Hi all, newbie needing tons of help!!!

[BlackRose89]

I'm considering taking my first little jaunt into raising a couple chickens this year and I'm soooo in over my head already... I just want a couple egg layers to be kinda pet like and eat the bugs in my garden. I still have to build a coop and everything, but since we are still getting tons of snow here I figured might as well start planning

 

[drumstick diva]

Best to get three or more to start. Chickens are flock animals and do better in groups. If you get two and lose one - then it is harder to get the original bird to accept a newbie.

The Learning Center contains a wealth of information, it's the best place to start.

 

[BlackRose89]

I was thinking maybe 3-5, we live in the country, so they'd have to go in a coop at night and I wanted to let them run loose during the day to help keep the bugs out of the garden, but I'm being told they'd have to be kept out of the garden too

 

[akelley]

They will eat the plants, as well as the bugs in your garden. A lot of people use their chickens to till the beds and fertilize them before planting and after harvest, though. If that interests you, I recommend Harvey Ussery's book "The small-scale Chicken flock". He has good ideas about putting your chickens to work around the homestead.

As far as letting the chickens loose during the day I have one word: hawks. I had the free-range dream too until I got my chickens installed in their coop. Then the hawks discovered them. We have had no casualties yet, but they make a pass at my flock pretty frequently. If you have hawks in your area, you will need a run that is secure from predators: both from the ground and from the air.

Just do your research. This is my first flock, and after I did my research it all just fell into place. They're no big deal once you get their housing squared away and decide what you want to get out of them.

Congrats on deciding to take the plunge! Having chickens is way more fun than I ever thought it would be

 

[BlackRose89]

I know we have hawks... This seems like a bad idea lol

 

[BlackRose89]

What breed is a good pick for just eggs and bugs? I'd love if they were pretty too, lol, but they will be more pets than anything so if there's a breed that's pretty large and good tempered and can fulfill our egg and bug problem I'm all ears!

 

[BlackRose89]

I figure the bigger they are the less likely the hawks are to go after them

 

[Cooper Farms]

I would get buff orphingtons they r very friendly and make a good starter chicken and easy to find u could get some Guinea to look out for predators

 

[BlackRose89]

Forgot to mention, Indiana so hot summers and cold snowy icy winters.

 

[ocap]

one lady has strung up fishing line over her run, the hawks can see it and at least give the "free range run" a careful look see and might stay away.