New and first chickens

aemrnc

Hatching
Joined
Apr 5, 2015
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
9
Hi ... just finished putting together our first coop... we have neighbors so only have room for 4 hens.... figured eggs are a good bribe! lol We are in NJ so will need cold hardy and since we both work will need juvenile pullets. I am pretty good with the food but looking for bedding and ran across hemp and easichick ,,,, suggestions?? Also I am having a heck of a hard time finding older pullets...I really want Buff Orpingtons , Easter Eggers and RIR's Looking forward to learning alot here! Thanks
 
Hi, at the moment I am using a mixture of wood shavings and honney dew .you may ask hony dew?honey dew is a fresh smelling wood shaves that deture flys and mosquitos ect.this bedding is slightly more expensive that the wood shavings that are about $8 for a huge bale . with the honey dew costing around $12 . DON NOT USE HAY/ STRAW ! As they both makea perfect breeding ground for red mites and lice not only that they both are horible when they get wet from the chicken poop .hope this helped !
 
Thanks .... but never heard of honey dew?? except for the fruit... where would I buy it?
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
frow.gif


I am a huge fan of sand. It is easy to maintain, it repels flies, absorbs poop smells and you can hose it down in the summer time to keep the birds really cool. Here is a link about sand if you wish to read about it....https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/444759/got-sand-you-should

Make yourself at home here and ask any questions you may have. Enjoy this new chicken journey you are on and welcome to our flock!
 
Thanks for the welcome... I am very excited to finally get my chickens... I will look into the sand... any opinion on hemp bedding or easichick bedding?
 
Hi and welcome to our flock!
welcome-byc.gif


Glad you could join our community! Congratulations on finishing your first coop;that can be the hardest part of raising chickens. I suggest using wood shavings for bedding. They are very absorbent and easy to find in most cases. Be sure to get pine or aspen shavings, not cedar, since cedar can harm the respiratory tract.

To find some pullets nearby, you may want to check out the Buy-Sell-Trade area: Buy ~ Sell ~ Trade Or, check your local Craigslist. Feed stores may also have chicks available, especially in the spring.

Also, you may want to chat with New Jersey neighbors and get tips on keeping chickens there: New Jersey

Good luck with your future chickens! Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.
 
Thanks .... but never heard of honey dew?? except for the fruit... where would I buy it?
well honey dew is made for horses but usualy you can buy it from a tractor suplie store or ofline if not in a food store you could mabye ask if the could order it in for you .also the same produces of honey dewalso make a Eucalyptus smelling bedding still made of wood shaves
 
welcome-byc.gif
Glad you have joined us.

Wishing you good luck with finding your flock.

I have raised my small flock on sand and love it, but don't know how that does in NJ. You can check out the "Where am I" forums, there are a lot of folks on the forums from New Jersey. They may help connect you with breeders and offer suggestion on bedding best suited to your climate.
 
Thank you ... this is a great help.... I'm always leery about buying from Craig's list... a friend did and all her chickens died of some strange foot issue ....
roll.png
but i will look!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom