Hello to BYC!

[steiggy]

Hi everyone!

I have been a 'lurker' on BYC since July, and have finally decided to join this wonderful community!

I have been trying to talk my husband into getting a few hens for over a year, and well...I was finally successful! So now it is my mission to arm myself with as much knowledge as possible before we embark on our 'chicken journey' this spring!

We live on 40 acres in the country, but we are thinking of starting out with just a couple hens to see how it goes. I have been looking into breeds and have fallen in love with Orpingtons since it seems to be a universal consensus that they have a sweet nature (we want decent layers with a gentle personality). We have been looking at different coops on amazon and trying to decide of we want a kit to start out with or of building would be a better idea.

I live in northern Wisconsin and would love to hear from anyone on similar climates for advice on wintering their chickens (that is my one worry, it gets so cold here!).

I'm looking forward to learning much from you all here at BYC!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome!!

 

[AK Baha]

 

[sumi]

Welcome to BYC

Glad you joined us! Orpingtons are lovely, good choice! Coop wise, do have a look around the Coops section, we have some lovely designs there and some are quite affordable to construct. There are quite a few discussions on winter and chickens here on site. Here's a current, ongoing one, that you are welcome to join in: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/822765/winter-is-coming-checklists-tips-advice-for-a-newbie Enjoy the site!

 

[write2caroline]

I had buff orps which were so snuggly cuddly and this time I ordered blue orpingtons.
The little grey chicks are the Orpingtons. I hope they are as nice as the buff ones I once had. Be careful. Chickens are like potato chips and two can quickly turn into two more...twenty more because you can't have just one!!!! We call it chicken math.
They are fun and I get a lot of joy from watching them. I love speckled sussex chickens too! And australopes.....yes I am a sucker for chicken math!!!!

Glad you joined us
Caroline

 

[MsChickenMomma]

Glad to have you join us! Good choice with the Orpingtons! I have 5 of them and I absolutely love them. They are great layers and very friendly.

 

[drumstick diva]

Have you checked out the coop section -usually it's better to build your own so you get the features you want. Chickens tolerate cold much better than heat. If they have a solid draft free coop with sufficient ventilation and good bedding they should be able to produce enough body heat to keep themselves warm.

 

[Teri Metcalf]

Greetings from College Station, Texas, which is a whole lot different climate than northern Wisconsin. I have a son who lives in Spooner, and he would like to have chickens at some point. So I will be pointing him in the direction of BYC when he gets closer.

 

[liz9910]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[micah O]