Hello from SC

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Tessynae

Tessynae

Hatching
7 Years
Aug 28, 2012
2
0
7
Midlands, SC
Hello,
I'm a new member. :) My husband and I live in Midlands SC. We are looking for property and hoping to have ourselves a homestead in the next year or so, but in the meantime we are wanting to start out with a handfull (3-5) chickens in our backyard. Any wisdom that any of you would be willing to share would be greatly appreciated. I have a few questions off the top of my head.

1) How much food would 3-5 laying hens need in a day/week/month?

2) How often will I need to clean the coop out to keep it from stinking?

3) Is the coop going to stink even if I keep it well cleaned out?



I'm sure there are other questions that I have not thought of yet. :) Feel free to answer questions I have not asked if you feel it is something I should know.

Can't wait for chickens! :)

Tessynae
 
Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan
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There are several possible answers to your questions. Try the Learning center above, you will find many good links there.
 
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Keeping the coop clean and dry does help on odors. As to how much they eat can really vary as to breed, temperature and so forth.
 
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from California! I buy 50 lb bags of food and put it in a Rubbermaid container to keep out bugs/rodents. For my 4 girls I believe it lasts a month or more. I put pine shavings on the dirt floor of my coop and rake them out when they get dirty. I agree with the above posters regarding the Learning center. Good luck!
 
Greetings from Kansas, Tessynae, and
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! I agree with regards to going to the Learning Center - you can get tons of info there. In terms of the coop stinking...some people only clean the coop a time or two a year - it is recommended that you have down a good base of material - straw, hay, pine shaving - and turn it occasionally so it doesn't ferment and really start to smell! Also, providing some ventilation is always a good idea. Best of luck to you!!
 
Hello and welcome to BYC
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Glad you joined us!
 
Howdy Tessynae, The advice I always give anyone new to keeping chickens is this: No matter what your decision is concerning a type of chicken coop and run area is always make sure to keep it clean and dry! This will greatly cut down on bacteria and mold growing which can be divesting to a flock. Ventilation and cleanliness is a necessity for good flock management.

As far as smell goes? Well, all live stock does smell. That's just a fact of life. But then again, livestock probably think we humans smell bad.
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