Hi from Cape Town

[MrPython]

Hey everyone,
we are gearing up to start up our first flock.

Now that the Aquaponics system is running itself it's time to add.

I want to go for a static run, but there are plenty of things that y'all would do differently if you did it again - that's the stuff I need to know.

Regards
Neil

 

[Chicken Girl1]

Hello

and Welcome to BYC!

Glad to have you join! Feel free to make yourself at home!

 

[N F C]

Good morning and welcome to BYC!

If we had it to do over again, here are a couple of things what we would have done differently:
* Buy our chicks from a reputable dealer (our 1st 7 were bought locally off Craigslist and weren't healthy)
* Make the coop bigger and easier to clean
* Have a first aid kit assembled beforehand

Hope that's what you were looking for. That was a good question to ask. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Good luck to you!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

So glad you could join our community!!

Always start with a healthy flock. Never cram them in the coop or run and give them more room than what is suggested. Adding new birds can be risky if you get them from someone you don't know. Lots of con artists out there selling sick or mite infested birds. I like to go with hatchery or heritage breeders. We have a section here in our Buy Sell and Trade section with lots of great breeders. Feed stores also carry lots of chicks in the spring time.

Use a good coop. One the birds are going to enjoy being in. I started with a small manufactured coop that was too small and the birds hated it, refused to use it for shelter and I had a lot of frost bite issues. We built the chickens a new larger coop, one that I could walk into and now ALL of us are much happier!

Have you stopped by our learning center yet? Lots of good articles on all the aspects of keeping poultry. These articles may help you make less mistakes when you first get started....https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

Enjoy this new journey you are on and welcome to our flock!

 

[mymilliefleur]

Hey there! Welcome to BYC!

I'm glad you decided to join! Let us know if you have any questions, we will be glad to help you if we can.

There is a lot of great info on here, and lots of very knowledgeable people, so I'm sure you'll be able to find any info you may be looking for.

You got some great advise from the other members. Things I would have done differently? Gotten guard dogs sooner to prevent the nasty fox attacks back when our birds free ranged, and gotten birds from a high quality breeder instead of a hatchery. Here's a quick article I put together on buying birds from a breeder: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/tips-for-purchasing-birds-from-a-breeder I hope you find it helpful.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[MrPython]

Wow that was quick. Thanks for all the great tips.
Sourcing the birds is proving to be a challenge but not being too hasty to jump at the 1st brother you come across on gumtree does seem to be wise.
There is a local source that seems to get recommendations from unrelated people. Going to make a turn there and sus things out.

Most of the pics I have seen show the coop with a raised floor. But i read a bit on the deep litter method which suggested an earthen floor ... what's best?
I'm trying to make my coop as low labour as possible.

Stuff I still have to do:
Build the coop under the roof I built.
Build the run portion. - If chicken wire doesn't stand the test of time, what do you use? Shade cloth, that plastic mesh

I have been making sure of adequate drainage - we have wet winters
I built the roof structure for the coop

Plans - Bulk suspended bucket feeder and poultry nipples for water.
Easily removable, washable poop shields below the removable washable roosts.
Removable washable coop bottom

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

I'm glad you joined us.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Good luck with all your projects. Feel free to ask any questions along the way!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Some great links and suggestions above, there are also a number of threads on what people wish they had known or done differently when they first got chickens that make for good useful reading ie https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...sh-you-had-known-before-you-got-your-chickens and https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/745650/1-thing-i-wish-i-knew-when-i-was-starting-out

Hardware Cloth is generally recommended instead of Chicken Wire, CW is not predator proof and is mostly just used to keep chickens in.
One thing with earth floors is you have more trouble with predator proofing since a lot of things dig (and rodents), I really like concrete (I do a version of deep litter on concrete), most people probably use wood.