finally posting in WA

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rowena

rowena

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Hello,
I've been a member for a while, reading through the forum, reading every book from the library, watching youtue videos about raising chickens. We're finally buying a house so I would love to finally get chickens for eggs. Are there workshops to learn hands on in western WA? Any tips would be soo appreciated.
 
Welcome to BYC from Caifornia wine country in the Western Sierra Foothills.

I wish I'd known of such workshops before I considered keeping chickens. Instead, I learned everything from BYC, the Dummies book and experience. Had there not been this community, I could shudder at what my flock would have suffered. Whew!

I think those workshops are wonderful, because there are a lot of folks who get chicks and THEN discover BYC in desperation. :D

How cool you are preparing to have the best experience.
 
Welcome from Missouri
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I have always wanted chickens but I'll be honest, I did not grow up with pets. My husband did & my children have pets now. I've been "studying" for a few years actually, waiting to buy a house.
 
Hello,
I'm new to raising chickens myself, had them around when I was a kid but didn't pay any attention ( only watched out for the mean ones! ). Here in Oregon the farm stores have "chicken chats" that talk about nutrition and basics. My youngest son is the chicken guy and we are attending our class in a few weeks. They also have start up packages at a discount for those who attend too. Might be worth calling a few stores to see if they have something similiar.
 
Oh good idea on asking a farm store. Thank you.
 
Hello and welcome to BYC
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Well, there are a lot of tips people can give you, but the things that comes to mind now is what I learned from experience and picked up along the way:

- Do NOT underestimate predators. Just don't. Build a secure coop and run.
- Put organic ACV (apple cider vinegar) in the chickens drink water. I do 4-5 tablespoons to a gallon water. It's so good for them! Also aloe vera leaves if you can get some fresh ones.
- Build a big coop, so there is space for the new chickens you are going to buy once you discover how much fun they are.
- Read, read, read. Use the search bar here, under the brown header, when you have questions. Any questions. You'd be blown away by the info here once you start digging!
- Quarantine new chickens away from your flock at first, to make sure they are not carrying anything. I once got some new chickens and we threw them in with my flock without quarantining them first. Did I regret that... Worms, lice, lost 2 hens and 2 chicks and struggled for awhile to finally clean my coop, run, grow out pen and more than 100 chickens. It was a nightmare! Quarantine is much, much easier.
- Which brings me to mites and worms. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean your chickens don't have any. Dust for mites regularly and deworm every 6 months as a precaution.

And enjoy your birds! They are wonderful pets
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