New Member Into

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC, Beth! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

I always recommend starting as small as possible. So I would stat with 3. I had three hens for a while and you would not believe the peace and calmness around the chicken yard. Small flocks are so much fun and easy to care for.


We are glad to have you and look froward to getting to know you better!

 

[atcbravozulu]

Thank you

3 sounds perfect. I don't really live in a high prey area. I live in a subdivision in suburbia...lol. I'm sure my neighbors are going to LOVE this, so they will probably be my biggest predators

I do have dogs...if I get the hens as babies, will the dogs be protective and sweet the way they are with all things little?

 

[sunflour]

Thank you

3 sounds perfect. I don't really live in a high prey area. I live in a subdivision in suburbia...lol. I'm sure my neighbors are going to LOVE this, so they will probably be my biggest predators

I do have dogs...if I get the hens as babies, will the dogs be protective and sweet the way they are with all things little?

glad you have joined us.

Dogs are never protective and sweet to chickens. Many folks have experienced loss of their flocks to their own dogs. A friend of mine had one that actually protected his free ranging chickens and then one weekend when they were away, the same dog killed them all. I think statistics show most chicken losses are to dogs.

Suburbs generally do have predators - there are many most don't think about - raccoons generally thrive around people. In many areas even urban are now seeing coyote and fox. Don't know if possum are only in the south, but they are vicious. Hawks are everywhere and until I got my hens I never paid attention to how many are around. You can go thru the potential predator lists and google your area to make sure what may be around. But if your chickens are protected from your dog and the dog does have yard access then they can keep many of the ground predators away.

If you do elect to do the tractor, make sure you look at how much area you need for rotational movement. And look at the weight and how you will move it. Many are quite heavy and would need a full size Tractor to move them. And how to protect them from weather issues.

With a small backyard flock, IMO any loss would be devastating, I agree with drumstick diva's advice.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Thank you

3 sounds perfect. I don't really live in a high prey area. I live in a subdivision in suburbia...lol. I'm sure my neighbors are going to LOVE this, so they will probably be my biggest predators

I do have dogs...if I get the hens as babies, will the dogs be protective and sweet the way they are with all things little?

I agree with sunflour on this one. Dogs are very rarely good with chickens.

You can train them to be. Here are a couple links on that
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-your-dog-to-chickens-tips-tricks
http://fresheggsdaily.com/2012/11/basic-chicken-etiquette-for-family-dog.html

 

[atcbravozulu]

I just got the worst news from the office I spoke to yesterday...while backyard chickens are legal in the state of Delaware, my HOA laws trump the state laws. They said the only way I can have chickens is if I can get the HOA laws changed. I'm heartbroken...does anyone have any experience with this?

 

[Mountain Peeps]

I just got the worst news from the office I spoke to yesterday...while backyard chickens are legal in the state of Delaware, my HOA laws trump the state laws. They said the only way I can have chickens is if I can get the HOA laws changed. I'm heartbroken...does anyone have any experience with this?

Oh I'm so sorry!

I personally have never to deal with this. But there are many members that can help you. Here is a link I would suggest looking at
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-laws-and-ordinances-and-how-to-change-them

 

[BantamLover21]

I'm glad you joined our community!

 

[nj2wv]

Welcome to BYC !!