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:welcome I am super excited to welcome you to BYC!!! I can ensure you everyone here is great and super helpful, yes sometimes we can butt heads but if that happens it ends fairly quickly and with an apology. I gotta ask if you are interested in any egg colors specifically because if so easter eggers are great, also black and blue copper marans are a favorite of mine as well. And good foragers are Brahmas, And If you want to be self-sustainable I think it is key to have a more broody likely hen like a Buff Orpington or a silkie. If you can hatch chicks with a hen rather than an incubator it is one less thing you have to worry about in a sense because I still worry when my hens are sitting but you don't have to rely on power or anything else. If you have any questions just let us know. :D
 
Thank you so much Scott214. We do have a garden, and had planned on letting the chickens in the garden area. Is there any problem with this? I assume it is likely best to only let them in the non food growing garden area (they might try and eat our produce).

In regards to egg colors, we’d love a variety. I’ll definitely look into these types! Thank you! We are not going to start with chicks, likely 9 or so month old. We found a lady not too far that raises several varieties, and will likely get them from her. After reading these forums I am already making plans to build a bigger coop. Lol.
 
nibuca said:
Thank you so much Scott214. We do have a garden, and had planned on letting the chickens in the garden area. Is there any problem with this?
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Chicken manure is considered hot, which means it's high in nitrogen, and can burn plants. So the common advice is to compost it before putting it on a garden. In practice, with the chickens dropping a little here and a little there, I doubt you're going to have a problem (it's not like there are little burned spots on the lawn where they pooped). But it is something to be aware of.

I wouldn't want the chickens in my garden anytime soon after I planted, though -- whether I planted seeds or starts. They'll scratch up the seeds, pull up the starts, and chew on everything else.

Here's what I do, though. I have the chicken run next to the garden. Both are fenced (I need the fence around the garden for the deer anyway), and the fence in between the run and the garden is more-or-less temporary.

Then, as soon as we finish harvesting in the fall, I take down that fence (just the part separating the run and the garden), and the chickens get to glean everything left behind. It also gives them access to the bug- and worm-rich soil. They have a blast, it cuts down on my feed for awhile, and it helps with the garden. I leave them there until early spring, and then put the fence back up a month or so before planting and till the garden up.
 
Plip, that is a great idea and would work very well the way our garden is set up! Is there anything they might over-indulge on that could make them sick? We have a plum tree and the neighbors have a cherry tree which hangs over into our yard. We end up with lots of fruit on the ground. Should these be off limits to them? Thanks!
 
Welcome aboard to BYC family gr8 people tons of information loads of fun enjoy shake your tail feathers
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Plip said:
Chicken manure is considered hot, which means it's high in nitrogen, and can burn plants. So the common advice is to compost it before putting it on a garden. In practice, with the chickens dropping a little here and a little there, I doubt you're going to have a problem (it's not like there are little burned spots on the lawn where they pooped). But it is something to be aware of.

I wouldn't want the chickens in my garden anytime soon after I planted, though -- whether I planted seeds or starts. They'll scratch up the seeds, pull up the starts, and chew on everything else.

Here's what I do, though. I have the chicken run next to the garden. Both are fenced (I need the fence around the garden for the deer anyway), and the fence in between the run and the garden is more-or-less temporary.

Then, as soon as we finish harvesting in the fall, I take down that fence (just the part separating the run and the garden), and the chickens get to glean everything left behind. It also gives them access to the bug- and worm-rich soil. They have a blast, it cuts down on my feed for awhile, and it helps with the garden. I leave them there until early spring, and then put the fence back up a month or so before planting and till the garden up.
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Lol Fences work? Mine are great at flying they even get on the roof of the house when it strikes their fancy. We planted our winter Arugula for salads and they decidedly told us it was theirs as we weren't observant enough to warrant this years Arugula according to them!
 
nibuca said:
Plip, that is a great idea and would work very well the way our garden is set up! Is there anything they might over-indulge on that could make them sick? We have a plum tree and the neighbors have a cherry tree which hangs over into our yard. We end up with lots of fruit on the ground. Should these be off limits to them? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Hopefully they fall to the ground fermented so the chicken can party!Honestly I trust the birds to know what they can eat.
 

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