Hello from central Florida

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booth2010

Songster
May 25, 2018
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DeLand, FL
Good afternoon all, I am still in the planning stages of everything but I figured I would join so that I can get answer and tips along the way. I plan on building the coop found at barngeek.com its 4x6 and says it can house 8 chickens. The chickens will have a fenced in area of about 400sqft to roam during the day when I am not home and I will let them roam the yard, 1.25 acres, when I am home.

(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens? - I am new to chickens, my main reason for wanting to keep chickens is for the eggs and it will be something that my son and I can do together.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now? - I do not have any chickens yet, I am still in the planning stage of the coop. It will probably be early next year before I am ready to get them. The plan is to have 6-8 though. I am not sure yet, the county code allows me to have 6 but I am far enough out that they should never know I have more.
(3) What breeds do you have? - I have narrowed down the breeds I am interested in, I haven't decided if I want a couple of each or if I will go all one breed. I know one of the breeds I am looking at shouldn't be kept with others so I'm on the fence with that still. The breeds I am considering are: Barred Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire Red, Golden Comet, Speckled Sussex or Australorp (I read this breed shouldn't be mixed with other breeds).
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com? - I stumbled upon BackYardChickens.com by googling a few questions and I always found an answer on a thread on this site.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies? - My hobbies include carpentry, video games, anything with my son, and aquariums.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share. - I really want to get my son involved, he's 2 now so not too much he can do, but I know he will love to have the chickens at the house. My wife probably wont help any but we will see. I do have 2 cats that are indoor/outdoor but they are so timid I cant see them messing with the chickens, but if they do I can easily build an enclosed run for the chickens. My main concern is my 3 dogs, I want to let the chickens roam the yard when I am home but I am not sure how the dogs will react. They are large dogs but I hope once they get to know the chickens it wont be an issue. I am planning on having the dogs around the chicks from day 1 so they will not be so alarmed when they see them fully grown in the yard. I guess it will be a learning experience for everyone.
 
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https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/florida-always-sunny-side-up.305793/
 
Welcome! :frow
Sounds like good breeds you are looking into! Although, I have never heard not to mix australorps in a flock (but I'm still only 3 years into the world of chickens!) and have had them mixed into my flock from the get go with no issues!
As far as the dogs, it definitely depends on both the breed and the specific dog, but I have found (from various friends' experiences) that dogs will be good with them until suddenly they are not! And unfortunately, dogs can be lethal very quickly. I would definitely test them through a fence first. I know that my dogs would not be good with the chickens so they are never together.
Good luck and have fun!:ya
 
Thanks everyone.

SMorrison, it was just one site that I saw that the Australorps tend to bully other breeds. I haven't looked into much and just read that today so it very well may just depend on the individual. Ill will definitely be looking into it more before I purchase. As for the dogs yea it'll be interesting for sure, I have a shepherd mix and 2 full pits but none of them show aggression towards the cats or anything like that. I can always just let the chicken roam the yard for 3-4 hours a day in between the dogs being out and have them in their secured 400sqft area for the remainder of the day. It really just weekends I have to worry about but at some point I would love to be able to let the roam the full yard all day. Only issue with that now is that the perimeter fence is only 5' tall. I will be clipping their wings.
 
booth2010 said:
Thanks everyone.

SMorrison, it was just one site that I saw that the Australorps tend to bully other breeds. I haven't looked into much and just read that today so it very well may just depend on the individual. Ill will definitely be looking into it more before I purchase. As for the dogs yea it'll be interesting for sure, I have a shepherd mix and 2 full pits but none of them show aggression towards the cats or anything like that. I can always just let the chicken roam the yard for 3-4 hours a day in between the dogs being out and have them in their secured 400sqft area for the remainder of the day. It really just weekends I have to worry about but at some point I would love to be able to let the roam the full yard all day. Only issue with that now is that the perimeter fence is only 5' tall. I will be clipping their wings.
Click to expand...
Yes, the australorps (and my buff orpingtons) do tend to stay and the top of the pecking order, but no mean behavior! Hopefully if you get some, it will be the same way for you :)
Does the shepherd mix show any herding drive of any sort? My half lab, half pit/shepherd mix has no prey drive towards cats but he gets wound up about the chickens through a fence...that being said, he was raised with a cat, but no birds.
Clipping wings should do it with a 5 foot fence! It also depends on the breed for wandering though...some breeds are bigger "homebodies" than others.
If you remember, will you update me on the dogs? I'm always curious to hear experiences with introducing chickens of dogs! I hope they all work out together! I do have a friend who free ranges her dogs and chickens together and they do well!
 

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