New-ish chicken momma

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Kjconley

In the Brooder
Feb 20, 2024
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(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Moved into a house almost 5 years ago that came with 5 older chickens. They were not real friendly, and seemed pretty scared when we people came around, so other than feeding, watering, and cleaning, we left them be. Over the years we are now down to 1 of the elderly chickens. In September, we were given a mommy chicken with 6 babies (she was being picked on by the other hens where she lived previously). The elderly chicken has integrated with them nicely.

(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
8 total: 1 elderly hen, 4 younger hens, 3 roosters

(3) What breeds do you have?
1 Plymouth Rock, 7 Buff Orpington

(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
Eggs! No but really, they're cute and it is fun watching their different personalities and the way they interact.

(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Reading, hanging with my family, trying to keep my house clean lol.

(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
My household consists of myself and my husband, 5y/o b/g twins, 10y/o son, 15 y/o step daughter, my mom, my 7y/o nephew (who my mom is raising), my disabled adult sister, often my 1.5y/o nephew, and occasionally my 11y/o step son. We also have 2 dogs, Sasha (elderly border collie/German Sheppard/husky mix) and Doja (borderline elderly pit/lab mix) and a parakeet named Sweet Pea.
I am a substitute teacher and am working on becoming a Loan signing agent.

(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community? :D
I found this community on Google because the more I pay attention to the chickens, the more questions I have!
 
Glad to meet you, KJ, and welcome to BYC. Good on you guys for adopting the elder hens, the bullied hen and all those spare relatives as well! There must be a lot of love around where you live.

Here are my favorite beginning articles that helped me as a newbie. I hope you will find them helpful as well. All articles are short, have illustrations, and reviews, which are often worth looking at for the comments.

1. Intro to chicken keeping

2. Common mistakes & how to fix them

3. Ventilation (important to chicken health), with helpful links to coop designs organized by climate (because what is just right for my New England hens won't work for my brother's Arizona chickens)

3(a). Farmers Almanac on Building Coops (Includes size requirements!) Allowing plenty of space for chickens is really important because, even as chicks, they will start pecking each other or plucking their own feathers, or become unhealthy if they are overcrowded. Here is a link to Colorado State Extension's publication on space and temperature requirements for chicks as they age.

4. Predator protection for new & existing coops

5. Dealing with a muddy coop and run

6. Gardening for chickens

7. BYC Lists of Chicken Ailments and Cures

To look for articles on your own:

A. Use the SEARCH button, but use the Advanced Search choice, and select ARTICLES at the top of the box. Just enter your keyword(s) and scroll through your results!

B. I find it helpful to notice the rating and reviews. All articles are by BYC members, and all the reviews/ratings are as well. The ratings help a newbie like me sort the most useful and reliable articles.

C. You can bookmark the articles or posts you think you want to refer to again using that bookmark icon at the top of articles or posts. You can find them again by clicking on your own avatar and looking at the list of bookmarks you have built up!
 

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