Hi all! I don't actually have chickens yet but I'm hoping to in the future. I've seen many neighbors with them but I actually haven't called yet to make sure they're allowed, I suppose that would be step one! I bought a chickens for dummies book last night at the bookstore and this site was listed in the book so here I came. I live in Oakdale, CT and we're thinking about getting a few hens for the backyard. Since it's late in the summer now, we're probably thinking next year. We're thinking of having no more than 6 or 8 hens at any one time and we really want to start out with less than that, maybe 2 or 3. I've taken care of lots of pets over the years but chickens will be entirely new to me! Also we want to try and stagger them because I know I won't be able to butcher the old hens. I'm a vegetarian and I get attached to pictures of animals. Really I would fall to pieces. We realize that we could end up with six non laying hens at one point and we're sort of willing to take the risk. We might be crazy. I'm not sure if you're supposed to ask questions in this topic area but if anyone else is from CT can you tell me what chickens need for overwintering? It seems awful to leave them in the coop with three feet of snow over them! I'm trying to get an idea of what we'd need to do to get them in a decent coop. My husbands a carpenter so I'm sure he can build anything we'd need. So hi and thanks! Mary
Greetings from Maine! I have recently gotten bitten again by the chicken bug and am in a place to have them again, this site and these folks are a wonderful, knowledgeable group to be part of..
Hello and welcome to BYC! Good luck! Raising chickens has been awesome. We were only going to raise 2 and we ended up with 8.
I live in New Haven county, CT. I have many many chickens and love them to pieces!! You would need a nicely insulated coop but, you also need ventalation for fumes from feces. I use heated waterers and you will need to place your coop in a place that you can easily shovel a path to. You need to check on your flock two times per day. (IMO) I let mine free range during the day, and then lock them up for safety every evening before sunset. Once you get a few chickens you will be attached!! If you need help please feel free to go to the Connecticut Forum under topic Where am I? Also, feel free to PM me for any further questions. Thank you for giving chicken keeping a thought and hopefully soon a try Best Wishes, Beth
Beth G. : I live in New Haven county, CT. I have many many chickens and love them to pieces!! You would need a nicely insulated coop but, you also need ventalation for fumes from feces. I use heated waterers and you will need to place your coop in a place that you can easily shovel a path to. You need to check on your flock two times per day. (IMO) I let mine free range during the day, and then lock them up for safety every evening before sunset. Once you get a few chickens you will be attached!! If you need help please feel free to go to the Connecticut Forum under topic Where am I? Also, feel free to PM me for any further questions. Thank you for giving chicken keeping a thought and hopefully soon a try Best Wishes, Beth Thanks! After last winter I just couldn't imagine the chickens being ok buried under all that snow. As long as it's ventilated then they're ok with staying in the coop? I guess I'm afraid I would come out to chickensicles in the run. lol We're close to our neighbors so I can't let them roam but we want to build a nice run for them. I also have fisher cats and raccoons all over the place (and wild turkeys) so I would want them protected. I wish we lived on property big enough to let them free range! Mary
