Hey guys! I'm new to chicken owning and to this site. I've been wanting to get chickens for some time, but have been procrastinating partly due to the fact they're illegal here (Philly,Pa). But I'm jumping in and seeing how long I can get away with it anyway. Many others in the city have been pushing to legalize chickens for both keeping the bug count down and for reducing waste in the landfill. Things like table scraps, fruit rinds, etc. I compost anyway, so looking to see how they will work with my current system. I'm only looking to get 3 hens, which are already on order and should arrive around the wk of April 16th. I have the indoor chick station all ready to go minus the food, only because I don't want to attract pests by having it sit around.
I've been working on my plans for the coop and run, while I'm waiting for the weather to cooperate better. It's been almost none stop rain here. My dimensions will be 9'Lx4'Wx~5.6'H. I want to make the run tall enough to hang out with them or for easier cleaning, plus the extra height for roost bars at various heights. I want to give my girls the room to move about. I plan to supplement with free range within my enclosed back yard, but only when supervised. The coop & run designs I saw online and on different sites seemed waaaay too small for the amount of birds they were listed for (usually 4-6), and still too small for the 3 I plan to raise. Just too cruel IMO.
As far as the breeds I will be getting, I have 2 Easter Eggers and 1 Red Star on their way. I chose these due to the heat tolerance, hardiness in winter, non broody nature (generally), and the EE's for the variety in egg color. They are a medium sized breeds as well, with from what I understand a docile & quiet nature. I know each girl has their personality, but hoping that they'll be close to their stereo-typical nature.
I came across this site a couple years ago when I 1st started doing my homework. I found some awesome, insightful threads on here. Great DIY projects or builds, which are also very resourceful and inexpensive.
I'm a mechanic by trade and over all general maintenance girl. I primarily worked on vehicles and construction rigs but have done work of all kinds, such as plumbing, electrical, carpentry, and so on. My area of work has been gearing now more towards groundskeeper to an 8 acre estate, where I started out by being called on site to repair their equipment, like the tractor or gardening cart (little Cushman Haulster from the 60s). From there have gone into the asthetics of the place, such as shrubbery upkeep, fence installation (over 650ft so far, painted and wired), incorporating beneficial insect & bird plants (hummingbirds). The owners, fortunately, love nature (as do I) and there's a huge array of trees, shrubs, flowers, herbs, bird feeders, fox feeders (3 on the estate very friendly), etc.
At home, I just paid off my house, so now I'm in the process of repairs and long overdue maintenance. I believe in being self reliant and growing food organically, without GMOs as well. I've been ordering dwarf trees of all types of fruit, planting all sorts of berry perennials, along with my annual gardening both in front and back of the house. So far the last 2 gardening years have worked out well for me, with many container plants as well, only because I believe in redundancy. I just enlarged all my beds and have already been planting some of my dormant perennials, which unfortunately due to the abnormally warm temps and all the rain, they've been starting to bud. (I'm in zone 7a) Meaning, I'll have to protect them from frost sometime next wk and for the next couple months. lol I've already transplanted my peas and lettuces outside. I need to transplant my brassicas like broccoli, sprouts, and cauliflower, but my rear bed is not quite finished due to the weather as well. Just a swamp everywhere!
So there's my background, a little insight to my situation and my future plans. I hope to post my coop and run build as well as my blue prints I've been playing around with. I'm looking forward to making some friends on here too! Take care!
~Cuba~
I've been working on my plans for the coop and run, while I'm waiting for the weather to cooperate better. It's been almost none stop rain here. My dimensions will be 9'Lx4'Wx~5.6'H. I want to make the run tall enough to hang out with them or for easier cleaning, plus the extra height for roost bars at various heights. I want to give my girls the room to move about. I plan to supplement with free range within my enclosed back yard, but only when supervised. The coop & run designs I saw online and on different sites seemed waaaay too small for the amount of birds they were listed for (usually 4-6), and still too small for the 3 I plan to raise. Just too cruel IMO.
As far as the breeds I will be getting, I have 2 Easter Eggers and 1 Red Star on their way. I chose these due to the heat tolerance, hardiness in winter, non broody nature (generally), and the EE's for the variety in egg color. They are a medium sized breeds as well, with from what I understand a docile & quiet nature. I know each girl has their personality, but hoping that they'll be close to their stereo-typical nature.
I came across this site a couple years ago when I 1st started doing my homework. I found some awesome, insightful threads on here. Great DIY projects or builds, which are also very resourceful and inexpensive.
I'm a mechanic by trade and over all general maintenance girl. I primarily worked on vehicles and construction rigs but have done work of all kinds, such as plumbing, electrical, carpentry, and so on. My area of work has been gearing now more towards groundskeeper to an 8 acre estate, where I started out by being called on site to repair their equipment, like the tractor or gardening cart (little Cushman Haulster from the 60s). From there have gone into the asthetics of the place, such as shrubbery upkeep, fence installation (over 650ft so far, painted and wired), incorporating beneficial insect & bird plants (hummingbirds). The owners, fortunately, love nature (as do I) and there's a huge array of trees, shrubs, flowers, herbs, bird feeders, fox feeders (3 on the estate very friendly), etc.
At home, I just paid off my house, so now I'm in the process of repairs and long overdue maintenance. I believe in being self reliant and growing food organically, without GMOs as well. I've been ordering dwarf trees of all types of fruit, planting all sorts of berry perennials, along with my annual gardening both in front and back of the house. So far the last 2 gardening years have worked out well for me, with many container plants as well, only because I believe in redundancy. I just enlarged all my beds and have already been planting some of my dormant perennials, which unfortunately due to the abnormally warm temps and all the rain, they've been starting to bud. (I'm in zone 7a) Meaning, I'll have to protect them from frost sometime next wk and for the next couple months. lol I've already transplanted my peas and lettuces outside. I need to transplant my brassicas like broccoli, sprouts, and cauliflower, but my rear bed is not quite finished due to the weather as well. Just a swamp everywhere!
So there's my background, a little insight to my situation and my future plans. I hope to post my coop and run build as well as my blue prints I've been playing around with. I'm looking forward to making some friends on here too! Take care!
~Cuba~
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It is very easy to get away with Illegal chickens as long as you don't have a rooster 
or really annoying neighbors who rat you out for everything 
will never remember & look there first. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!
