I am loving this group - so much information already from just breezing through.
My husband and I are just starting the chicken coop community at our place. We had chickens many many years ago (like nearly 20 years ago) but the Navy took us out of the area and we re-homed them and have always wanted to do this again. Both now retired from Navy and we have bought our 4 acres of paradise to us in NE NC, built a home and have settled in for a little over a year now. We've gotten our coop set up, a run put in due to the wonderful advice we received on here with information on how to get the started in free range but until they are a little older will keep them in a nice safe environment.
We are supposed to be picking up our chickens tomorrow and have settled on 8 hens and 1 rooster to start out with in the beginning. The Chickens are just shy of 4 months old and we are very excited as are the grandchildren.
We have a Labradoodle and a cat we rescued from the local humane society "Buddy and Garfield"
Other hobbies have been gardening, (we will finally get a nice one set in this year), mechanics and exploring state parks and such.
What are your best advice for a new start up for chickens that you wish you knew when you started?
My husband and I are just starting the chicken coop community at our place. We had chickens many many years ago (like nearly 20 years ago) but the Navy took us out of the area and we re-homed them and have always wanted to do this again. Both now retired from Navy and we have bought our 4 acres of paradise to us in NE NC, built a home and have settled in for a little over a year now. We've gotten our coop set up, a run put in due to the wonderful advice we received on here with information on how to get the started in free range but until they are a little older will keep them in a nice safe environment.
We are supposed to be picking up our chickens tomorrow and have settled on 8 hens and 1 rooster to start out with in the beginning. The Chickens are just shy of 4 months old and we are very excited as are the grandchildren.
We have a Labradoodle and a cat we rescued from the local humane society "Buddy and Garfield"
Other hobbies have been gardening, (we will finally get a nice one set in this year), mechanics and exploring state parks and such.
What are your best advice for a new start up for chickens that you wish you knew when you started?
We are glad you joined this flock!
Glad you joined.
If your new flock is 4 months old, they will be close to laying. I’d suggest to use flock raiser feed, keep crushed oyster shells available in a separate dish so any laying pullet/hen can supplement as needed, your rooster doesn’t get calcium he doesn’t need. I was surprised that my big girls easily cleared 5 foot fence in the backyard and started exploring the conservancy behind us.... home to coyotes, raccoons, owls etc. Had to clip wings on a few hens. I also wish I would have known how sneaky they can be..... squeezing into odd places, hiding high or low. When you’re out in the rain at night searching for a missing chicken and finally find her after walking by several times you’ll understand 
Good luck with your new flock, enjoy them
