Hello. Love this site. You are all so helpful. I had 4-H chickens 20 years ago and now that we have some space in the country I can have poultry again. Yeah!
This past summer we built a nice big coop that is 4x8x7 with 3K sq ft pen to roam in under fruit trees. Then bought twenty 18mo old hens from some farmers locally (10 buff Orpington & 10 Rhode island reds). We started getting eggs with 2 weeks. We were adopted by an abandoned Orpington rooster a month later that roamed our neighborhood, who we named Big Rubin. Sadly, we lost two hens to a hawk on Christmas so we are down to 18 chickens.
We also have 4 ducks, 2 white layer ducks, a Swedish blue and a Cayuga-peking cross.
It's been a big learning experience for sure. We are getting 10 Novogen chicks in 3 days and we are a bit nervous. Our brooder is ready to go. Looking for tips on how many hours of light the chicks need each day.
This past summer we built a nice big coop that is 4x8x7 with 3K sq ft pen to roam in under fruit trees. Then bought twenty 18mo old hens from some farmers locally (10 buff Orpington & 10 Rhode island reds). We started getting eggs with 2 weeks. We were adopted by an abandoned Orpington rooster a month later that roamed our neighborhood, who we named Big Rubin. Sadly, we lost two hens to a hawk on Christmas so we are down to 18 chickens.
We also have 4 ducks, 2 white layer ducks, a Swedish blue and a Cayuga-peking cross.
It's been a big learning experience for sure. We are getting 10 Novogen chicks in 3 days and we are a bit nervous. Our brooder is ready to go. Looking for tips on how many hours of light the chicks need each day.