New Chicken Parents

[Tinkerbell531]

My Husband and I just bought our 1st home on 5 ACRES! Naturally, we want some chickens to provide us with eggs and entertainment I hear Chickens are great company. We were gifted 7 hens last night and are very new to this. This is a whole new process. We are getting a rooster this coming weekend and from what I've been told the Rooster is very nice and does not flare up at anyone. I am unclear on the breeds we have, as these were left behind from a previous homeowner. We have 3 children living at home with us; 13 yr old female, 9 year old male and a 1 year old female.

Any tips/tricks/pointers on helping us succeed in being proud chicken owners would be great.

 

[Celeste Cannon]

Welcome! Glad you joined! If you are free ranging you could definitely have a lot more birds than what you have, chicken keeping is addictive so beware! You will want more and more breeds. Make sure the roo and your girls are introduced well and that they get along. If you need any tips on that let me know. Whats the coop like? Are they free range over all 5 acres?

 

[fruitcrisps1416]

Welcome to BYC

I've found BYC to be a very friendly, helpful and welcoming community so I'm sure you'll love it.

I agree with Celeste Cannon. Chicken keeping is super addictive. We started with 3 a couple months ago, we are up to 6 (including a duck) and getting two more hens tomorrow.

 

[alexa009]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens! We are glad you joined the flock! BYC is a helpful site providing all the information you need to know about poultry! There is always space for more members on the BYC roost! I'm glad to hear your new rooster is going to be friendly. Hope you enjoy it here as much as we all do

 

[Rick M]

Hello and welcome to BYC . Chicken keeping is extremely addictive and like has been mentioned you always want more, we cant wait for early spring to add to our flock when day olds are available at Meyers.

 

[meetthebubus]

Welcome to BYC enjoy your new home and chickens!

 

[007Sean]

Howdy

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[happy duck]

I don't know mush about chickens, as I am here for ducks, but you will find tons of info here! Welcome to the roost!

 

[Tinkerbell531]

Welcome! Glad you joined! If you are free ranging you could definitely have a lot more birds than what you have, chicken keeping is addictive so beware! You will want more and more breeds. Make sure the roo and your girls are introduced well and that they get along. If you need any tips on that let me know. Whats the coop like? Are they free range over all 5 acres?

Well, the plan is to have them free range. Currently, they are going to be sequestered in their coop for the first week (we have a run they can walk out into but the top is covered to prevent them from flying away). My Husband built the coop himself.

As for the roo, we do not have a game plan on that just yet. I was hoping to get some research under my belt on that between now and Saturday.

Do you have any helpful tips for us?

 

[50-45-1]

Thats a pretty nifty coop your hubby built.
And your hens look healthy and happy.
Its realy easy to overload your avaliable space by adding on to many chickens.. crowding can bring you all kinds of problems you will not want.
not sure where you are located but if you have winter, will they be confined inside your coop?
You may just want to stay with what you have now and see how it goes.
im realy glad you joined us!
Welcome to the backyard!