New but Excited!

[NewChicklet89]

Hello all!

My fiance & I recently bought a house with almost 3 acres, & we had always agreed on raising chickens eventually. Well, his brother is someone to take these things quite literally & is friends with someone who raises chickens, so one day this past weekend, he showed up with 2 roosters & 2 hens, food, water dishes, & everything to build a couple rough boxes to stay in.

Well, without any chicken wire, they've been having a run of the yard, but stay within our back yard. We've yet to corral them into the boxes, though we are also getting a coop on Friday. They've been roosting in one of our lower hanging tree branches & stay around quite well.

We've been thrown into this before I think we were fully prepared, even though it's something we both wanted, so I'm feeling simultaneously extremely anxious & excited. They are cute & fun so far, but I've never been a "learn as I go" type of person!

I have so many questions that I've been looking up, but it's hard to know where to start. How do I get them to roost inside the boxes? They would be safer & could lay eggs in there (we have makeshift nests). I eventually want more hens, is it better to buy chicks, full grown hens, or let one of my girls hatch some? Can 2 roosters coexist in the long term, even though one is substantially more aggressive than the other, or should I get rid of one? What kind of treats will they like? How can I get them more comfortable around me & my son, the hens at least?

I feel like a total amateur, hence why I am signed up on this site now...

So HELLO everyone. I look forward to spending some time on here & learning about my new lil babies.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Welcome to BYC!

I will first say, in your situation I would suggest getting some additional grown hens or your males may begin to wear your two girls out! How old are they?

@Pork Pie Ken will be along soon to give you some introductory links, I'm sure

 

[rjohns39]

Welcome to BYC from middle Tennessee

First step: Take a deep breath and relax, you'll do fine. Two roosters can coexist however with so few hens it could be rough on them. Generally speaking you want 1 rooster to 10 hens or there about. When I introduce birds to their new house, I put them in there with food and water for three days to help them understand that's home. After that they seem to figure it out and I move food and water outside. I prefer to incubate eggs, some breeds are good moms and some not so much. I try avoid adding mature birds to the flock as transition seems more difficult. Treats: Meal worms, lettuce cucumbers, watermelon, greens in general and lots more. There are lists of dos and don'ts out here somewhere--but never more than 10% of their diet. To get them comfortable, grab a seat in the grass with some meal worms in hand. Give them time and they'll come to you. When they do, offer them treats... Once they get to know you, they'll be under foot. There's lots of good information out here to help you along your journey.

 

[Kiki]

Welcome aboard!
We are glad you joined our flock.
This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

 

[drumstick diva]

I would recommend rehoming the aggressive rooster, he's more likely to go after humans.

 

[NewChicklet89]

Thank you guys so much for your replies!! I feel better already! We have discussed getting more hens, & will definitely be doing so after we get the coop on Friday. Right now, the hens seem to be favoring the more aggressive rooster. The 3 of them have excluded the other rooster from roosting with them at night. He's been off on his own more & more. I got some mealworms last night finally, because they had been wandering farther & farther from their area, even into our neighbor's yard a little. Counting down until we get this coop...