IamRainey and I'm new here

[IamRainey]

Hi-

This is my first post. I'm very new and won't even have my chicks (6 week olds) for 2 more weeks but I thought I'd start looking around and getting tips on how to be ready.

I have 3 girls coming: a Cream Legbar, a Double-Laced Barnevelder, and a Partridge Plymouth Rock. My plan is to add another each year until I have a flock of 6 or so.

My coop is close to being finished in my grandson's unused play yard. I think I've got all my first supplies on hand. I've started putting together a First Aid kit. And my 7yo grandson and I are very excited to get started.

Nice to meet you all!

 

[blackdust951]

hi and welcome to backyard chickens!thank you for joining us I still don't have any poultry

 

[Pork Pie]

Hello and welcome to BYC - great that you have joined us. Your coop is looking good Adding single birds to a flock can be a bit of a PITA. If you are able, I'd suggest getting more, in the first instance.

Here's a link on medical kits -
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/suggestions-for-a-first-aid-kit.1150128/

A couple more on raising chicks -
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...first-60-days-of-raising-baby-chickens.47691/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/hatching-eggs-raising-chickens.22/

Any questions that you may have regarding your chicks will be best posted here - http://www.backyardchickens.com/f/11/raising-baby-chicks

More generally, here’s a link to the Articles section - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ There you’ll find lots of information on almost every aspect of keeping chickens - from coop building ideas, to incubating eggs.

There’s a link on the page above to the Learning Centre - it’s a great resource. If you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.

Each week, various topics are discussed, which can also be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

You may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread#post_3239224

All the best

Pork Pie

 

[User395221]

Hi and welcome. Yes, existing girls can be mean to new ones (I've got 2 coops because my girls were horrible to new ones I got), I agree with Pork Pie Ken about getting more than one at a time - or getting them all together from the start.

It's so exciting getting new chickens, isn't it?

 

[IamRainey]

Adding single birds to a flock can be a bit of a PITA. If you are able, I'd suggest getting more, in the first instance.

Really?

We don't have room for a lot of chickens. Nor do we really need more than a couple eggs a day. I was thinking of a flock of about 6 and, at first, I was going to get them all at once. Then I thought I'd have a couple years with more eggs than I knew what to do with and then taper down to no one laying anymore at about the same time.

So then it seemed to make sense to start out small and learn what I'm doing and grow the flock over time so someone is at peak laying while others are aging out of the egg producing business.

Would this work better if I added chickens 2 at a time?

 

[Pork Pie]

Really?

We don't have room for a lot of chickens. Nor do we really need more than a couple eggs a day. I was thinking of a flock of about 6 and, at first, I was going to get them all at once. Then I thought I'd have a couple years with more eggs than I knew what to do with and then taper down to no one laying anymore at about the same time.

So then it seemed to make sense to start out small and learn what I'm doing and grow the flock over time so someone is at peak laying while others are aging out of the egg producing business.

Would this work better if I added chickens 2 at a time?

Sure, adding a couple at a time is better. It helps to ameliorate pecking / bullying from the resident flock members.

Some members tend to replace some of their flock on an annual basis, in order to have eggs all year round (i.e. during the winter months / moulting time). Integration can be relatively simple - it's more a case of what space and set up one has. Here's a few links on the topic, so maybe you can make some advance preparations:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-see-but-don-t-touch-method

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1126547/topic-of-the-week-integrating-chicks-into-an-adult-flock

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1069595/introducing-chicks-to-adults#post_16276224

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to Backyardchickens.com aka BYC!
We are so glad you joined our flock.
Jump right in and make yourself at home.

This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC Grandkids are Awesome

 

[IamRainey]

Grandkids are Awesome

Oh! I sooooo agree! We're going to have fun, those chickens, my grandson and me!