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Hello and welcome to BYC - thanks for joining us.

Here’s a link to the Articles section - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ There you’ll find lots of information on almost every aspect of keeping chickens - from coop building ideas, to incubating eggs.

There’s a link on the page above to the Learning Centre - it’s a great resource. If you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.

Each week, various topics are discussed, which can also be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive


You may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - Find Your State Thread


Best wishes

Pork Pie
 
Welcome. Kudos to you for starting your thread with your location! That is pertinent information for any one to have if they are to give you any advice regarding your flock management! What works for me here in Maine may not work for folks in Texas! If you've not already done so, you can put your state in your profile so it will follow you with all of your posts. Totally optional.

Check out Henderson's chicken breeds chart. Look for breeds that are reported to do well with confinement, be non aggressive, and docile. I consider that small combed birds excel in cold weather, and large combed birds excel in warmer climates. Some folks love the feathered feet, but I hate them b/c of their issues with tracking snow, mud, ice into the nest boxes, occasional broken/bleeding feather shafts.

My favorite breeds are Dominique, Easter Egger/Ameraucana, Buck Eye, Plymouth Barred Rock, Black Australorpe. I avoid the production birds, and the commercial sex linked birds because of their tendency to lay prolifically for a season or two, then succumb to reproductive tract disease.

Coop: Avoid the prefab/doll house coops they are falsely advertised, over priced, and designed by people who don't know the needs of a chicken! Plan on a minimum of 4 s.f. open floor space in coop per bird, 10% of floor space or 1 s.f./bird of ventilation in coop, lots of natural lighting, perches 2 - 3' above floor, 12 - 15" away from back wall, with plenty of room for the birds to jump down without doing a face plant on the wall in front of them. (Chickens are clumsy!) At least 18" above roost, nest box below roost level.

As you plan forward, other things to look at: Predator proofing coop and run, Deep litter management, Raising chicks with a Mother Heating Pad cave style brooder.
 
Last edited:
lazy gardener said:
Welcome. Kudos to you for starting your thread with your location! That is pertinent information for any one to have if they are to give you any advice regarding your flock management! What works for me here in Maine may not work for folks in Texas! If you've not already done so, you can put your state in your profile so it will follow you with all of your posts. Totally optional.

Check out Henderson's chicken breeds chart. Look for breeds that are reported to do well with confinement, be non aggressive, and docile. I consider that small combed birds excel in cold weather, and large combed birds excel in warmer climates. Some folks love the feathered feet, but I hate them b/c of their issues with tracking snow, mud, ice into the nest boxes, occasional broken/bleeding feather shafts.

My favorite breeds are Dominique, Easter Egger/Ameraucana, Buck Eye, Plymouth Barred Rock, Black Australorpe. I avoid the production birds, and the commercial sex linked birds because of their tendency to lay prolifically for a season or two, then succumb to reproductive tract disease.

Coop: Avoid the prefab/doll house coops they are falsely advertised, over priced, and designed by people who don't know the needs of a chicken! Plan on a minimum of 4 s.f. open floor space in coop per bird, 10% of floor space or 1 s.f./bird of ventilation in coop, lots of natural lighting, perches 2 - 3' above floor, 12 - 15" away from back wall, with plenty of room for the birds to jump down without doing a face plant on the wall in front of them. (Chickens are clumsy!) At least 18" above roost, nest box below roost level.

As you plan forward, other things to look at: Predator proofing coop and run, Deep litter management, Raising chicks with a Mother Heating Pad cave style brooder.
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