My first coop

[aart]

Aside from the cuteness factor, which my grandkids will probably insist on, what are the advantages of chicks over hens?

Lack of disease and pests(lice/mites)....huge factor.
Birds will be more 'tame', if handled correctly, pretty huge too when kids are involved.
Brooding chicks adds an extra learning curve and equipment.
Planning your coop to have a separate but adjacent space for isolation/additions is a very good idea. I'm glad I did it in my coop, wish I had made that space a bit bigger.
Will you have power to your coop?
What is your location/climate?
Adding this to your profile like this is good:

 

[Welshies]

Thanks for that great info. I'm planning on making my coop 6X6 to start, and was thinking of starting with 6 birds. The coop will be expandable if needed due to increase in number down the road. From what I'm reading, most flocks grow quickly, due to some kind of "cuteness factor" I keep reading about. I plan on 2 each of three breeds to start, but I had planned on buying adult birds already laying off of CL. From what I'm reading from members here, I should be starting with chicks. Aside from the cuteness factor, which my grandkids will probably insist on, what are the advantages of chicks over hens? The farm is on 30+ acres of virgin forest on the Suwannee River. Mostly uncleared still, and full of things that would love to eat little chicks.

Chicks vs hens. Ah, the long standing debate. I've started with both.
If you want a laying flock and don't have a brooding area, getting a rooster and a couple hens has its advantages. Later you can grow your flock by letting them hatch out their own chicks, and they'll brood them fully with no heat lamp.
Chicks however give you the advantage of watching them grow up and having them become tamer, although adult birds can be tamed. However chicks will not lay until 16-20 weeks.

 

[hlhutchinson]

Hello, I'm an obvious newbie, both to this site, and to raising chickens. I've just begun planning my coop, sourcing the building material from the tree's on our property, milling the lumber from the logs with an Alaskan chainsaw mill. Slow going, I may take the rest of the logs to a bigger sawmill. I've cleared the ground where the coop will sit, it should be ready for foundation work within days.
I've been looking here, and other sites, to try to determine which breeds of chickens I should start with. We want large brown eggs, from friendly birds, as our grandkids will want to get to know the chickens when they visit.
So I'll be searching here for any help with my coop construction pitfalls, and for advice on breeds.

Don’t for get to post pictures of your coop when don’t good luck

 

[Riverwood Farm]

The big advantage that I can see with starting with chicks is: I know how my chicks have been raised. I know that they have had good nutrition. I know that they have been raised free of external parasites. I know that I have started in the first week to expose them to local pathogens, and build their gut flora with beneficial microbes and fungi.

If I buy hens from craig's list, I have no idea how they have been raised. I have to depend on the honesty of the seller regarding the age of the laying hen. If you do go this route, I suggest that you buy young pullets which are off heat, but not yet laying. It's much easier to look at a pullet who is not yet laying, and determine her approximate age. I also suggest that you buy all of your birds at the same time from the same location.

I keep a closed flock, so will NEVER allow any thing other than day old chicks or hatching eggs on my property when expanding my flock with "new blood". It's too easy to bring in disease. Some diseases are "forever" diseases, and once on your land, or in your flock are nearly impossible to eradicate.

Wow, the things I've never considered when thinking about raising chickens. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of pets like dogs and cats. Make sure they have fresh food and water and a warm safe place to sleep, and they'll take care of themselves, and I collect eggs in the morning. I'm beginning to realize that raising chickens is much more involved than I first thought. And if I'm going to invest this much time, effort, and money into this project, I need to recover more than just eggs. I need to expand my (as yet non-existent) flock to include meat birds. Which will require more hens, a bigger, divided coop/run area, and a rooster.
Damn, all I wanted was cheap eggs.

 

[Riverwood Farm]

EZ Boardwalk Jr

I haven't yet.

 

[aart]

Damn, all I wanted was cheap eggs.

then go to the grocery store.

You can eat older hens and extra cockerels, they are delicious.
I do this every years after hatching out a new batch.

 

[lazy gardener]

Damn, all I wanted was cheap eggs.

What Aart said! Walmart and discount stores. However, if you eat home grown free range eggs, you'll never be willing to eat a store bought egg again!

Same goes for fresh garden produce. Home grown potatoes: Beyond description with the succulent flavor. Store bought potato: eating cardboard in comparison. Once you've been spoiled by the real thing, you'll not readily accept the fake cardboard versions again.

 

[Susannah4040]

G'day and Welcome

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Hello and welcome to BYC!! It’s so nice to have you join us.

This video may help with learning how to navigate this site.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask one of us.