New and excited to learn

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Glad to meet you and welcome to BYC. Congratulations on your new land.

Here are my favorite beginning articles, which I found in the Learning Center, NFC mentions above. All articles are short, and have illustrations, and reviews, which are often worth looking at for the comments.

1. Intro to chicken keeping

2. Common mistakes & how to fix them

3. Ventilation (important to chicken health), with helpful links to coop designs organized by climate (because what is just right for my New England hens won't work for my brother's Arizona chickens)

4. Predator protection for new & existing coops

5. Dealing with a muddy coop and run

6. (are you where winter is starting??) Winter chicken care

To look for articles on your own:

A. Use the SEARCH button, but use the Advanced Search choice, and select ARTICLES at the top of the box. Just enter your keyword(s) and scroll through your results!

B. I find it helpful to notice the rating and reviews. All articles are by BYC members, and all the reviews/ratings are as well. The ratings help a newbie like me sort the most useful and reliable articles.

C. You can bookmark the articles or posts you think you want to refer to again using that bookmark icon at the top of articles or posts. You can find them again by clicking on your own avatar and looking at the list of bookmarks you have built up!

Notes about where to put a coop.

1. As far as you can, put a coop and run on high ground, that drains well, so you won't have so much muddy coop problems. Chickens need to be dry, dry, dry.

2. As far as you can, put a coop with the ventilation lined up with your prevailing breezes, and away from the direction of your storms. If you are not sure of these (who is these days?), check with your local National Weather Service website.

3. As far as you can, arrange for some sort of shade over your coop and run. Preferably deciduous so the girls will enjoy winter sun, but summer shade.

Acquiring chickens.
You can get eggs to hatch in an incubator, which is exciting, or day old chicks which come in the mail (astoundingly enough) or you pick them up. Some folks pay more to get somewhat older pullets that are ready to lay.

Many folks just use one or another of the big hatcheries, and have good results. I got day old chicks from Meyers. When 2 of my chicks died within a day of arrival, Meyers cheerfully refunded my money (they gave me a choice of replacement, or money). I have been happy with the birds I got. But I think when I get new chickens, I might look locally. Besides Meyers, see Cackle, McMurray and many more. You can get really good prices, and a wide selection of breeds, including some rare types. The big hatcheries employ well trained folks to sex the chicks if that matters to you.

A lot of folks get chicks from their local farm supply store, which makes it convenient to also pick up all the supplies you need. But I also hear a lot of folks complain that they get the wrong breed because the chicks get mixed between the containers, and that also means if you really want all hens, it become even more of a guessing game. The staff are often ill informed, so watch out.

You can just google, or look to see if there is a Facebook poultry interest group for your area. I would not buy chickens from Craigslist. You want to be able to look at the facility to be sure it's clean and well maintained and the chickens are well kept and healthy. You don't want to buy diseased birds and have the heartbreak of dealing with sick and dying birds. Ideally, the facility would be certified as a member of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP). But many good and reliable breeders don't list themselves in the NPIP so don't make it a hard rule. Here is another good post about buying chickens.

Lastly, Back Yard Chickens has 2 ways for you to contact other members in your area to see about buying chickens. Occasionally, people are also giving chickens away - most often they are re-homing roosters. Check in on your state thread and ask around there or look on the For Sale forum, where you will also see the Animals in Need or Rehoming thread.

Sorry for the enormous post. But... you asked for it! :gig Best wishes from New England!
 

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