In preparation of moving from stagnating apartment life to small homestead with good friends in the

[Sassenach]

( Not really a city slicker the last 30 years , however. ) I want to learn much more about chickens and hopefully alleviate any gross and terrible mistakes to begin with in the ordering and care of chicks and chickens, find or design a coop and chicken tractor or good chicken runs, possibly around a garden area. I will be in charge of this part of the homestead along with rabbit raising, another small livestock information seeking routine is also on going. And smaller breed milk goats added to that..........I will be busy! Oh, and gardening. If I can eventually sneak in rescue horse and a great anatolian dog , it will be heaven! I have owned horses and a goat years ago, but chickens would be a new category of care and interest.

I am a bit familiar thanks to being a member on www.mrssurvival.com and a few homesteading groups on Facebook , but now diligently must concentrate on educating myself in preparation of actually being in a new situation after I move once the snow is gone from the winter that is coming. I currently have resided in a small town in the Adirondacks in upstate NY. I am disabled but can manage the lighter work on a homestead situation and it means I get to be with a great friend from years ago. I look forward to it. Working with two other adults firmly involved will be great!

I even found out my son is interested in a small property so they can garden and raise chickens for eggs and meat so they can try and improve their own regular food supply when they return and retire from Marine duties in Hawaii, and they now have a very young son they would like to be able to give good quality food too and a decent life outside the city elements, so In learning things here , I can pass on info to him when we talk on the phone and such long distance.

Next payday I will be sure to order Raising Chickens for Dummies, maybe two , and send one to my son. I am grateful to have found your website and also joined on Facebook. Some of my friends there are in the group too. I look forward to learning more as the weeks go by as I am clearing out and minimizing my possessions the next several months in preparation for travelling in a minivan and not needing a Uhaul to move with that way.

 

[N F C]

I think I already said hello on another intro post but it doesn't hurt to repeat it...Hi and welcome to BYC!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[trailrider330]

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us!

 

[drumstick diva]

Hello again. Hope your son will also join BYC, so he can do a lot of learning before he needs to put that into effect.

 

[satay]

 

[Sassenach]

Thank you for the welcomes, everyone. I was so busy surfing the internet and doing some other obligations in the past day or so, I am only just getting back here, just now and its going into evening time already! I did not know the other post actually posted so I did this one to do an intro. Thank you also for a suggestion on the forum threads for other small livestock than chickens. . It looks like I will be able to get up to date information and experience tips from so many here.

In reading descriptions on several chicken breeds on another site, I see there is a solution to having your chickens egg laying schedule dwindle. There are breeds of chickens that evidently do pretty good laying when it gets cold. I know one can store eggs for a long period and many people stock up on their eggs but I also see how nice it would be to have at least two, of breeds that will more consistently lay well into the cold months.

I am now developing a note book for myself, to fill up with information.

I am pretty amazed at how many types of chickens there are out there and their purposes. We will certainly have both layers and meat chickens. Also, while I definitely think incubators are great, whether it is homemade or commercially made, I am thinking about pros and cons and honestly, when it is time to be involved in hatching eggs, I like the auto turner types the most. We or I may be busy at some point and forget to turn the batch, so it seems worth it to pay the extra bit to have that ability and the timers and such. Very nice. WE may just do things very simply however. I really won't know until my friends, M and P , consult with me and tell me what they prefer and want and how it can be done, as it is their property involved so its not going to all be up to me, but in studying this, it will help me come up with proposals , for when it is time to consider action and preparation and depends on the actual budget and total building schedule, funds and and such things for whatever set up we create.

AT first , for the initial flock , I think juvenile birds may be the way to go, and when it is time to increase or do a second bunch then I would involve incubation and raising them from Hour 1 . Kind of a let's work into that situation when you are new to such things ........ unless they are really enthusiastic and we can work it into overall schedules because it does take more attention and time and we may have multiple things going on. This is one of those things where you work into it , I believe.

Along with conditioning my inside cat to being an outdoor indoor cat on a farm situation and making sure she respects chickens. ( I live in an area where there are forest predators so she stays inside only here since I have no yard for her to have a buffer zone from the woods around us.)

I may have to arm myself with a super soaker squirt gun if she decides she want's chicken. ( am very gentle with her, but she will have to learn some boundaries if she doesn't behave in the area the chickens will be. ) I heartily will employ a chicken yard as predator proof as we can make, including the roof areas, because there are enough predators out there naturally, but It would be nice to let them free range some too, and I don't want them harmed. Nor her if she is silly about it. Some chickens are very territorial and will defend the flock. Chicken tractors and such help with all of that too. We shall see what would be good, in reality once I can get out there and see what's to be done.

It is fun looking up things about chickens!