From North Carolina. We don't even have any chickens just yet.

[LoveFluffyButts]

Hello from beautiful NC.
We currently do not even own any chickens. We have 6 children of various ages ranging from 6-19 (19 is awwy at college). So we have lots of help for our chickens "to be".
We do not have any pets and do not want any pets, and from the online research I've been doing about chickens, it sounds like these would be somewhat "needy" little creatures. Would I be correct in that assumption? I would not mind looking after the chickens as long as rest of the family helps out a bit too. (Our middle child would most likely be the one wanting to help every chance that is offered)
As far as a coop, we will be building one, and I am highly attracted to an "A-frame" style, that is cheap to build, easy to clean and relatively light to move, while still giving the chickens plenty of room.
Our property is on almost 2 acres of land bordered by a creek, thick woods, and a street that is pretty busy. We have several old pine trees (they drop a ton of needless s pine cones), oaks and poplar trees in our yard providing lots of shade in the summer time. The property next to us has been cleared and many field mice have been spotted.

Basically, I know nothing about "farm" animals. Would free range be an okay option. And the term free range...does that mean literally free range with NO fence, or would a fence be recommended (of an area about 800 - 1400 sq/ft with coop and run located inside fenced area). And with regards to either option (free range with or without fence) would a "mobile" coop be preferred or needed? If either of the above options are not preferred, I would make an assumption that a lightweight "mobile" coop and run would make the most sense for easier cleaning and maintenance of lawn.

Any additional guidance is greatly appreciated.

And by the looks of this site, I think I've stumbled upon a great community.

Thanks in advance!

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, sevenlucky7s, and

! Pleased you joined our community! Without the proper work done on the front end, chickens aren't really too "needy." Large self-feeders and waterers eliminate daily trips to the coop to refill (although I like to do a health and welfare check daily). Collecting eggs should be a daily occurrence and coop cleaning at least weekly, in my opinion. In terms of free ranging....really anything out of the coop and run where they have access to range is considered free ranging. You can of course limit the amount of land they have access to with fencing. Here's an article that details the pros and cons of free ranging: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/deciding-to-free-range-your-flock
For more general reading, the Learning Center is full of articles that span the range of chicken topics - you might want to give it a look and see if chicken keeping is something you want to undertake:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
And if you'd like to chat with some fellow NC poultry folks, find your state thread in this link:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread

 

[N F C]

Raising poultry is a great hobby for the entire family and chickens are fun. You might end up surprising yourself by how attached you (and others in your family) get to the birds.

Best of luck!

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to Backyard chickens. Hope you will enjoy it as much as we do.

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under sevenlucky7s

Welcome!

You have already received some great advice and links from redsoxs and N F C. I guess chickens can be a 'set and forget' hobby to a certain degree but they have this uncanny knack of becoming a very important part of your life which you can not do without. Sometimes we end up needing them more than they need us

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.