Good evening - New Member this year - Arabbie

arabbie1

Chirping
9 Years
Nov 1, 2014
26
3
84
Good evening everyone. My name is Debbie, new member this year, just been watching, reading & learning.
I decided to start becoming semi self-reliant last year & started back yard gardening. Some successes, some failures. Ahhh not failures, learning experiences. So the next logical step was to have my own chickens. Fertilizer is a good thing.
I don't have chickens yet, later this month a Buff Orpington, RIR, Golden Laced Wyandotte, Delaware, Cuckoo Marans, Black Australorp, Barred Rock and one unknown will be hatched and I can move on to the next step of chicken care.
I almost changed my mind while reading about illness & treatments. Vaccinate, or not to vaccinate, egg binding (oh my), Coccidosis, etc. etc.. After calming down, I rationalized and decided that if chicken raising was so difficult, there wouldn't be a BYC cuz no one would be raising chickens. Besides I believe the more informed one is, the better the outcome.
After hours and days surfing the web & this site, I have chosen the chicken coop I most want to emulate. I have NEVER built anything ever, but I keep telling myself, the hardest part will be getting started. I know the basics, ventilation, predator protection, ventilation, security, food, water, ventilation, poop boards & most important, ventilation.
We are down to 2 horses, 2 dogs and 1 cat, just my husband & I. We are retired, I worked in Ohio as a RN, my husband was an AT&T repairman. Now I am a Bus Aide, (working with handicapped children) & he a bus driver. Schools out tomorrow!!!!!!!!! And Thursday I am going to make my first trip to the lumber yard! I am getting more & more excited about this new venture.
Now before this turns into one more run on sentence I want to thank all of you, new & old, I have learned a lot from your posts.
Oh one more thing, I never thought I would be planting Dandelions (I have lots of aged ones), but want young tender ones for my chicks. :)
 
Welcome to BYC, Debbie. Glad you decided join our flock. You've selected a nice mix of breeds. Black Australorps are my favorite standard breed. I've raised them for years (along with dozens of other breeds), and they are extremely hardy, calm and gentle (my children and granddaughter made lap pets of them), and the best layers of the standard, brown egg laying breeds. You chickens will love the Dandelions, but the leaves are also good in a salad and are a wonderful source of vitamin C for people as well. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in getting your coop built and in getting your flock.
 
Welcome to BYC, Debbie! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Good luck with your future flock! We are here to help you in any way we can and answer you questions.
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Reading about all the possible issues that happen in chickens but honestly, if you get your chickens from a good place and they are healthy, you most likely won't have a lot problems. Of course there are those mishaps and learning experiences but that's what makes everything so much fun; knowing that chicken raising isn't perfect but continuing because it's so enjoyable!

Feel free to ask any questions. Our learning center is packed full of helpful info that you might find helpful.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

Feel free to ask these other links as well
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/nest-box-aromatherapy
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/getting-started-raising-chickens
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-pick-the-right-chicken-breeds-for-you
 

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