Hello! Excited to Learn.

[Hollysaurus]

Hello! New owners here of chickens, we have 4 and they're all named after trees. Maple, Aspen, Magnolia (Maggie) and Hazel!

We do also have Willow but she ended up being a he and he is now with my husbands mother in her flock of 15+, he's enjoying himself a lot!

Maple and Aspen are 3 months old, Magnolia and Hazel are about to turn 1 Month!

Excited to learn more about chickens, I've come across a few things while having them that I should of checked online before buying! Like sand! Who would of thought play sand that is great for children would be terrible for chickens?

But anyway, I'd appreciate any tips for summer, winter, best food, bedding. Anything to help spoil our already spoilt chickens.

I've attached some photos of my coop too. ^^ Keep in mind it's a work in progress, we moved it today it's why it's on concreate, we're planning to get something to put on the concreate! Just not sure what yet! Soil? River Sand? I made a post questioning it!

Edit: I had a few people mentioning the size of our coop, they are free range chickens and do not stay in the run, they run around our garden all day eating bugs and annoying our very large Emu named Gerry. (They like to sit on his back ) They only go into the coop to sleep or the run to eat/drink. Please let me know if this is still an issue!

 

[Tookie]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

 

[Kiki]

Welcome! Spoil them with a balanced diet. It does wonders for preventing illnesses.

 

[SilverBirds]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Enjoy your chooks!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
They need a MUCH bigger run than is what provided with that tiny coop.

 

[Hollysaurus]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
They need a MUCH bigger run than is what provided with that tiny coop.

Oh they're not in the run, they run around the back garden. They're only in the coop to sleep, and they pop into the run for food and water then they go running around the garden again. I hope this is ok!

 

[sourland]

Hello, and welcome to BYC. They will need a larger coop in the winter or if it is necessary to pen them up because of predation.

 

[Hollysaurus]

Hello, and welcome to BYC. They will need a larger coop in the winter or if it is necessary to pen them up because of predation.

We close the pen door at night, but we don't get any predators around our area. We still close the run and coop doors at night just incase! I hope this is ok. ^^

 

[Callender Girl]

Mine all appear to have too-small runs, too, but they spend most of the day outside -- socializing, foraging and pooping on the deck!

There's quite a learning curve to raising happy, healthy chickens, and I think most people have some regrets about their initial efforts. You can learn so much from this group -- often from our mistakes.

I protected my first girls from big predators and overhead predators, but left a coop open one night and a petite mink shimmied in through the livestock panel run and went on a killing spree. Hardware cloth is pricey, but it's worth the peace of mind. I had never seen a mink around here; had no idea they lived in this area. You likely have unseen predators, too, because just about everything in the world wants to eat your chickens.

It's great that you could responsibly rehome your rooster. I have one good boy, and one bad boy. Billy is such a jerk that I would feel awful pawning him off on someone else.

Welcome to BYC, where spoiling chickens is an admirable hobby!

 

[DobieLover]

but we don't get any predators around our area.

You undoubtedly have them. You just don't see them.