Hello, Just joined here today. We live on Long Island and in an effort to keep going with our healthy eating resolution we are very seriously considering getting chickens. I want to jump right in but my nature is to do tons of research on everything first! I have been reading books from the library for a month now and and moving on to the net. It is mid march and hope to feel confident go get this going by early summer. I have 1/2 acre of land and plan to use a 20x40 section fenced off as the run. Within that section I have an unused chain link dog run (10x20) and plan to place the coop within it for an extra layer of predator protection and when I don't want them to have such large area. I'm hoping to get ideas and info on: 1. Coop design 2. Feed 3. Predator protection 4. Common pitfalls 5. Best breeds for beginners Thank you all so much in advance! Steve and Lindsay
Greetings from Kansas, Steve & Lindsay, and ! Pleased you joined our flock! I think you are wise to research first - and you've come to the right place! There are entire forums on BYC devoted to questions 1, 2, and 3. They are Q & A but reading the old threads yields a lot of great information. I would suggest starting with the Learning Center (see link below). There will be some redundancy with the research you've already done but it is a good place to begin. Learning Center: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/ The common pitfalls question...I guess everyone has different experiences but I seem to read a lot about two things that cause heartache or at least "I wish I had this or that differently," The first is predator proofing. Whether making you own coop or purchasing one, invest in hardware cloth - not chicken wire. CW is great at keeping chickens in but will not keep out a determined predator like a dog or raccoon. Use strong latches and hinges. Also, don't forget about flying predators - you may want to cover your run. Another topic is coop and run size. Coops are recommended to be 4 sq. ft./bird and runs should be 10 sq. ft./bird. But a lot of folks wish they had made their set up bigger when they wanted to increase their flock size. Another good reason is in case they must be confined, bigger is better. For the friendly breeds question...there are as many opinions as their are breeds, however, some are reckoned easier to tame. I have my biases (Buff Orps, Red Stars, Black Stars, Delawares, etc.). Below is a handy dandy chart where you can do some research on that topic. I wish you well on your poultry journey!! http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
Good luck with your coop and chickens! I would suggest putting a netting or another chain link section on the top of the small kennel so that they can go there without the worry of a hawk. Those are my biggest problems around here. Welcome!
