having a 3-sided lean-to off the side of the main coop that you will raise the meaties in. Honest, you really really do not want to be raising them with your layer flock, and they are tremendously stenchy unless raised at very low stocking density.

I think you may be missing the point of roosters. You do not have to -- or probably WANT to -- "avoid getting" a rooster. You will quite possibly get a cockerel or three in with your supposedly-all-pullet-chick order, but that is completely FINE. If you do not want to keep a rooster, then they will be your first chickens to butcher. Really really. That is the natural fate of the majority of roos in the world. Far less meaty than a supermarket-type chicken and you have to grow them out to 16 wks (ish) to get a reasonable amount of meat, but VERY tasty.

I owuld suggest starting with no more than 10-12 layers this year, *possibly* also 6-10 CornishX broiler chicks if you really want to launch right into the meat chicken thing. Then you can decide where you want to go from there, for the following year. HIghly recommend buying your laying flock as day-old chicks NOT as started birds from craigslist or auction or whatever, as having to learn about diseases/parasites/mortality too early in the chickenkeeping experience can really spoil things for a person.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Momagain1]

As far as predators: we have raccoons (occasionally) and skunks (striped, not spotted)...

So, we planned on building it enclosed w/chicken wire top/sides and latches.

I'll have to read more up on the predators and what to do to thwart them ...

 

[Momagain1]

Thank you all for your info!!!

I'll check into the day old chick thing...they dont start selling them around here until Easter; so I have a bit of time

However, easter time here, is still very chilly; so I'm sure they'd be in the garage w/a heat lamp is that right? (still reading on that part)..

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Actually one of the very commonest causes of chicken loss is DOGS. Yours, the neighbors, some stray(s) passing through, whatever.

So unless the chickens will be in a yard that is, like, totally 6'-solid-privacy-fenced with a gate that would never EVER be left ajar, you really need to build to keep DOGS out.

And chickenwire won't reliably even keep *raccoons* out. Basically it just keeps chickens "in". To keep out determined strong predators you need something heavier gauge. The usual three options, in descending order of price (in most areas of the US anyhow), are: use all 1/2" hardwarecloth; use heavy gauge 1x1 welded wire mesh; or use heavy gauge 2x4 wire mesh with hardwarecloth added to the bottom 3' or so. (The latter is not predatorproof at night as small raccoons and possums can get thru 2x4 wire, so if you are planning on the inherently-risky strategy of leaving the coop door open at night then I would rule that one out. Otherwise it is a reasonable option to consider)

Pat

 

[Ema]

I have 21 Rhode Island reds that I got last June. I ordered from a hatchery because there wasn't anyone around me selling any chicks. I went through the hatchery catalogue and I ordered all Pullets (females). I would have much rather bought from a private seller than a hatchery, but good thing I didn't cause around here most of the people who have chickens have some sort of illness going around in their flocks, and this winter it has gotten worse for them. the lady down the road from me with chickens lost her flock when she got a rooster from another chicken lady 2 roads down who we just found out her flock of about 400 birds is suffering from a respiratory infection plus Coccidia :-(

anyways...back on track...

I knew the chicks wouldn't be laying for a while, from everything I read I figured 5 or 6 months before they would begin to lay eggs and I knew that not all would be laying consistently...

we built them a coop inside the barn with a pop door leading to a 11x12 fenced in and covered run to keep predators out and to make sure they had a safe place where they could still be out while we were away.
I, like you have a weak stomach for very strong tasting eggs. I had bought eggs from the lady with the 400 birds ( she had 250 at the time), and they were free range and they were super strong, but its not the free ranging that does that its what they are eating that causes the strong taste. Free ranging is good for them and better on your feed bill during the months they can have access to fresh wild greens.

Anyhow my birds, to my surprise began laying at 17 weeks, rather early if you ask me. I fed them accordingly, medicated chick starter for the recommended amount of time and then grower and once they began laying I switched them to layer.
the first time I found eggs there were three, and for 2 weeks after that I got more and more eggs. Within three weeks I had no clue what to do with all those eggs because I didn't have any buyers and all 21 were laying very consistently. by week 4 of them laying I had over 14 dozen eggs in my fridge, and I decided to give them away to a food bank since my friends were only interested in getting them for free. So I would suggest make sure you have some buyers before they begin laying

anyhow my chickens are still laying consistently. I do have 2 hens who do not lay every single day, so 3 times a week I get 20 eggs and other days I get 21. that is still a lot of eggs. about 11.5 dozen per week. but now I am at the point where I am selling all but one or 2 dozen per week to several families. my 21 chickens provide enough eggs of my family of 4 and and 13 other families each month. the other families order from 2 to 4 dozen at a time at different days and I have never had to turn anyone away as of yet.

I did make make my coop large enough to add new hens if needed, as I know this fall they will be at the age of molting at which time they will not be laying very well or at all. but I am getting new chicks early this spring so I will have eggs for myself and my customers either way.

For free ranging my birds I had temporary runs that set up quickly all I had to do was position them and open their run door and off they would go to eat what ever grass and weeds they could find and then after several hours they would go back in to their covered run. I made sure I got acquainted with the different types of weeds and grasses so I knew what to remove if it was toxic to them, or it would make their eggs taste strong. On the days I couldn't let them out to free range I, and my hubby or kids would fill up buckets of grass and clover and wild alfalfa and throw it in to the run. so they still got their stuff. We have lots of bears and other big predators and since I live int he middle of the bush sometimes free randing is not feasible at all.

this spring we are building movable tractors for the hens so we can allow them to free range without worrying too much. There is a lot of great info here on BYC and I did spend over a year or more reading up before I even joined the forum. And I found that there are a whole whack load of very helpful people here too.

by the way

Ema

 

[Redley]

Quote:
Actually one of the very commonest causes of chicken loss is DOGS. Yours, the neighbors, some stray(s) passing through, whatever.

So unless the chickens will be in a yard that is, like, totally 6'-solid-privacy-fenced with a gate that would never EVER be left ajar, you really need to build to keep DOGS out.

And chickenwire won't reliably even keep *raccoons* out. Basically it just keeps chickens "in". To keep out determined strong predators you need something heavier gauge. The usual three options, in descending order of price (in most areas of the US anyhow), are: use all 1/2" hardwarecloth; use heavy gauge 1x1 welded wire mesh; or use heavy gauge 2x4 wire mesh with hardwarecloth added to the bottom 3' or so. (The latter is not predatorproof at night as small raccoons and possums can get thru 2x4 wire, so if you are planning on the inherently-risky strategy of leaving the coop door open at night then I would rule that one out. Otherwise it is a reasonable option to consider)

Pat

Pat,

All this reading over the past 4 months and I did not know about 2x4 wire mesh IS NOT PREDATOR PROOF!!!!
Really, is this true?
So, how about regular old fencing? Can those buggers get through that?
The coop that is coming with my new house is surrounded on the top and the sides by fencing.


Momagain1,
Keep reading this forum. Your fears and concerns will soon become a thing of the past once you gain more knowledge. At least that has been my experience. My 2 cents, make your coop as big as you can. I did learn in my chicken class that even in the city (my chicken class was in Denver), there are predators lurking about that you may not know of, simply because you don't currently have anything that they want. You may see more critters around once you add your chickens, so ensure your coop and run are predator proof. Go by the guidelines here for the minimum requirements for the amount of minimum coop and run space per bird, and enjoy!!! It will all work out. I also went to the library to borrow some chicken books and since I wanted to save $$$, read a few chicken books at my local book store and took notes. (I am so frugal, didn't want to spend the extra money on their fancy coffee, so I brought my own, sat at their tables, and read the book cover to cover over a few weeks). It was nice to get out of the house in the cold winter here in Golden Colorado. I know that Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow was recommended to me. I'm sure the guys here have other books if you are interested.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
REmember that another option is to mail-order your chicks, it is more expensive and not without risk (tho they *usually* come thru ok, especially if you choose a non-distant hatchery and appropriate weather) but you have a lot better choice of breeds etc.

Yes, baby chicks need to be kept quite warm, so for the first couple months you will need a brooder with a lamp for heat (how long they need the supplemental heat depends on your weather, but it sounds like you are not in Miami <g> so you should figure on having heat available for the first 8 wks or so til they are fully feathered-out, although you may choose to put them in the *coop* for the latter part of that period, with a heatlamp hanging in the coop to give them somewhere to warm up.) In the first few weeks they are very susceptable to drafts, so in a garage is a reasonable place to brood them provided there are no chemical/gasoline fumes and provided you are careful to make the brooder REALLY RODENTPROOF.

Quote:
Not sure what you mean "predator proof"... I *recommended* heavy-gauge 2x4 as an option to consider (with something smaller-mesh added on lower portions, and birds shut in coop at night) because it IS pretty proof against all the larger predators. But no, it will not keep out small things like weasels or baby raccoons/possums. (Note these are pretty near entirely nocturnal predators). For that you need all-over smaller mesh, and not chickenwire either.

So, how about regular old fencing? Can those buggers get through that?

Sorry, I have no clue what you mean "regular old fencing", are you talking wood or wire or what, and so forth? You would have to describe exactly what you mean (material, gauge/thickness, size of holes, etc)

Pat​

 

[yelim]

If you read some on the predator and pest forum it may help you decide about fenceing.