New (and naive) Chicken Owner

[padfootpal]

Just bought a house in East Cobb. No HOA - no problem. Huge lot size - no problem. Cobb County Ordinances - maybe a problem?

I was super excited to finally become a home owner so I could get just a few backyard chickens - for the hobby and the eggs mostly, but man are they cute pets. Now I have 4 1 1/2 month old chicks, 3 barred plymouth rocks and 1 speckled sussex. They are moving to their outdoor coop next week right before Thanksgiving. They grow up so fast....

Anyways - now I'm trying to find other new chicken owners in my area who I can share the Cobb County struggles with!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Atlanta has the largest chicken meetup group in the world with about 2200 members.
http://www.meetup.com/chickens/

You still have time to plant some things in the run for the chickens to eat and may be harder for them to eradicate. I suggest some alfalfa and a forage type turnip.

You can plant shrubs and vines around the run and you may be able to go in stealth mode where no one knows you have them.

 

[padfootpal]

Thanks for the suggestions! I literally JUST submitted a request to join that meetup group, how funny.

And I'm planning on putting them directly under an elevated back porch we have since the space underneath isn't really serving any sort of purpose right now. We have loads of tree cover as well and only 2 neighbors. One neighbor I literally never see and they have a privacy fence, so no problem. The other neighbor is super excited about the prospect of fresh eggs in the spring, so no problem there either. I just hate feeling like I'm skirting the law! At least they have become more lax about it over the past couple of years.

As far as putting the alfalfa and turnip down there, will it grow now that it's getting colder in November?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I just planted some beds. I'm sure GA is warmer than MO.
A friend gave me grief because I was planting yesterday.
I said, the seed only cares that it is 65F and raining, it doesn't care that it's November. It won't know the days are short till it starts growing. And cool weather things work quite well - radish, peas, clover, etc..
The reason I mention it is that chickens will quickly make the ground barren from scratching, eating, walking and shedding phosphorus.
I mentioned alfalfa because, once established, it is hard to kill since it sends tap roots to the water table.

 

[padfootpal]

Well I'm in GA and my thermometer said 32 this morning... I cleared out all the pine straw underneath the porch yesterday to make room for the new coop and the fence I'm about to put in. I threw down a bunch of seeds had laying around hoping that something will sprout by the time they move in next week.

Super worried about how cold they are going to be... But they are all feathered out and feel like little personal heaters themselves, so hoping they will be fine in their warm little coop during the winter. They've been eating and drinking like crazy too.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

At 7 weeks, they won't be cold. Certainly not down to freezing. Just give them plenty of fresh air. That's much more important than warmth.

 

[padfootpal]

Awesome. I'll take your word for it.

Coop should be done by this week and hoping they go out to it next week! They are so big right now, I've got to get them out of my garage....