Hello my soon-to-be chicken friends! I am Shreenith and I am determined to raise chickens in my backyard. I live with two other girls and I'm in a six-year doctoral program, so I'll be here for a while. I am requesting all your best tips, tricks, and help. I know virtually nothing about chickens (sad face) but I am learning quickly. Any resources you have would be appreciated, as well. I would like to build my own coop, but I have very little experience with carpentry. So please give me any help your sweet chicken-loving hearts can spare! Looking forward to hearing from you, my new precious friends, Shreenith
Hello Shreenith and welcome to BYC from Ohio! Glad you've joined, and I would suggest that, with your busy schedule, maybe try a small coop with 3 to 5 hens. So many things to consider..... Do you want to raise some hens for the fresh eggs? Brown eggs? White eggs? GREEN eggs?! The first thing I did when picking out my very first chicks was, I went online to some hatcheries, and I requested their catalog. That way, I could see pics of the different breeds, descriptions like cold/heat tolerance, size, egg laying frequency, and egg size, temperament...... The Meyer Hatchery at meyerhatchery.com has a great catalog for that, which also has great pics of the different breeds too. (No, I don't work there, it's just an hour away from my house, so that's where I buy my chicks.) Their catalog is just so informative. And it's free. I can't advise you on the coop building. I got mine from Craigslist, already built. Take care, Sharon
Awesome, thank you! I used to live in Ohio, but now I'm in California. I was thinking of getting three, and for the eggs. I was reading that they're much better for you than store-bought, and my sister (a vet student) has been telling me about the atrocious conditions in even the best "egg factories." Green or other fancy colors would be really cool, but I don't need them to be happy. I'll take your advice and look for catalogs--thanks! I looked on Craigslist a bit for coops, but they seem either expensive or suspicious-looking. What would be a good price, do you think?
Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan Check out the FAQ section here for lots of good threads https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/204/backyardchickens-forum-faq-chicken-dictionary#post_1198
Hi and from Ohio. So glad you are here. That coop will only house two chickens. Sometimes folks sell used sheds that make great coops. You just need to either take them about or have the whole thing put on a trailer and brought home. Good luck.
