Is it really this complicated? Feeling a bit overwhelmed!

[eggoland]

Last spring was my first year of having my own chickens. I got 6 pullets from my local feed store. Finished up my coop while they were in my brooder. Well then I wanted eggs & didn't want to wait until August. I went on Craigslist & got two laying hens. By the time the pullets started laying the two hens had already paid for themselves in eggs. This spring I got 4 new pullets & will replace 1/2 my little flock. As I live in town I am limited to the number of hens I can have & no roosters. I think 10 to 12 is a good size starter flock.

 

[TipihlowLadies]

New to raising egg birds so coop is just getting started. Birds are here 25 EE's, 15 Buff's and 50 meat birds.

 

[klt1975]

CoolClucker, take a big deep breath. Now listen, if *I* can do this ANYBODY can. I promise!

But like others have already said you start with a coop. Think about what you want out of a coop. It can be modest or it can be the Taj Mahal of chicken coops. That's completely up to you. The chickens won't care either way as long as they have a safe, clean place to sleep and lay eggs. Ours we mostly put together with wooden palates that we were given absolutely free. I think we may have put another $80 into it to add some cute touches but we really didn't HAVE to. My husband and I built ours in about 1 week but that's including all the cutesy touches. Actually constructing it may have been about 4 days.

Keep what kind of run you want in mind when building. Building a run is really simple but it is good to have an extra hand in building it. We put ours together in 2 days I believe.


Go to the library or book store and get a book on basic chicken care. Read these forums. Don't get discouraged when you read the sections on diseases and 1st aid. ANY animal can get sick. Chickens are no exception. The key is to be prepared and being prepared isn't hard. Just find out the most common SERIOUS issues and have what you need for those on hand in case they ever happen. The rest you can learn as you go.

Planning your flock can take a while. You have to figure out what you want out of your chickens. If you just want eggs there are MANY good egg layers but not all of them want to be picked up and petted and such. If you want friendly, good natured chickens that you can consider a pet there's quite a few of those too but not all of them are reliable egg layers. If you want both there are a few breeds that cover both bases. I have to say that Orpingtons are great if that's what you're aiming for.

Make note of the personality traits of the breeds you consider. You don't want to put a docile breed like a silkie with chickens that notorious for being bullies.

 

[newburt]

Take it from me.....The last thing you wanna do is run around trying to build your coops/Tractors at the last minute and feel so rushed. I bought 4 laying hens before I had time to build a coop and three of us spent all night building a tractor to hold them safely. My flock is beginning to grow and im now looking into building a 400 square foot run and a 120 square foot Coop all stationary. I have chosen the chicken tractor route for the majority of my flock because I have too many dogs and predators that would love to take out my flock but I still want them to continually have fresh grass. Good luck with your first flock. I have become obsessed with my chickens and this site!! the more I learn on here the more I continue to change. i now have three tractors on my 7 acre pasture and have plans to add 5 more as the summer goes on. Wont need them until probably around July but I want to spread the cost out over the summer. It doesnt have to be complicated but you can make it that way if you do things the hard way LOL. my research tells me that the birds that are grass fed are the healthiest and most resilient birds and are able to fight things like sickness off better.

 

[bruceha2000]

Take it from me.....The last thing you wanna do is run around trying to build your coops/Tractors at the last minute and feel so rushed. I bought 4 laying hens before I had time to build a coop and three of us spent all night building a tractor to hold them safely.

Ah, but you bought adult birds! I would agree 120% with "make sure the coop is ready first" in that case. 2 day old chicks need LITTLE space and give you plenty of time to build the coop assuming:

1. You DO have a plan. If it is an "easy build" meaning minimum of cuts, no need for concrete pads, no fancy (but really nice looking) roof lines, etc so much the better for the "it is OK to get chicks before the coop is done" method.
2. You DO have time to spend on it, if even just weekends

They won't need nest boxes for AT LEAST 4 months. Better to get the run built than worry about the nest boxes. Chicks that are old enough to move to an unheated space will still love the run area no matter how big it is. Who wants to be cooped up * all day. Even if the run is not done, you can throw together a "while I'm outside working on the run" play area. A few $2 T-posts and a roll of chicken wire make a perfectly good "under supervision" run for young birds. It won't necessarily be "neighborhood dog proof" but it will keep them from wandering where you don't want them.

* Gee, I wonder where that term came from?

Bruce

 

[Betsy57]

Take it from me.....The last thing you wanna do is run around trying to build your coops/Tractors at the last minute and feel so rushed. I bought 4 laying hens before I had time to build a coop and three of us spent all night building a tractor to hold them safely. My flock is beginning to grow and im now looking into building a 400 square foot run and a 120 square foot Coop all stationary. I have chosen the chicken tractor route for the majority of my flock because I have too many dogs and predators that would love to take out my flock but I still want them to continually have fresh grass. Good luck with your first flock. I have become obsessed with my chickens and this site!! the more I learn on here the more I continue to change. i now have three tractors on my 7 acre pasture and have plans to add 5 more as the summer goes on. Wont need them until probably around July but I want to spread the cost out over the summer. It doesnt have to be complicated but you can make it that way if you do things the hard way LOL. my research tells me that the birds that are grass fed are the healthiest and most resilient birds and are able to fight things like sickness off better.

Would love to see some pictures of your set up. You live in Mize, Mississippi? My last name is Mize! I didn't know there were towns by that name.

 

[hausrx]

I am brand new to this, and am looking into what it would take to start a small flock. It doesn't seem like anything I couldn't learn, but it is starting to get complicated. Right now there are baby chicks everywhere for sale, but I can't bring them home yet because I don't have a coop. And once they come home the timer starts ticking. I am not sure if we're buying or building yet, and the latter will take who knows how long. I was thinking if my window to buy the chicks in stores runs out, then I can just order day old chicks online. But eveyone wants a minimum order of at least 15 and I don't want that many yet. I'm thinking like 4 to start. Ok, so maybe incubating? But incubators can get costly, and there is no way to determine how many chickens I will get and what sex. I really prefer to start with females as I hear males can be mean and I want fresh eggs. So if I incubate and get males, then what?I'm not trying to be overly picky, just simplify to start so I can learn the ropes.

So I'm kinda pulling my hair out a bit, thinking maybe I decided too late in the year. I dunno should I just scrap it and try next year? Am I am making this overly difficult? lol.. !

Any experienced chickeners have any words of encoragement/wisdom?

if just starting out , I would not do any eggs, you can but 1 day old to 2 weeks old chicks from most feed stores till late APRIL or even early MAY, with a little RESEARCH ( internet ) & BOOKS, you can build a small coop in 2 to 5 days, I am building a 5 x 12 coop , over 3/4 done in 2 days by my self

 

[tbuford]

I got our first chicks (4) on an impulse buy - I had been mulling it over for months. They were 2 days old at purchase. I brought them home and put them on the dining room table in a large rubbermade storage container topped with an old window screen and hung a heating light (which was only needed for about 2 weeks). My hubby obliged me in converting an outdoor dog kennel and very used dog house into our coop. If you are handy and can build, it can be done fairly quickly. There are plenty of designs posted on the site. Our coop and house was finished long before the chicks (we opted for all girls because we are in town) were ready to go outside. While we were waiting on the chicks to grow, we (especially the kids) really enjoyed taking them outside for short periods in the warmest part of the day. They were handled alot and are now 'lap chickens.' Go for it. It's really not that complicated. LOVE, LOVE LOVE our backyard girls.

 

[newburt]

Would love to see some pictures of your set up. You live in Mize, Mississippi? My last name is Mize! I didn't know there were towns by that name.

Yes I sure do. Mize is where I was born and raised. It's a little map dot town with only 1 stop sign in south Mississippi. My setup is still under construction and is relatively temporary but I will try to post some pics this Thursday when I get back home. I am out of town working. I have a picture on my phone of the first tractor I built and I will try to post it here now. I plan to have five chicken tractors on my pasture and one stationary coop the stationary coop I actually started on yesterday.

 

[newburt]

The coop on top of the tractor is temporary but it is serving its purpose well for now.