Good Morning (or afternoon/evening), I'm a brand new member and brand new to backyard chicken raising! I'm looking at a coop today (an awesome a-frame) so hopefully that'll work out, but if not it will be fun to build one as well I'm picking up my babies on Friday (They might be hatching as we speak!) I got 5, and since I have no bias of what breed may be my favorite I just got 5 different ones: Amercauna, silver-laced wyandotte, buff orpington, welsumer, and a jersey giant! I'm off the walls excited, specially now that I have my brooder all setup. it feels really real! A bit of background on me, I was born and raised here in fort collins, Love Colorado and all the seasons. As the years go by I'm becoming more and more environmentally conscious. I bike whenever I can (occasionally I'm the crazy one biking in the middle of a snow storm), and have a dream for my perfect tiny farm on 5 acres with a big aquaponics greenhouse (with trout!), chickens, and alpacas, of course my dog...maybe bunnies we'll see. Basically my ideals are all my pets will earn their keep (maybe not the dog...she's a bit hopeless, but just oh so cute). With that said, I want to thank you for having such an amazing source of information and opinions, I can tell this is a really great caring community. I welcome any tips and tricks, specifically about alternative feeding. I'm starting my chicks on chick starter (and probably grower as well), but I really do want them to be great foragers and have a diet that is sustainable and can hopefully be grown by me (I'm thinking duck weed/bugs in the yard/ maybe vermicomposting worms) and I would love some insight into how possible that is, plus I'm not going to have super spoiled chickens I want ones that will eat the bitter weeds because that's what they are used to and want (does that sound horrible? I want them exceptionally cared for, but also clear out my overgrown garden... I WANT IT ALLL!! BWHAHAHAHAHA). Also want to point out that my chickens won't be free range (unless under direct supervision), but will have new access to parts of the yard (bout a 1/2 acre) on a daily basis by use of a large portable run, that I've yet to build . Hopefully that makes sense. Anyway I'll leave it at that. And look forward to posting many a picture of the cuties in the near future. Take Care, -yg
Nothings more valuable than BYC in an emergency, or when you have a question, or even when you're just bored. Be really careful chickens are worse than most drugs when it comes to addiction! I have a small A frame coop for my bantams and a larger barn style for my LF chickens. Both work fine I recommend finding one online they can be hundreds cheaper for the same exact coop. If you decide to build there are a million designs here on BYC. Good luck with your flock and WELCOME to our world lol!
Welcome to BYC! I love Ft. Collins, been there many times (my family is primarily in CO and WY). There are quite a few CO members here, so go say hi to them: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/68894/colorado Looking forward to seeing photos of your birds. Nice to have you join us and if you have questions, feel free to ask!
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help! Wow Fort Collins!? I grew up and lived there for 7 years. Now we live in Estes Park. I'm in Fort Collins about once a week though. That is so cool!
Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined our "flock". I hope you enjoy your new chicks! If you want to learn about different ways to feed chickens or how to teach them to forage well, I suggest posting in the Feeding and Watering section: Feeding & Watering Your Flock