Hi! ...A new member in Maine

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Good luck with your poultry raising adventures, and I hope you find everything you need to know. Don't forget to take a look at BYC's very useful learning center (If you haven't already)! The learning center as well as the forum should answer your questions! There is always something new to learn! Glad to have you here! See you around with the flock.
 
Yep- I figured today would be a pretty good day to browse the site. We're getting lots of rain via Arthur, so I'm kinda stuck inside anyway.

I have a few links left from the welcome message (tons of good info in there!), and I've peeked in the learning center, but I keep getting distracted by the coop, breed, and gallery pics!

I think I'll plop the boys down with their giant bag of legos, grab a big cup of coffee and immerse myself in chickens, LOL
 
The wind has died down a bit...or at least changed directions but it was pouring/gusting all night.

It's a great day for stomping in mud!! Followed by some soup, aka: "a hug in a mug"!
 
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As I continue to work my way through the 'required reading' in the welcome message, I have to say...

The My ABCs of BYC is just awesome.

I'm not sure I would have discovered chicken math without it, LOL.
 
Your avatar is distracting me badly. I keep thinking it's Bill talking. Trying to put that aside, I think it would be nice to have a couple layers and maybe a kid friendly breed or two like Buff orps, or Cochins aside from the meaties. It would be nice if your kids learned every chicken isn't meant for the table.
 
I'd like to get layers as well.

The reason I thought starting with meat birds might be a good idea is that my wife has never done anything like this before.

-if she finds she just really dislikes raising chickens, it's a much shorter commitment.
-if she finds she does like chickens but can't butcher them, we can switch to a flock of layers next year.
-if (my ideal) she likes chickens, likes knowing where her meat comes from, and enjoys fresh eggs and enjoys the work involved in both, we'll keep a laying flock year round and add some meat birds year round

If we get layers, I'll end up building a nice, semi permanent coop for them. It will take time and be more expensive, but once I know the whole family is on board, I'll make whatever investment is needed to make this an easy and satisfying part of our lives, and a good home for the flock.

But by starting with meat birds, I think I can just build one (or more) of the mobile cattle panel type hoop house for them. A smaller investment of both time and money in housing for them, and if we decide this isn't for us, I can easily repurpose those hoop style coops into small greenhouses over some of the beds I'm building now.

I considered starting with a small flock of layers. My main concern is that if it doesn't work out... Well, we've taken responsibility for these birds. I suppose I could butcher them as well, but it seems a waste, especially if their prime laying years are still to come. That means trying to rehome them I guess, and shifting our responsibility onto someone else.

I don't know... I think my plan makes sense and is a logical way for my family to test the waters. But I'd love to hear other ideas. Thanks again!
 
KiltedBrewer said:
I'd like to get layers as well.

The reason I thought starting with meat birds might be a good idea is that my wife has never done anything like this before.

-if she finds she just really dislikes raising chickens, it's a much shorter commitment.
-if she finds she does like chickens but can't butcher them, we can switch to a flock of layers next year.
-if (my ideal) she likes chickens, likes knowing where her meat comes from, and enjoys fresh eggs and enjoys the work involved in both, we'll keep a laying flock year round and add some meat birds year round

If we get layers, I'll end up building a nice, semi permanent coop for them. It will take time and be more expensive, but once I know the whole family is on board, I'll make whatever investment is needed to make this an easy and satisfying part of our lives, and a good home for the flock.

But by starting with meat birds, I think I can just build one (or more) of the mobile cattle panel type hoop house for them. A smaller investment of both time and money in housing for them, and if we decide this isn't for us, I can easily repurpose those hoop style coops into small greenhouses over some of the beds I'm building now.

I considered starting with a small flock of layers. My main concern is that if it doesn't work out... Well, we've taken responsibility for these birds. I suppose I could butcher them as well, but it seems a waste, especially if their prime laying years are still to come. That means trying to rehome them I guess, and shifting our responsibility onto someone else.

I don't know... I think my plan makes sense and is a logical way for my family to test the waters. But I'd love to hear other ideas. Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Just my two cents....Egg hunts are half the fun and a much more pleasant way to get the whole family involved (one of my daughter's favorite past times is reading to our hens and my son loves collecting bugs...especially those crazy junebugs to treat them with). If it didn't work out with a laying flock and with backyard flocks being as popular as they are, rehoming wouldn't be an issue for you. Also, you may want to check out craigslist and uncle henry's or any bartering sites before investing time and money into building a coop. I'd been looking to upgrade my coop so I could expand my flock but the pre-made coops are ridiculously expensive for very little space. I expanded my search for structures that were made for something else that I could repurpose. I found an insulated ice fishing shack that I've been converting to a henhouse and every day its looking more like a garden shed than a shanty. It's a 4x8 structure on skids so I can move it around the yard when I want/need to and it was only $250. I couldn't get materials for that! A few minor tweaks here and there and a coat of paint and voila!
 
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