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Hello from UT, USA

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eliza801 said:
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I'm a new back yard chicken keeper! I only bought some two day old chicks two weeks ago.

(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
I have 6 chicks in a make-shift brooder in my home office. Temperatures where I live are still very cold (34 degrees right now at 10 am!), and it's snowing today. Best winter Utah has seen in over 20 years!! I have a coop that I bought at CAL-Ranch, but I still need to seal the wood and build the thing.

(3) What breeds do you have?
I have a variety of chicks and they all appear to be doing great so far. They are two weeks old. I have a Midnight Majesty Maran (Ouiser), a Smokey Pearl (Clairee), a Welsummer (M'Lynn), a Sapphire Gem (Annelle), a Rhode Island Red (Truvy), and a Cinnamon Queen (Shelby). I love my little lady birds so much already!! I'm not looking forward to their short life-spans (especially Shelby's), but I am determined to love them and give them the best home possible while I have them. :)

(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
I'm still so new to this that it's hard to say, but I'm enjoying getting to know their different personalities and I love the cute chirping noises they make all day while I'm working (their brooder is in my office). I'm really looking forward to their delicious and nutritious eggs!

(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
I enjoy time with family, gardening, girl-scouting, service work, cooking, baking, and anything outdoors - especially camping! We just got a Traeger, so looking forward to learning how to smoke meat.

(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I am in the technology field with formal education in both business and technology. I am married to an amazingly supportive and good man! We have 3 daughters, and a dog and a cat (both indoor pets).

(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community? :D
I found your Facebook page first! I joined that and then saw there was an associated site, so I hopped over. Happy to join a community of folks at every experience level so that I can learn with and from all of you! :)
Click to expand...
Welcome to BYC!!
 
Glad to meet you, and welcome to BYC. Best wishes with your Steel Magnolias flock! (I would not have figured it out if not for DobieLover!) I second her comment about pre-fab coops. I was foolish enough to purchase one and put it together before I discovered that it was way too small for even my 4 hens! It sits unused and ignored in the middle of my chickens' pen.

Here are my favorite beginning articles that helped me as a newbie. All articles are short, have illustrations, and reviews, which are often worth looking at for the comments.

1. Intro to chicken keeping

2. Common mistakes & how to fix them

3. Ventilation (important to chicken health), with helpful links to coop designs organized by climate (because what is just right for my New England hens won't work for my brother's Arizona chickens)

3(a). Farmers Almanac on Building Coops (Includes size requirements!) Allowing plenty of space for chickens is really important because, even as chicks, they will start pecking each other or plucking their own feathers, or become unhealthy if they are overcrowded. Here is a link to Colorado State Extension's publication on space and temperature requirements for chicks as they age.

4. Predator protection for new & existing coops

5. Dealing with a muddy coop and run

6. Picking the Right Breed of Chicken

To look for articles on your own:

A. Use the SEARCH button, but use the Advanced Search choice, and select ARTICLES at the top of the box. Just enter your keyword(s) and scroll through your results!

B. I find it helpful to notice the rating and reviews. All articles are by BYC members, and all the reviews/ratings are as well. The ratings help a newbie like me sort the most useful and reliable articles.

C. You can bookmark the articles or posts you think you want to refer to again using that bookmark icon at the top of articles or posts. You can find them again by clicking on your own avatar and looking at the list of bookmarks you have built up!

Notes about where to put a coop:

1. As far as you can, put a coop and run on high ground, that drains well, so you won't have so much muddy coop problems. Chickens need to be dry, dry, dry.

2. As far as you can, put a coop with the ventilation lined up with your prevailing breezes, and away from the direction of your storms. If you are not sure of these (who is these days?), check with your local National Weather Service website.

3. As far as you can, arrange for some sort of shade over your coop and run. Preferably deciduous so the girls will enjoy winter sun, but summer shade.
 
And just to make sure you keep your chickens healthy and happy, here is a list of articles and posts about chicken illnesses, cures and first aid kits:

BYC Lists of Chicken Ailments and Cures

Here are some more articles:

1. Chicken ailments (an aging index to articles written over the years about chicken illnesses. Be aware that some of the links dont work and some of the authors have disappeared from BYC. The date of the index is 2012! Nothing else as comprehensive) and this updated

Chicken Illnesses Library

1 a. Treating Sour Crop and Impacted Crop and How to Tell the Difference and Prevention and Treatments of Crop Disorders

1 b. Chicken Poop

1 c. What to expect as your hen passes away from old age

1 d. Vaccinating chicks for Mareks Disease

2. Chicken First Aid Kit (again, an older article, but a good one; there have been a number of more recent posts discussing this here and here, for instance)

3. Things I wish I knew before I got my first chick (covers chicks to old age)

4. Maintaining a healthy coop (with lots of links)

5. Natural healing (there are items in this article that some members may disagree with, notably the use of diatomaceous earth)

Best wishes from New England!
 

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