Just joined last night. We have been talking about getting 5 or 6 laying chickens for a few years now, but want to be sure we know what we're taking on. We don't want to take on the responsibility of welcoming new animals to our home unless we can provide everything they need to be happy and healthy. We are leaning towards a coop w/ run that we can move about the yard. I've already learned a lot from BYC and look forward to learning more. Will this be the year we do it? Just wanted to stop by and say Hi. Pwog
Hello Pwog and welcome from Ohio. You all sound like me....I really obsessed and researched for almost three years before I just took the plunge and bought my first chickens. Take care and glad you joined, Sharon
Welcome....BYC is a great place to find the info your looking for. I'm a new egg too and find myself logging in when ever I have a question or am in doubt. You said you've been wanting to get some chicks for quite some time. My advice......Just do it! I have 12 (11- hens and 1 rooster). They are pretty easy to manage and it's sounds like you've done your work so do it! You'll enjoy every minute of them. I let mine free range for the first time last night and it was quite entertaining watching them. Good luck and go get your chicks.
Quote:OMG, LOTS of pointers..One helpful thing for me was to get catalogs from hatcheries. I like the Meyer Hatchery catalog because it lists breeds, and shows a pic, and then it lists cold and heat tolerance, egg color and size, egg production rate, personalities, and weights. All those are things you want to consider for your laying flock. I personally like to have your classic Barred Rock. They are beautiful, and my BR lays a nice big brown egg nearly every day. I also like the Golden Buff. I started with three of those. They lay a nice large brown egg daily as well (they rarely miss a day), and they are a smaller hen (about 4 lbs), so they eat less food. And as far as your coop size goes, I would advise that you build it twice the size you think you want, because once that chicken bug bites you....you become seriously addicted! LOL Maine probably gets a pretty cold winter, so you would want chickens that can tolerate cold winters. I think you will just love having a small flock. I started with three little hens in a 6x6 A-frame style coop, and now I've got an 8x12 hen house too, and I have 23 chickens.......I will downsize before winter, but I incubated and hatched this spring, and it was alot of fun.... Good luck, go ahead and take the plunge! Just do it!
