New from Central Texas

[nomoore]

Hello y'all, from Central Texas. My wife and I are considering getting laying chickens for our 3 person family. We have friends who have chickens and my daughter (8yo) has loved chickens (I think) for as far back as I can remember. Whenever chickens are around she will follow them around and eventually end up with one in her arms. She's never considered them her "favorite" animal though. Anyway, she is allergic to cats and we are not a dog family (tried that and failed). So we are thinking chickens might be right for us. Plus, who can argue with back yard fresh eggs. That's better than farm fresh!

We don't have any yet but we are looking to get between 4 and 6 hens, no roosters. I don't know yet what breed I want. It has to be cuddly for the 8yo to pick up and heat tolerant for the HOT summers here in the Austin, TX area. Oh, and hopefully something brown so the stray feathers blend in with the yard more.

I'm also trying to figure out accommodations for the ladies so they will be cool enough in the summer (114F) and will still be ok in the winter (occasionally down into the teens except for during snowmageddon when it was down to 8F!!!). It was 15F last night with a wind chill of -1. Yikes!

This seems like a good community. I'm sure I can learn a lot from y'all. Just have to keep digging.

Happy roosting!

 

[Tookie]

Hello and welcome to BYC!
Some breeds you can look into may be Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, and Easter Eggers.

 

[BlueBaby]

Hello, and welcome! Good luck with your plan's. You might want to join your states thread in the forum as there is most likely someone that lives there in your area that already is set up good that could help to guide you with your's. Here is the link to the Texas state thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/texas.44/page-5093

 

[nomoore]

Thanks! I wasn't aware of the Texas thread yet. I'll go check it out.

 

[Fuchsia]

Hello and welcome to BYC. I’m glad you joined us.

 

[Grammy60]

Hello and welcome to BYC Best of luck on your chicken journey

 

[SilverBirds]

Welcome to BYC! This is the perfect place to talk and learn about all things chicken (and beyond!). I'd check out the Learning Center and read through some of the amazing articles. Let us know if you need anything, and best of luck with your poultry journey!

 

[sourland]

Hello, and welcome to BYC. Good luck in establishing your flock.

 

[janiedoe]

Hello, and welcome from East Texas!

 

[N F C]

Best wishes with all your plans!