Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Folly's place]

Welcome, Liz, glad to have you here!
It is best to have your coop and run set up before getting chicks or hens, and it's more difficult to arrange until the snow is gone! Do chick for used, but also be careful so you don't get something from a place that had Marek's disease in their flock, which would be a terrible way for you to start with chickens.
Otherwise, a garden shed is a good choice, and can be modified to add ventilation and big window openings.
Mary

 

[snowflake]

welcome Dreamz, all good advice above. have you checked to see if you can have chickens in your area.Don't want to get everything bought and set up and have them come and tell you, sorry no chickens allowed.
And tractor supply will have baby chicks soon, or you could order some on line and get them vaccinated when you purchase. Just have to wait longer for eggs, but baby chicks are fun and if you handle them a lot they will be very friendly

 

[Frankiegirl]

Welcome @Dreamzchaser to BYC!!

So happy to have you. There are a ton of great people here to help you on your journey! Several of us are newer and can attest to the advice of having your coop/run set up first before getting chicks! They get big quick and will need their coop before you know it.
The feed stores will have chicks likely through early summer so you will have time if you’re not ordering from a hatchery.
The shed idea for a coop is a great idea vs prefab coop. The cost is very similar and the construction quality is much better. I made that mistake.
If you opt for a shed...with a little help, you can cobble together a run with some hardware cloth and boards if you’re not planning to free range your girls.

Best of luck!

 

[Sally PB]

Has anyone dealt with the chick depot hatchery? https://thechickdepot.com/

They say they have Blue Australorps. I've emailed them to ask for more info, but if anyone has had experience with them, I'd like to hear about it.

 

[RaZ]

What a beautiful day even if it is pretty cold. I have the day off so I'm trying to catch up on a tonne of chores. Dishes, laundry, firewood, and stupid taxes. I'd like to get out in the coop and fluff up the bedding and clean the poop boards.

I got out of work early yesterday and had planned on doing some stuff when I got home. Trouble is, I got the Jeep stuck on a snow bank after bouncing through a deep water-filled hole on the two-track I call my East driveway. Walked a mile home to get the tractor and go back to recover the car. Got it out without too much effort in about a half hour. Took the tractor back home then walked back for the car. All told it took over an hour of farting around to get everything back home. Big boys and their toys. Right?

 

[kcan2]

Some component of our well failed yesterday evening (no water), so we had the bright idea of shovelling snow into the bathtubs to melt to use to flush the toilets. Come to find out, snow that has melted and then re-frozen in the past 24hrs is it's own animal and is generally oblivious to the heat in a 65° house. After sitting in the tub all night, there may have been about an inch of inaccessible water in the bottom of the tub, far under the glacier. At least the well is fixed now, but the glacier may be with us for a while longer

 

[SillyChicken]

and

Thank you for your service!

If you get chicks, and then build you'll have a few weeks before the chicks will need to go in their coop. The size of your coop/run should be determined by the number of chickens you plan to have. There is a sq ft per bird ratio that you should use... what is it guys? 2 sq ft inside per bird, and 4 sq ft outside? Of course more room is always better, plus allows for expansion of your flock.

You can also keep an eye open when driving around, look for industrial businesses and if you can see they have pallet stacks behind the business. They will often give them away if you stop and ask.

I would also do searches for used sheds people want to get rid of, instant coop?!

Hi everyone!

 

[RaZ]

and
The size of your coop/run should be determined by the number of chickens you plan to have. There is a sq ft per bird ratio that you should use... what is it guys? 2 sq ft inside per bird, and 4 sq ft outside? Of course more room is always better, plus allows for expansion of your flock.



Hi everyone!

I've always used 4 square feet per bird inside with 10 sq ft for the run. That has been my rule of thumb.

Hi Silly. Good to hear from you.

 

[Dreamzchaser]

welcome Dreamz, all good advice above. have you checked to see if you can have chickens in your area.Don't want to get everything bought and set up and have them come and tell you, sorry no chickens allowed.
And tractor supply will have baby chicks soon, or you could order some on line and get them vaccinated when you purchase. Just have to wait longer for eggs, but baby chicks are fun and if you handle them a lot they will be very friendly

Thank you Snowflake, I was told I can have up to ten egg laying hens but no roosters. I am in the process of finding how can I get a pen cheap but big. I would like to walk into it. But I just moved and much of my garage space is still covered with boxes,
I do have plenty of wood but it is kind of back somewhere,
Thank you for all the advises. I am reading plenty when I take time to get in the computer which is very little. I need to get this boxes out of the way very, very soon.

 

[Dreamzchaser]

and

Thank you for your service!

If you get chicks, and then build you'll have a few weeks before the chicks will need to go in their coop. The size of your coop/run should be determined by the number of chickens you plan to have. There is a sq ft per bird ratio that you should use... what is it guys? 2 sq ft inside per bird, and 4 sq ft outside? Of course more room is always better, plus allows for expansion of your flock.

You can also keep an eye open when driving around, look for industrial businesses and if you can see they have pallet stacks behind the business. They will often give them away if you stop and ask.

I would also do searches for used sheds people want to get rid of, instant coop?!

Hi everyone!

Amazing information. Will keep my suv empty for that reason from now on. Thank you so much. I still wish I was still on the Army. it is a lifestyle you get used to and people are meaner on the outside, well, not in Michigan so far.