Lurker making first post

[Kusanar]

Hey everyone, I've been lurking for a while, I have horses and have been leasing a farm for many years but I just bought my own and am really wanting to get some chickens to help with conposting manure and to help keep the bugs down as well as those amazing farm fresh eggs.
I don't have any chickens yet, and probably won't even start building the coup until after I move the horses out there (the place needs a lot of work first) so it will definantly be next summer before the horses move so maybe 2 years before chickens? I don't know, anyway, I'm already starting to think about what I want to do with the chickens and how I want to set everything up since I will only be going out there 1 time a day ( I will be driving a big triangle daily, drive 30 mins to work, then drive another 30 mins to the farm after work, then drive another 30 mins from the farm to home again at the end of the day).

If anyone has any suggestions feel free to comment. I want hens that won't need a ton of worrying about, something that can deal with a small preditor (anything that can fit through chain link probably) and won't need a lot of extra care in the winter to keep them warm (no heat lamps etc) or anything excessive in the summer to keep them cool (like frozen milk jugs of water), jsut something that I can deal with in spare time without having to make any HUGE changes to my daily routine.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

I love your avatar pic! It's so pretty!!

Good luck with your horses and other projects. As far as the chickens go, I recommend the buff orpington, black australorp, speckled sussex, EE sex link. The buff orp, black australorp, SS and EE are all cold hardy, very friendly and great layers. They also do ok in heat. Sex links are heat hardy and cold hardy, are excellent layers but aren't super friendly.

Be sure to check out our learning center, breed section and coop area.

Again, welcome!!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops
http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/which-breed-is-right-for-me.aspx
https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/chicken-breeds

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! You might want to check out your state thread for chicken keeping neighbors and what they recommend for birds that do well in your area and local predators https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread And the Predator forum for proofing your coop, if you have weasels/mink or similar animals in your area chain link isn't tight enough youhttp://www.backyardchickens.com/f/13/predators-and-pests

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

You have been give some great advice. So I will just wish you luck and welcome you to our flock!

 

[Family Farming]

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC! Mountain Peeps has given you some good recommendations on breeds. I particularly like the Black Australorps as they are the best layers of the standard breeds on her list. If you decide to go with the Sex Links, which are egg laying machines, I recommend the Black Sex Links (Black Stars). Mine have always been friendlier than my Red Sex Links. x2 on what Kelsie2290 said about chain link. Weasels and minks can pass right through the openings (even 1" chicken wire) and no breeds of chickens can deal with them (you could lose your entire flock in a single night). Good luck in building your coop and getting your flock.

 

[BoppsBees]

 

[Kusanar]

Hello

and Welcome To BYC! You might want to check out your state thread for chicken keeping neighbors and what they recommend for birds that do well in your area and local predators https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread And the Predator forum for proofing your coop, if you have weasels/mink or similar animals in your area chain link isn't tight enough youhttp://www.backyardchickens.com/f/13/predators-and-pests

Welcome to BYC! Mountain Peeps has given you some good recommendations on breeds. I particularly like the Black Australorps as they are the best layers of the standard breeds on her list. If you decide to go with the Sex Links, which are egg laying machines, I recommend the Black Sex Links (Black Stars). Mine have always been friendlier than my Red Sex Links. x2 on what Kelsie2290 said about chain link. Weasels and minks can pass right through the openings (even 1" chicken wire) and no breeds of chickens can deal with them (you could lose your entire flock in a single night). Good luck in building your coop and getting your flock.

What I was thinking about, is making a nearly rodent tight (I haven't seen anything that a mouse can't get in though) coup, and having a small run they can get into all the time, and 3 grass runs they can be rotated in and out of so they can get time on grass without destroying it entirely. Maybe even put a door on a timer on the coup so they are locked up at night but can wander in and out during the day. I was also thinking about a combination chicken wire and chain link for the runs since there are coyote and bear both out there. I may even put a solar powered hot wire or 2 around the outside to discourage anything pushing on the fence... what do you think?

 

[Michael OShay]

What I was thinking about, is making a nearly rodent tight (I haven't seen anything that a mouse can't get in though) coup, and having a small run they can get into all the time, and 3 grass runs they can be rotated in and out of so they can get time on grass without destroying it entirely. Maybe even put a door on a timer on the coup so they are locked up at night but can wander in and out during the day. I was also thinking about a combination chicken wire and chain link for the runs since there are coyote and bear both out there. I may even put a solar powered hot wire or 2 around the outside to discourage anything pushing on the fence... what do you think?

Again, I would use hardware cloth, not chicken wire. Hardware cloth is a little more expensive than chicken wire, but it is much stronger (not so much a consideration with chain link behind it) and most importantly, the openings (1/2 or 1/4") are small enough that no predators can pass through them (not even mice). Many BYC members call tell you sad stories of chickens lost because they used chicken wire (even wrapped around chain link) instead of hardware cloth.

 

[drumstick diva]

I suppose chickens can get along with just one visit daily but, there are a million unforeseen incidents that can wipe our your flock. Personally I would be too stressed to leave them alone all that time.

They would probably be very skittish because they wouldn't have much attention from humans and they certainly wouldn't have much of a chance to charm you with their unique personalities.