New Florida resident and wanting chickens :)

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Coffeelover35

Coffeelover35

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We were awarded a house in florida...Sarasota Co. from a non-profit that works with wounded military men and women and the first thing I looked up was the laws for chickens. Super excited me I can have 4 chickens and hubby agrees with me!

My questions are the following and any help would be greatly appreciated since I am new to this.

1) Which chickens lay the best eggs and are a sturdy breed. I want chickens that are hardy and won't have issues outside of possible predators which that will be addressed with their coop and run once built.

2) Which chickens lay brown eggs?

3) In southern Florida it's a mix temp we have some cold nights and warm nights the weather isn't to drastic and want to make sure that I am doing right by the chickens I will be getting in the near future.

4) Is there certain things I need to feed them to make sure they get all the nutrients that they need to stay healthy and strong and lay good eggs?

5) Is there any foods that I need to make to sure to stay clear of for my future feather babies?

Any information and help would be greatly appreciated...I'm super excited!
 
Alright
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great to have a Military Veteran with us
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Wish you well in all your endeavors
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A good place for you to go is the learning center here at BYC
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If you look at our buy-sell-trade you should be able to find local sellers
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But in order to use the buy-sell-trade you will need 20 post but this can
be accomplished by just saying hello to 20 newcomers
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gander007
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If you go to "where am I, where are you," in the social forum - you can locate and post on your state thread. This should bring you in contact with people who may be locally selling the breeds of interest to you. They can also speak with authority on what type of coop, run etc. you need. I would imagine your biggest challenge for any breed is surviving hot, humid weather. Your cold period would be considered mild in any other area of the country - so wouldn't worry about that.

People in your state can best advise you on what feed stores have the best brands and prices, avian vets, if you need one, etc. Generally chicks are on starter/grower feed- as they approach "point of lay," they would be switched to layer mix. Layers need the added calcium, chicks & roosters do not.

There is much information in the Learning center, and also the Raising backyard chickens forum, that should meet your needs for quite awhile.
 
Coffeelover35 said:
We were awarded a house in florida...Sarasota Co. from a non-profit that works with wounded military men and women and the first thing I looked up was the laws for chickens. Super excited me I can have 4 chickens and hubby agrees with me!

My questions are the following and any help would be greatly appreciated since I am new to this.

1) Which chickens lay the best eggs and are a sturdy breed. I want chickens that are hardy and won't have issues outside of possible predators which that will be addressed with their coop and run once built. It really is just your personal preference when it comes to chickens that lay the "best" eggs. If you like pretty eggs, get breeds that lay dark brown or blueish eggs, like Marans, Welsummers, or Easter Eggers/Ameraucanas. If you want a lot of eggs, get a hybrid like the red sex link or a purebreed like the White Leghorn. Lots of chicken breeds are sturdy.

2) Which chickens lay brown eggs?There are many breeds that lay brown eggs; some include Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshires, Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, Australorps, Orpingtons, Marans, Welsummers, etc.

3) In southern Florida it's a mix temp we have some cold nights and warm nights the weather isn't to drastic and want to make sure that I am doing right by the chickens I will be getting in the near future. They should be fine, chickens are rather hardy creatures.

4) Is there certain things I need to feed them to make sure they get all the nutrients that they need to stay healthy and strong and lay good eggs?Just feed them a good-quality commercial chicken feed, supplemented (if you want) with kitchen scraps, greens from the outside, and some scratch grains on cold nights.

5) Is there any foods that I need to make to sure to stay clear of for my future feather babies?Some foods to avoid include avacadoes, rhubarb leaves, coffee, chocolate, raisins, and many others. I can't think of them all right now.

Any information and help would be greatly appreciated...I'm super excited!
Click to expand...
welcome-byc.gif
Glad you joined us!
 
study coop ideas,
there is not a chicken that can survive a predator attack (especially at night).
BYC is an amazing site for sturdy coop ideas that will keep out everything but bears and big cats.
 

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