Hillbilly hollering from NW Arkansas and the Ozark National forest located in the Boston Mountains of Madison county...

[Debbie292d]

Wow, that sounds so exciting there! Love your intro! Welcome to BYC!!

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC, and good luck in establishing your coop and flock.

 

[BuddhaBob]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Don't forget the MUCH needed ventilation. You want to shoot for a close to 1 ft2 of permanent ventilation per bird in the coop.

Going to have 6 inch venting running the width of each plywood ends making up the front and rear of the coop. Also installing a rectangle brass handled window from my old elementary school from when they were tearing them out, that can be opened and closed for climate control lower down. Hardware cloth covered of course. 1/4" gap around the perimeter where the other 2 walls meet the roof. Also placed in the woods with total tree cover 60 feet from the front door of the house with motion cameras.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens. Pull up roost stay awhile.

 

[Happy_Hen]

Welcome! Loved your introduction.

 

[Tookie]

Hello, welcome to BYC! We're glad to have you. Good luck with everything!

 

[chrissynemetz]

Welcome to BYC! We're glad you joined us!

 

[triciayoung]

(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Newbie. But have had a coral reef tank in the past as well as snakes, rabbits, turtles, iguanas, cats and dogs.

(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
0. Planning on 8 chicks soon. Building a coop using bullet resistant Lexan sheets (for bears and coyotes), wood framing, and hardware cloth. and a run of chainlink fencing.
(3) What breeds do you have?
None, but are planning on gold laced wyandottes and possibly Welsummers to start.

4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
The entertainment and providing eggs to family and friends. Retired, so I have the time now.

(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Astronomy, metal detecting, rock hounding, science in general, lock picking for fun, video entertainment, hunting, light homesteading, esoteric knowledge, learning new things. Collecting new hobbies and interest.

(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
Married 32 years to a great wife and friend. 2 adult children and a future son-in-law. Retired and disabled as is my wife, so I'm hoping to connect with others with mobility issues to problem solve situations economically. Really need a atv of some sort out here someday. Living the dream of having 5 acres of land in National Forest and the solitude and nature it contains. Now to deal with the rats, feral cats, wild dogs, timber rattlers, water moccasins, copperheads, red fox, feral hogs, racoons, possums, armadillos, coyotes, hawks, owls, bobcats, and bears that want a free chicken dinner. Through prevention, unless we're going to harvest and eat it or self defense.

(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community? Whenever I had a query, I often found helpful info here.

Welcome. Very unique build. I would love to see it when you finish. You may want to choose heat-tolerant breeds - large combs, I would also add some 1/2 inch hardware cloth with an apron to that run, and hawk netting if aerials are an issue.

 

[BuddhaBob]

Good morning, best of luck with your upcoming flock! If you would like to 'meet' other members in AR, you can find them with this link to your state thread: Arkansas

Thanks

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Don't forget the MUCH needed ventilation. You want to shoot for a close to 1 ft2 of permanent ventilation per bird in the coop.

Welcome. Very unique build. I would love to see it when you finish. You may want to choose heat-tolerant breeds - large combs, I would also add some 1/2 inch hardware cloth with an apron to that run, and hawk netting if aerials are an issue.

Already have a predator skirt, and just haven't put up the bird netting yet but I've got it on hand. They will have total shade while the leaves are on and we basically cleared a 100ftx100ft area out of the forest for our homestead/tiny house and the high elevation is also cooler. Even in the hottest part of summer I can walk to the tree line 50 ft away and feel cool breezes. Natures air conditioner The lexan should help the sun warm in winter with the leaves down as well. Thanks for the advice