Greetings from, "The Gem State!"

[VanillaSpice25]

(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens? *A = Seasoned chicken keeping veteran, lifelong learner, curious soul

(2) How many chickens do you have right now? *A = zero, new state, just getting RE-started!

(3) What breeds do you have? *A = Focused on hearty (cold tolerant)breeds for the new flock, suggestions welcomed!

(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens? *A = When you create an environment that supports happy, healthy animals!

(5) What are some of your other hobbies? *A = Regenerative Farming/Ranching Lifestyle. Paper-crafting addict b'cuz crafting is therapy!

(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.*A = Love Jesus! Love animals & homesteading! Eat a proper human diet & drink WAY to much coffee!

(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community? *A = Found it years ago, looking for homemade feed info/ideas!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

I have chosen purebred Ameraucana for my cold hardy breed. They did splendidly during the first brutal winter we've seen here in a while.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Welcome! What part of Idaho did you recently move to? I've kept many different breeds in the central mountains of Idaho more than a few years back, we definitely had winter

 

[fldiver97]

Nice to have you here!
Only have one Ameracauna and she did well in Wisconsin. We’re in TN now and she handles all kinds of weather without issues. Also have Wyandottes, a couple of Easter Eggers, a Buckeye, Bielefelder, Swedish Flowerhen, Buff Orpington, black Australorps, Welsumer, Speckled Sussex. All did well in Wisconsin winter, large unheated coop. They came outside every day, when the weather was foul they at least spend time in their large roofed run (I put up heavy plastic sheets over the hardware cloth in winter leaving several inches under the roofline uncovered for good ventilation. They always had a snow free/pretty dry area that was shielded from wind and warmed up by sun.) They also came outside every to free range in the yard as long as I shoveled a path from the run to the back of the house if we had more than a few inches of snow on the ground

 

[VanillaSpice25]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

I have chosen purebred Ameraucana for my cold hardy breed. They did splendidly during the first brutal winter we've seen here in a while.
View attachment 4317830View attachment 4317831

WOW, they are gorgeous! TU & I will add them to my list! Did you order from an online hatchery? If so, which one?

 

[VanillaSpice25]

Welcome! What part of Idaho did you recently move to? I've kept many different breeds in the central mountains of Idaho more than a few years back, we definitely had winter

North Central Idaho! Do tell, what were your best breeds?!?!

 

[DobieLover]

WOW, they are gorgeous! TU & I will add them to my list! Did you order from an online hatchery? If so, which one?

They are from private breeder stock. But you can get hatchery quality at most online hatcheries.

 

[VanillaSpice25]

Nice to have you here!
Only have one Ameracauna and she did well in Wisconsin. We’re in TN now and she handles all kinds of weather without issues. Also have Wyandottes, a couple of Easter Eggers, a Buckeye, Bielefelder, Swedish Flowerhen, Buff Orpington, black Australorps, Welsumer, Speckled Sussex. All did well in Wisconsin winter, large unheated coop. They came outside every day, when the weather was foul they at least spend time in their large roofed run (I put up heavy plastic sheets over the hardware cloth in winter leaving several inches under the roofline uncovered for good ventilation. They always had a snow free/pretty dry area that was shielded from wind and warmed up by sun.) They also came outside every to free range in the yard as long as I shoveled a path from the run to the back of the house if we had more than a few inches of snow on the ground

AWESOME info, TU so much! Bielefelder & Swedish Flowerhen, I need to research these!!! We DO get snow (more than I m used to) so that's great to know you've keep these breeds in, what I am guessing, is colder temps than I will experience! ♥

 

[N F C]

Hello, thanks for joining us! Be sure your coop is well ventilated, that will help a flock deal with cold temps and cut down on the risk of frostbite.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

For your question about making your own feed, many of us had that idea and scratched it as we can never cost-effectively make a feed that is as complete as a commercial feed. Long-term issues could arise due to deficiencies. However, that said, there are a few that do make their own successfully. You could peruse or post in this forum to learn more or get answers: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/feeding-watering-your-flock.12/

We're glad you're here!