Hello! Moving to Plainfield, IL and excited to be able to keep chickens!

[C Siena]

Greetings & Salutations. Welcome Croquembouche.

Pleased you joined our community. A wonderful place to Learn and have Fun. I also became a member before chickens to learn.

 

[Debbie292d]

That does seem smarter... there's no reason to pick one to keep long-term right away, when we could wait until they grow up and their personalities develop and then see which one might be a keeper. Like, what if we were to get one hen of some fancy breed with big hopes of her being pet material, but she ended up being a total jerk who doesn't like humans?

The advise by those of us who know about silkies though, wasn't to let her have one. For the sake of the smaller, more vulnerable chickens, it's best to have at least three of those. Then you are down to five better layers. Silkies can keep up with the pace of laying like other breeds, until they're broody. I have one that's 3 that has never been broody, and another that laid an egg, and voila, instantly broody. We have a broody jail they go to, and 4-5 days later, it's like a miracle!

Their eggs are a bit smaller than regular too. So if you were into selling/giving away eggs, you may keep those back for your own use.

 

[Croquembouche]

The advise by those of us who know about silkies though, wasn't to let her have one. For the sake of the smaller, more vulnerable chickens, it's best to have at least three of those. Then you are down to five better layers. Silkies can keep up with the pace of laying like other breeds, until they're broody. I have one that's 3 that has never been broody, and another that laid an egg, and voila, instantly broody. We have a broody jail they go to, and 4-5 days later, it's like a miracle!

Their eggs are a bit smaller than regular too. So if you were into selling/giving away eggs, you may keep those back for your own use.

Yeah, I don't think silkies are on the table for us anymore. I hadn't done the same reading on them as I had about the breeds I was considering that I wanted, but now that I have and we've talked about it... At the very least we're not going to start with any. I don't want to stack the challenge of including smaller birds that might get picked on while I'm still just getting used to keeping my own chickens in the first place.

 

[Antiocheggers]

And Welcome to the best chicken group there is! And i'm going to put my two cents in here. My chosen breed of choice is the Brahmas. They are loving and like to cuddled. big mama ! Enjoy!

 

[Croquembouche]

And Welcome to the best chicken group there is! And i'm going to put my two cents in here. My chosen breed of choice is the Brahmas. They are loving and like to cuddled. big mama ! Enjoy! View attachment 4165845

Aww, she looks lovely! Brahmas are actually another breed that I was really looking into! Something chill and relatively quiet that I don't have to worry too much about the neighbors complaining. Also winters get cold where I live, and even though my town requires heating in the coop... I still want a cold-hardy breed so they can enjoy going outside for as much of the year as possible.

The big thing they have going against them for me is their size... If I want to get them I'd definitely need to make sure I have enough nesting area for 8 massive birds... That's a good thing about not planning to do any construction until next year though. Maybe I will change my mind as I keep doing research, and I have all winter to decide what exactly I want to commit to!

(Also, I've talked about what chickens my wife finds cute, but Brahmas are actually a breed that's particularly cute to me Love their fluffy pants!)

 

[Debbie292d]

Aww, she looks lovely! Brahmas are actually another breed that I was really looking into! Something chill and relatively quiet that I don't have to worry too much about the neighbors complaining. Also winters get cold where I live, and even though my town requires heating in the coop... I still want a cold-hardy breed so they can enjoy going outside for as much of the year as possible.

The big thing they have going against them for me is their size... If I want to get them I'd definitely need to make sure I have enough nesting area for 8 massive birds... That's a good thing about not planning to do any construction until next year though. Maybe I will change my mind as I keep doing research, and I have all winter to decide what exactly I want to commit to!

(Also, I've talked about what chickens my wife finds cute, but Brahmas are actually a breed that's particularly cute to me Love their fluffy pants!)

even though my town requires heating in the coop

Are you kidding me? Your town requires you to heat your coop? I have never heard of such a thing. Most breeds don't need heat but you'd get fined if you didn't? That's crazy! Who on earth are those people that put that in their ordinances?

P.S. You can put your location in your profile if you want. It helps if you're in forums asking questions about your chickens or coops, etc., if folks know if you're living in the Arctic or desert.

 

[Croquembouche]

Are you kidding me? Your town requires you to heat your coop? I have never heard of such a thing. Most breeds don't need heat but you'd get fined if you didn't? That's crazy! Who on earth are those people that put that in their ordinances?

P.S. You can put your location in your profile if you want. It helps if you're in forums asking questions about your chickens or coops, etc., if folks know if you're living in the Arctic or desert.

View attachment 4165897

Yeah, the local govt I'm dealing with is on the strict side (hence why I'm planning to work on the permit & construction processes next year to make sure it's all up to code, then actually get the chickens in 2027).

Quote the Plainfield, IL municipal code: "The shelter shall contain an independent electric/heat source. Such utilities shall not be maintained with the use of extension cords." And they require seeing a coop/run up to code on an inspection before you're allowed to have chickens at all. It is silly, but hey, if I MUST have a heater, I guess I can use it to keep the the water from freezing in the winter.

Thanks for the tip on location, I put that on my profile!

 

[Debbie292d]

Yeah, the local govt I'm dealing with is on the strict side (hence why I'm planning to work on the permit & construction processes next year to make sure it's all up to code, then actually get the chickens in 2027).

Quote the Plainfield, IL municipal code: "The shelter shall contain an independent electric/heat source. Such utilities shall not be maintained with the use of extension cords." And they require seeing a coop/run up to code on an inspection before you're allowed to have chickens at all. It is silly, but hey, if I MUST have a heater, I guess I can use it to keep the the water from freezing in the winter.

Thanks for the tip on location, I put that on my profile!

Oh, I don't read that as you need to heat your coop. I think it's more of a safety thing. It's just saying it has to contain an independent electric/heat source. They're describing how your heater and electricity have to be supplied to the coop independently and not via extension cords. If you don't have heat or electricity, then I wouldn't think that would be applicable to you. That's my take on it though. You could ask when you get inspected.

We heat our coops to 40F, so water won't freeze, nor will the frizzles. The coops are on their own breaker, thus maybe fulfilling "independent source"? So like you're not running your drier vent to the coop or something is my guess lol.

Hubby's an electrician so I could ask him what his take is.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Yeah, I would contact whoever is in charge of the permits for clarification about whether heating is required or if it's just that  if you plan to have heat or anything that runs on electricity you're required to have an independent source (ie not an extension cord). Requiring heating seems like an odd thing, but the people who write these ordinances don't always know anything about actual needs of chickens.

 

[Croquembouche]

I'll definitely ask when the time comes but I've been under the assumption that the heat source is a required thing- it's also listed as its own item on the "code requirements" section of the coop permit application, it's brought up in this article as a requirement. The one thing I'm missing is talking to someone who actually passed inspections and keeps chickens in the area, and/or someone who works directly with the inspection process. It's one of the specific things I really hope to eventually get in touch with a local about on this forum, to see how they deal with a couple things related to the ordinances I've been looking at!

(That all being said, I haven't actually moved yet. I'm waiting to ask some specific questions to the local inspectors once I'm actually on the property, could have them come over and see the site of the future coop if they need to, etc)