Hello BYC Community,
My name is Shyley and I am a new member of BYC. I am thrilled to have found you all. At present I do not have any chickens, but they are certainly in my future. Also at the present time, my boyfriend (Dave) and I are in the process of buying a home together. It's a very exciting prospect. We are hoping to move to our new home June 1st. Just in case buying a new home is not enough, his eldest son (a lovely young man) is getting married on June 2nd and youngest son will be graduating from High School June 8th. Let the STRESS FEST begin!!!
With that said, I decided to join BYC as a preemptive move for the health and safety of my future flock. I can truly say, BYC has been an endless source of information. You all have given me great confidence that I can raise a happy and healthy flock.
I am beginning a thread now because I thought it would be fun to share our upcoming adventure with the BYC community. I have truly enjoyed perusing so many threads of people sharing their progress and accomplishments. I thought it would be fun to share ours from "scratch". (it's kind of punny? No?)
So here goes....The home we are buying is on 10 acres and is set about 600' from the road. The majority of the property is wooded with lots of scrub and brush. My understanding is that chickens will really like this. There are a few areas that have been cleared. Off the front of the house is a small grassy area. Off to the side, as you come up the driveway, there is another larger grassy area. At one end of this area is the stagnant remains of a smallish irrigation pond. At the other end of the same area is a lovely little babbling brook. The neglect of the current residence has resulted in both the stagnation of the pond and the brook becoming overgrown with brush and scrub. Nevertheless, I look forward to developing this area into my vegetable garden and chicken coop area. Below are some pictures to give you some idea of what I am describing.
Here is our house-to-be:
Next is an image of the small front yard:
Here are images of the side yard, pond and brook:
The stagnant pond:
The lovely little babbling brook:
So, now that you have some images to lead with, you have a better understanding of what I am up against. Keep in mind, these pictures were taken in late February, early March (in New England after an unusually warm winter). We took a ride to the house the other day and nothing has been mowed and the vines and trees are starting to overtake the drive and cleared areas. I just can't wait to get my hands on this place before it gets any worse.
When we went to see the house at the beginning of April, we walked through the grassy areas and followed a small trail along the brook.
When I returned to the driveway I was pulling ticks off of my shoes and pant legs. GREAT! Step numero uno? Call Sister and ask her to include us in her order for Guinea Fowl. I don't know about other areas of the country, but New England has had an unusually warm winter. Now the tick population is OUT-OF-CONTROL! After reading through BYC and talking with some friends and family, Guinea Fowl seemed like the most logical response to rid the property of this scourge. Fortunately for me, my Sister has a small farm and has been kind enough to brood the Guineas for us. From what I have been reading, they won't be much help for some time.
The Guinea will arrive as day old keets sometime in May. By the time they are done brooding, then being trained to say on the property, it should be about late August. Well, I wish I could have started sooner, but the time line is what it is. As they say, "Better late than never". Definitely way better than using pesticides.
I have to admit, I am a bit nervous about starting with Guinea. From what I've heard and read, they are not the most pleasant creatures to roam the grounds. Maybe for a newbie they are a good start though.
At present the world is filled with lots of excitement and enthusiasm. That will soon be replaced with cleaning, painting and moving. And that will be replaced with exhaustion. It will all be worth it in the end and I truly look forward to sharing the journey of our little homemade farm with all of you.
Goodnight all!
My name is Shyley and I am a new member of BYC. I am thrilled to have found you all. At present I do not have any chickens, but they are certainly in my future. Also at the present time, my boyfriend (Dave) and I are in the process of buying a home together. It's a very exciting prospect. We are hoping to move to our new home June 1st. Just in case buying a new home is not enough, his eldest son (a lovely young man) is getting married on June 2nd and youngest son will be graduating from High School June 8th. Let the STRESS FEST begin!!!
With that said, I decided to join BYC as a preemptive move for the health and safety of my future flock. I can truly say, BYC has been an endless source of information. You all have given me great confidence that I can raise a happy and healthy flock.
I am beginning a thread now because I thought it would be fun to share our upcoming adventure with the BYC community. I have truly enjoyed perusing so many threads of people sharing their progress and accomplishments. I thought it would be fun to share ours from "scratch". (it's kind of punny? No?)
So here goes....The home we are buying is on 10 acres and is set about 600' from the road. The majority of the property is wooded with lots of scrub and brush. My understanding is that chickens will really like this. There are a few areas that have been cleared. Off the front of the house is a small grassy area. Off to the side, as you come up the driveway, there is another larger grassy area. At one end of this area is the stagnant remains of a smallish irrigation pond. At the other end of the same area is a lovely little babbling brook. The neglect of the current residence has resulted in both the stagnation of the pond and the brook becoming overgrown with brush and scrub. Nevertheless, I look forward to developing this area into my vegetable garden and chicken coop area. Below are some pictures to give you some idea of what I am describing.
Here is our house-to-be:
Next is an image of the small front yard:
Here are images of the side yard, pond and brook:
The stagnant pond:
The lovely little babbling brook:
So, now that you have some images to lead with, you have a better understanding of what I am up against. Keep in mind, these pictures were taken in late February, early March (in New England after an unusually warm winter). We took a ride to the house the other day and nothing has been mowed and the vines and trees are starting to overtake the drive and cleared areas. I just can't wait to get my hands on this place before it gets any worse.
When we went to see the house at the beginning of April, we walked through the grassy areas and followed a small trail along the brook.
When I returned to the driveway I was pulling ticks off of my shoes and pant legs. GREAT! Step numero uno? Call Sister and ask her to include us in her order for Guinea Fowl. I don't know about other areas of the country, but New England has had an unusually warm winter. Now the tick population is OUT-OF-CONTROL! After reading through BYC and talking with some friends and family, Guinea Fowl seemed like the most logical response to rid the property of this scourge. Fortunately for me, my Sister has a small farm and has been kind enough to brood the Guineas for us. From what I have been reading, they won't be much help for some time.
The Guinea will arrive as day old keets sometime in May. By the time they are done brooding, then being trained to say on the property, it should be about late August. Well, I wish I could have started sooner, but the time line is what it is. As they say, "Better late than never". Definitely way better than using pesticides.
I have to admit, I am a bit nervous about starting with Guinea. From what I've heard and read, they are not the most pleasant creatures to roam the grounds. Maybe for a newbie they are a good start though.
At present the world is filled with lots of excitement and enthusiasm. That will soon be replaced with cleaning, painting and moving. And that will be replaced with exhaustion. It will all be worth it in the end and I truly look forward to sharing the journey of our little homemade farm with all of you.
Goodnight all!
I'm sure your chickens will love it, they like having a lot of scrub and plants to forage among. 
