Howdy, we're soon to be new chicken owners

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Tom and Kathy

In the Brooder
Joined
Aug 28, 2017
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Location
Ann Arbor, Michigan
We're Tom and Kathy - I (Tom) will probably do most of the posting. We're city dwellers with a 80x130ft corner lot with varying city regulations about how and where we can keep chickens. Our permit for up to 6 backyard chicken clears on September 2, looking forward to the adventure but kinda freaked out too and really worried about doing my best for our ladies. Currently suffering from analysis paralysis - worrying a ton about winter weather, breed selection, predators, letting them roam as much as possible while keeping them safe and within the law, building something more complicated than a compost bin for the first time (I'm planning on building our coop and run, not buying one), and on and on.

Looking forward to chatting in the forums and learning from the rest of you... maybe someday I'll know something and can contribute!
 
Understand first time jiggers. Just finished my coup made of Pallet boards. Then making a run that is 8 by 10. My niece told me last weekend that she had my chickens ready for me. She tried to introduce some new chicks into the main flock and were picked on pretty badly. So, she just said she would give them to me. So, am I ready yet, maybe so and maybe not. But, it is time to make the leap. Only thing, I am just getting over Salmonellae poisoning from eggs coming from another homesteader. One of my eggs was rotten, and it contaminated the rest of my eggs I scrambled that morning. Yuck. But, I must push onward and bring my new hens in. Just have to get a flooring flooring established and get some feeders and waterers.
 
Hi and welcome to BYC :frow First tip, crack your eggs one at a time in a bowl, then move them to your mixing bowl. It doesn't happen often--but occasionally you'll find an egg the hens hid very well... Also sniff them before cracking. If you choose to wash them, make sure water is at least 20 degrees warmer than the egg and minimize their exposure to water. I use an egg brush, dampen it and clean away. Once washed they need to be refrigerated. Best of luck to both of you and we're so happy you joined us.:ya
 
Yep, thanks for the guidance. Too late for the first one, but, afterwards while I was down and out, I researched the web for ways to avoid this happening again. Wow, for sixty years, I never had a problem with store bought eggs. Then, boom, salmonellae from eggs bought from a friend of my wife's who has free ranging eggs! You have confirmed what I learned to do and not do. I was ready to tear down the new unoccupied coop and do something else. Wow, a rough two weeks. A hard lesson for sure. But, I WILL not give up. Just learn a lesson and pass it on.
 
Craigslist came thru:
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That's my youngest with Felicity, Perpetua, Agnes, Agatha, and Lucy. Our neighbors were nice enough to let us usurp their old coop and run while I finished ours.

The coop was part of the purchase, the run is my poor carpentry skills. Almost done - gotta string up the coop door, put down hardware cloth around the outside of the run, build them a few roosts in the run, little odds and ends.

20170917_191148.jpg
 

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