Earth Loving Chicken Lady!

[earth_toes]

Hello All! I am beginning the journey of making our property into our own little homestead, complete with .... you guessed it! ... chickens! I am a seasoned gardener who takes pride in everything I do, and am always looking for ways to improve. I'm open to any suggestions and words of wisdom for a newbie chicken lady. Including, breeds that worked well for your first flock, and opinions on medicated/non-medicated feed etc. I will be adding (4) hens to an indoors (spare bedroom) brooder in the coming week and am open to any and ALL suggestions! Thanks for the add and I am excited to be a part of the BYC community!

*I have some (strongly *some*) experience caring for adult hens and roosters at a large horse farm I used to manage. Other than feeding, collecting eggs, keeping them in the yard and watching them for hours daily that's about all of the experience I have, plus all of the information I've gleaned during my research and multiple books purchased over the past few months. Any help is appreciated! Namaste!

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC.
We are glad you joined this flock!
Jump right in and make yourself at home.

How young/old are the four hens you are getting going to be?

This video will help you learn how to navigate this site (how to upload photos too):

Coop Ideas:
Chicken Coops.

What exactly did you Google to get here? <<<<<<<<<<<

BYC has an APP!

 

[007Sean]

Howdy and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
I would recommend to start new thread on each topic you have specific questions about in the appropriate forums.
The one beginner tip I will give you is, make sure your coop and run are ready or will be within 2 or 3 weeks of getting your chicks. Many newbies make the mistake of thinking they will build their coop and run while the littles are growing but they fail to realize how fast they grow and how messy they are about doing it.

 

[N F C]

Hi, it's nice to have you here with us! The number one thing I'd recommend to anyone wanting to get into poultry is to have the coop and run ready before they get chickens (or chicks).

Best of luck to you and thanks for joining us!

 

[ronott1]

You will have a lot of fun!

There is a place to setup a coop page in the articles section of BYC

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

Miss Piggy Sue says, “Welcome to our eggcelent flock here at BYC!”

 

[earth_toes]

Miss Piggy Sue says, “Welcome to our eggcelent flock here at BYC!”

View attachment 1716013

OH my goodness, piggies are my first favorite! Thank you!

 

[fldiver97]

Welcome Sounds like you are starting with chicks.... I have done both, medicated starter feed but the last little ones I raised were on non medicated feed. All had been vaccinated. Daily bum checks while they are little - pasty bum can happen. Have a screen top or something available, after a couple of weeks old they can get out of some brooder. If you use a heat lamp make sure it’s not Teflon coated, secure and not heating the entire brooder. Chicks need to be able to get away if it’s too hot. Check out some of the articles in the learning section and ask away

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

You will definintely want to stop by our Learning Center for a some good reads on getting started, how to raise the chicks, what to feed, how to build the coop and such... https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/

I started with Black Australorps and Buff Orpingtons. Both of the Orpington breed, they are very docile, friendly, love to sit on your lap, follow you around like puppies, they are very hardy breeds and can tolerate all climates and generally stay quite healthy into older age.

Good luck on this new journey and welcome to our group!