Getting Ready for the Big Leap!

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC

You may wish to consider alternatives to heating for your chicks, such as brooder plates, for example. They are safer than lamps.

On this link you'll find lots of information on almost every aspect of keeping birds - from coop building ideas, to incubating eggs - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/

There’s a link on the page above to the Learning Centre - it’s a great resource. If you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.

Each week, various topics are discussed, which can also be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archives

This is a useful link of BYC guides to take a look at announcements-feedback-issues-guides.3 I’d suggest including your location using the guide in that link. You can use this link to contact members in your area - Find your State's thread.

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[007Sean]

Howdy

Thanks for joining us!

 

[New2Chicks97]

Hi All,

My husband & I recently moved to Tooele, Utah, from Sandy, Utah. Even while living in Sandy I have been researching and studying up on ALL that is needed/required to starting, for the first time, a flock. It's been nearly a year, several books & periodicals, blueprints, researching hatcheries, etc. and now I'm ready to pull the trigger!

I am a newbie...never raised chickens before so I am a bit anxious! Since Tooele a little like the Wasatch Front (a little) I know I need cold-hardy breeds but I also know I need heat-hardy breeds as well. So they have to be both.

Also, I was hoping someone would know when the best time to have chicks delivered. We will be housing our brooder in our garage but I am concerned about the cold. I will be having a proper heat lamp and the section of the garage where the brooder will be, unfortunately, means, the door will have to be opened twice a day...I don't want the babies to get chilled. I will have cardboard around the perimeter of the brooder to keep drafts down but will the lamp be enough?

Also, I have read the time to take the pullets out is when the temperature is around 70 degrees but does not dip below 50 degrees at night. Is that a solid, etched in stone, advice? Tooele, just like in Sandy, there was always a cold-snap and I'm concerned about that.

Finally, my husband believes that digging hardwire down 12 inches and flanking the perimeter of the coop and run out another 2 feet is overkill. He said someone, somewhere, came up with that idea and everyone then fell in line with that advice. There are coyotes here among other predators but he doesn't want to trench up that much dirt around the coop and run because he feels that it is excessive. Any thoughts?

Thanks so much for your help!

Well coyotes will dig and move hardware cloth that isn’t secured below the ground. We had an apron of hardware cloth that wasn’t secured under the ground but with stakes. They moved the wire and several large cinderblocks to get into the run.

So if you take the time to buy it then bury it. We went with a heavier concrete reinforcing wire for our bigger run and made the apron extend 3 feet and we buried it. We also added electric fencing around the coop and the run.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Welcome to our Fun-omenal Community!
Best wishes and have lots of fun with your new Fuzz babies!

 

[PouleChick]

Bonjour and welcome from France!

I am a newbie...never raised chickens before so I am a bit anxious!

This was me this time last year! I couldn't have managed without this site and would have lost at least one bird and one hatching chick that I know of without everyones help! Look forward to hearing of your adventure!

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

 

[LoveMyChickenBabies]

Glad you joined our flock! We are sure you'll love it here, so pull up a roost!

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.
I admire your preparation and planning as I am one of those that jump in and figure it out as I go along.
Predators are not a problem until they are a problem and then it causes a lot of heartache. I think a shallow apron all the way around is probably easier than digging down a foot, but it needs to be buried a few inches below the surface or pavers covering it.
As regards when to get chicks, I would second those people who have suggested waiting until Spring unless you are close enough to collect from the hatchery. The vagaries of the postal system make it just too risky to order in winter and I cannot imagine how horrendous it is to open a box of dead chicks that got lost in the system for several days. I have read enough posts here on BYC where that has happened or people are on tender hooks because it hasn't arrived on time. Not so bad when the ambient temperatures are mild but in the depths of winter even a slight delay can be disastrous.

I would also second the use of a heating plate or Mama Heating Pad rather than a heat lamp. Safer and more natural as the chicks experience normal day and night routines from the start, which makes for less stress later. Heating pads mean that only a small area is heated and the chicks duck underneath it like they would a broody hen when they need a warm up but food and water are kept cooler which is healthier.... warm water grows bacteria more quickly than cool. There should be less chance of chicks overheating with this set up and less chance of pasty butt and coccidiosis. Nothing beats a broody hen in my opinion, but the MHP is a very close second.

Other than that I just want to wish you luck. Don't put too much store on heat or cold hardy breeds. Most chickens are pretty adaptable. If you get serious sub zero temps, then birds with smaller combs are probably a good idea so favour a rose comb leghorn over a single comb if you are thinking of getting a leghorn or two, but after that, go with whatever takes your fancy. What has caught your eye so far? I would recommend a mixed breed flock so that you can easily keep track of who is who and lays which eggs, so that if/when you hit problems, as unfortunately does happen from time to time, it is easier to identify which hen is having the issue. Aesthetically it also makes for a pretty flock and perhaps a pretty egg basket if you get blue/green/white/chocolate/pink and brown coloured egg laters............

...... BEWARE CHIKEN KEEPING IS ADDICTIVE!

 

[N F C]

Hi, it's nice to have you here!

I would also suggest waiting until early spring before getting chicks. If you're planning on ordering from an online hatchery, some of them are already taking orders for the 2019 chicks so order early to get the breeds you want!

 

[happy duck]

Welcome welcome to BYC!