Flowerfamily
Chirping
- Mar 23, 2022
- 11
- 31
- 56
Hello from the new england area of the US! We are first-time chickeneers trying to navigate our way through all the... feathers? Very excited to get started on our chicken journey, and to join this chicken club!
We are a small family of two working professionals, with a kid, and an in-law, living in a small, rural town. We have 2 Boston terriers and a cat. We have been gardening and enjoying the fruits of our labor (literally) for the past couple of years, and are deciding to add 6 chickens to our little family, which we have been contemplating for a while.
Our 6 little chickies (2 Australorps, 2 Barred Rocks, and 2 Easter Eggers) are due to arrive sometime in April or May. In the meantime, as you can imagine, we are busy building, planning, researching, and learning anything and everything about having chickens. We have decided to build our coop ourselves as we have a variety of ideas we want to incorporate into our coop.
The raising chickens 101 page was a great resource. It's like an encyclopedia of chicken-raising. So far, I have a couple of questions...
1. Where can I purchase the most complete chicken brooder kit for the 6 incoming chickies? So far I see lots of kits on the market with very poor ratings. Is this one of those things I really just need to purchase separately and forgo the convenience of a "kit"? The biggest concerns are safety and cleanliness. I want a kit that will include not only a heat lamp but something to hold the lamp (to reduce the likelihood of a fire), and preferably something that would be easy to keep clean (ie plastic sides opposed to cardboard which is porous and harbors germs). For those kits that don't come with bottoms, what can you use for the bottom? This brooder will most likely be indoors at least in the beginning due to cold weather.
2. DE. Yay or nay? When I research the DLM, half of the results are chicken owners who swears by adding DE to the mix, while the other half of the results are chicken owners who swear AGAINST adding it. I'm confused. Is it good or is it bad? Why?
That's all for now. Back to my chicken research!
We are a small family of two working professionals, with a kid, and an in-law, living in a small, rural town. We have 2 Boston terriers and a cat. We have been gardening and enjoying the fruits of our labor (literally) for the past couple of years, and are deciding to add 6 chickens to our little family, which we have been contemplating for a while.
Our 6 little chickies (2 Australorps, 2 Barred Rocks, and 2 Easter Eggers) are due to arrive sometime in April or May. In the meantime, as you can imagine, we are busy building, planning, researching, and learning anything and everything about having chickens. We have decided to build our coop ourselves as we have a variety of ideas we want to incorporate into our coop.
The raising chickens 101 page was a great resource. It's like an encyclopedia of chicken-raising. So far, I have a couple of questions...
1. Where can I purchase the most complete chicken brooder kit for the 6 incoming chickies? So far I see lots of kits on the market with very poor ratings. Is this one of those things I really just need to purchase separately and forgo the convenience of a "kit"? The biggest concerns are safety and cleanliness. I want a kit that will include not only a heat lamp but something to hold the lamp (to reduce the likelihood of a fire), and preferably something that would be easy to keep clean (ie plastic sides opposed to cardboard which is porous and harbors germs). For those kits that don't come with bottoms, what can you use for the bottom? This brooder will most likely be indoors at least in the beginning due to cold weather.
2. DE. Yay or nay? When I research the DLM, half of the results are chicken owners who swears by adding DE to the mix, while the other half of the results are chicken owners who swear AGAINST adding it. I'm confused. Is it good or is it bad? Why?
That's all for now. Back to my chicken research!
Glad you joined.
