Just starting in MO

[NewHopePoultry]

So glad to have someone else close to me!
I love Cuivre River State Park

 

[oldchickenlady]

from middle Tennessee! You are so smart to read and learn BEFORE you get the chickens!

I was not so wise, but somehow I didn't kill any of them. I did have vague memories of my grandmothers' chickens and how she tended to them. Now, my advice is read, read, and read some more...about coop designs, space requirements, ventilation, etc, etc, about predators and how to keep them out, about chicken breeds (brown or white eggs, large breeds or bantams, just for show/pets or 'working' chickens etc etc) feeding requirements, how many you want to have, also, don't forget...zoning laws, or laws/regulations concerning chicken ownership (if you live in a subdivision or in town). Cruise the coop section and get ideas about what kind of coop/run design you want. Of course, what kind and how many chickens you want will dictate what kind of coop you will need. Also...ALWAYS BUILD BIGGER THAN YOU THINK YOU WILL NEED! Trust me on this! Read up on 'chicken math'...it is real!

Now...good luck, have fun, and of course, keep us posted on what you decide! Just because I have the big head about building my own run and partly building my coop, I am including some pics of what I have for my chickens. I built the run first. Here is how it started:

Here it is finished.

My chickens stayed in that at night until I started building my coop in July. ***word of advice-don't wait until it is hot enough to melt steel to start building your coop! I'm just saying...
Here is the coop prior to attaching the run to it:

Here they are put together. I built the pop door and rigged a way to open it from outside the run.

The final touch was to paint a sign on my door. I have added "Eggs For Sale" underneath and painted a pile of eggs since this picture was made. I am totally slacking about not getting a picture on here yet.

And of course a pic of some of my first eggs!

I so apologize for the long post and all the pics, but a girl has to brag sometimes!

 

[biddyboo]

Welcome from another Missouri chicken lover. We had hens over 30 years ago when our daughters were young girls. Then, when I retired and we downsized our home to a small acreage, we thought we'd enjoy having chickens again, and we have. This site is a place I visit daily and where we have learned so much. We didn't begin with chicks and incubators, but using Craigslist, we formed a small beginning flock with hens past pullet age, around 1 1/2 years old, mature, laying, easy to learn from without doing them much damage. We now have about 25 hens (no roosters), an outdoor coop and chicken yard and an indoor pen (inside our metal barn). The hobby grows on you, the chickens are an endless source of pleasure and entertainment, and caring for other creatures is a valuable lifelong lesson for your children. Read, learn, visit with people in your area who have chickens, and be ready to launch in the early spring! Best wishes... ~G