I'll use the suggested template, so I don't forget anything. (1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens? I've never had chickens, but after my recent move decided it was finally time. I've always loved it when I saw people who had chickens loose in their yards, and now I've also decided that I want the fresh eggs for my son and me. (2) How many chickens do you have right now? I still don't have any, but this morning I started trying to build a coop in anticipation of getting a small flock. (3) What breeds do you have? (4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com? I've been doing some Google searches for info since I decided to get some chickens, and it was also suggested by someone on another board where I asked about raising chickens. (5) What are some of your other hobbies? I love to target shoot, and am also into hunting. My favorite is deer hunting, but I also sometimes hunt doves, turkeys, ducks, geese, and pheasant. I don't usually hunt predators much, but when I get the opportunity at a coyote or bobcat I take it. I'm also into watching Monster Trucks. I grew up in the suburbs South of St. Louis, and was able to watch the progress as the original one (Bigfoot) was being built. I got to sit in Bigfoot II, many years ago, and my son got to sit in Bigfoot #1 in 2009. They just finished building Bigfoot #18 last month, but I haven't seen it in person yet because I moved two hours further away. (6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share. My son and I live a few miles outside a small town (population 758), and about 10 miles from my daughter, sil and five grand kids. I became a widower in 2008, and moved to get away from the memories in the old house, and chose this area to be near family. My son goes to school with the three oldest grand kids, so that helped his transition. The only pets I have right now are a couple Black Rat Snakes (one about 4' long, and the other just over 6'), but I'd like to get some tropical fish too. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've already been reading several threads on the forum here, trying to learn what I could, and have found lots of interesting stuff already. I'm mostly looking at coop designs right now, but also the various the types of chickens. The main thing I know so far is that I want hens that lay brown eggs, and I'm also thinking about Guinea hens just because I think they're cool looking. So, hello everyone. Oh, I was having trouble joining, so I used the Feedback form and asked for help. The Mod asked about what browser I was using, so I tried a different one and got right in. (FireFox didn't show the captcha, but Google Chrome did). I appreciate the help.
Welcome, I'm north St. Louis county and a couple years older than you. Building the coop first is a smart move cause chicks grow so fast. I like to brood them in the coop to keep the dust out of the house (not to mention my wife would kill me before the dust did). A bit of advice for the coop is maximize ventilation, bad air and heat kills chickens fast and as long as you don't have fragile breeds, Missouri cold won't hurt them. After that build twice as big as you think you need, you WILL get more chickens and even if you don't, there's no such thing as too much space. keep nests below roosts or they'll sleep and poop in the boxes. Build strong and tight, the only real reason to have a coop is to prevent predation and keep the rain off. Consider going to the Missouri Organic Trade Show at Union Station Feb 2-4. Lots of stuff on gardening, chickens, bees and other livestock. Good luck
