Everyone here is no doubt sick of these posts, but I'm NEW!

[Snowbelt]

Welcome to BYC, MIck. Good luck with your self-sufficiency journey. One thing to consider when landscaping around your chicken coop and run is to maximize vegetation to the extent possible. The chickens will love it for the cover, and they will also benefit from the release of clean oxygen as part of the photosynthetic process. If you can use native plants that produce edible berries, so much the better.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, Mick and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

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

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[Ribh]

Hi Mick, nice yo meet you.


Nice trigger to get me to read your intro. Adelaide would have been another trigger. My daughter worked there for a while as a senior student.
Did you find the Aussie thread already?

I hope you find or build your perfect coop (dont think it exists) soon. Climate matters. And the stories of many who live in the US with harsh freezing don’t apply for you.

Prefabs are not always a no-go. I have a 13 year old , restyled and improved prefab with a new and larger roof. Still use it.

A few great members from down under:
@Ribh
@MaryJanet
@LozzyR

​

Hi Mick. I'm in Central Queensland. Welcome.

 

[mickypoo]

Hi Mick, nice yo meet you.


Nice trigger to get me to read your intro. Adelaide would have been another trigger. My daughter worked there for a while as a senior student.
Did you find the Aussie thread already?

I hope you find or build your perfect coop (dont think it exists) soon. Climate matters. And the stories of many who live in the US with harsh freezing don’t apply for you.

Prefabs are not always a no-go. I have a 13 year old , restyled and improved prefab with a new and larger roof. Still use it.

A few great members from down under:
@Ribh
@MaryJanet
@LozzyR

​

Oh wow - small world. Did she enjoy her time here?

No, haven't looked at the other forums yet, but good to know there is a local one.

Yeah, I'm not against the idea of a prefab - mainly because I just don't have the materials laying around to build. Might be a good base to mod etc

 

[mickypoo]

Hi Mick! Sounds like we're not far from each other - I'm over by Semaphore. Will you be starting from chicks or pullets?

Nice to meet you Mary! - Brooklyn Park here

Had to look up what a 'pullet' even was haha - probably that, but haven't even got there yet. More just planning the infrastructure/landscaping at the moment

 

[mickypoo]

Thanks everyone - I only replied to those who asked questions, but read and appreciated all the provided info. Good to see a couple of Aussies about!

I can already tell that it's a great, knowledgeable community. We've just hit the hottest part of our year, so I have a couple of months to research and plan - I'll dig in!

I'll also say that it's so refreshing to be part of an old-school active forum again. There aren't too many around - I miss the old days of specialist hobby forums, before Facebook swallowed them all up.

 

[MaryJanet]

Nice to meet you Mary! - Brooklyn Park here

Had to look up what a 'pullet' even was haha - probably that, but haven't even got there yet. More just planning the infrastructure/landscaping at the moment

Ah! Lovely neighbourhood!

There are so many great coops on BYC but the secret in Adelaide is keeping the chooks cool in summer. So, if you've got a shady tree, maybe build the coop beside or around it. If not, a shade sail from Bunnings will do. The coop at my place is a large fully enclosed run with a raised 3-sided roosting box in one corner, with a ramp going up to a waist-high floor with roosting bars a short step up from there. The walls extend forward well beyond the floor and roosting bars, to provide shelter from rain in winter. The hens have been using the roosting box for several years now and they've never been wet or cold in winter, while at the same time it keeps them fairly cool in a heat wave.

Over the years, I've bought pullets, eggs, and chicks from a wide range of breeders. These days I only buy Pip and Grow up at Nairn because they vaccinate for Marek's disease which is a serious virus that will linger in your backyard for many years, picking off your younger hens in a painful way. So if you can avoid that one from the outset, it's a big win.

Have fun planning for your chooks! It's a such a rewarding hobby, you'll love it!

 

[MaryJanet]

Oh wow - small world. Did she enjoy her time here?

No, haven't looked at the other forums yet, but good to know there is a local one.

Yeah, I'm not against the idea of a prefab - mainly because I just don't have the materials laying around to build. Might be a good base to mod etc

I keep a prefab within the run just in case it's needed for a broody hen or an extra nest and it's perfectly fine. I don't lock the hens up in it because it's too small for them, but they can come and go from it if they want to.

 

[BDutch]

Oh wow - small world. Did she enjoy her time here?

No, haven't looked at the other forums yet, but good to know there is a local one.

Yeah, I'm not against the idea of a prefab - mainly because I just don't have the materials laying around to build. Might be a good base to mod etc

Yes she enjoyed her time in Adelaid and the weeks after travelling in Australia too.