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wv8ch

wv8ch

Hatching
5 Years
Oct 29, 2014
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Hello, my name is Charlie, I live in West Virginia and I have had chickens for the last 20 years. I inherited them from my wife's uncle. I have continued the same care that he gave them but I don't know if it is correct. I joined BYC to learn and get educated on the proper care and technique to care for the chickens. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 
wv8ch said:
Hello, my name is Charlie, I live in West Virginia and I have had chickens for the last 20 years. I inherited them from my wife's uncle. I have continued the same care that he gave them but I don't know if it is correct. I joined BYC to learn and get educated on the proper care and technique to care for the chickens. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
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Welcome to BYC
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from San Diego. I suspect you have a lot to teach quite a few of us.... there is a huge variety of opinion out there.... as is normal for people passionate about a subject.... Housing feeding predator protection..... you name it.... Read lots take what fits for your situation and file the rest for future reference.

You will see a range of people from Full on Scientist/naturalists where you almost need a college degree to read their articles down to practical aspects of day to day husbandry.

If you join a discussion introduce yourself and let people know what area you live in espcially if you have a question.

Good luck have fun and use that search tool at the top.

deb
 


Congrats on the new flock! You should defiantly check out our learning center where you'll find tons of helpful info on raising chickens and keeping them healthy.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

The most important things a chicken coop needs is proper ventilation, protection from predators, weather and drafts, clean, dry bedding, access to the outdoors, nest boxes, roosts and light. The most important things to do to keep your flock happy and healthy include providing water, food, access to the outdoors, clean living quarters, nutrition, protection from predators and stress free living conditions.

Your flock needs a well balanced diet. If you keep only hens then consider feeding them a layer feed which is the best food for eggs. They also will need calcium which can be found in either oyster shell or eggshells. If you keep roosters and hens then layer feed or flock raiser are good. If you are going to raise hens, roosters and chicks then feed them grower feed or flock raiser. They all need access to clean, fresh water at all times.

You need one nest for every 2 hens you own. Use 2X4" roosts with the 4" side as the side the chickens stand on. You also need clean, dry bedding. Straw, shredded paper and pine shavings are the best materials. Sand, hay, cedar shavings pine needles are things you shouldn't use.

Chickens need 8-12 square feet per bird in the run. If you free range they don't need as much. They 3-5 square feet per bird in their coop. More is always better.

There are good and bad things for free ranging your flock
Pros

-Happier chickens
-Generally healthier chickens
-More room=exercise and ability to have more chickens
-They will eat less food

Cons

-Easy targets for predators
-Generally more prone to diseases and parasites
-Can get hurt and killed more easily.


Good luck and hope this helps! Obviously, you have done a great job already!
 
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Welcome to BYC. If your chickens have been thriving over the years, I think you are already doing a great job of raising them.
 
Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. What kind of chickens do you have?
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
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Mountain Peeps has left you with some great info. She also left you with a link to our learning center. Lots of good articles on all the aspects of keeping your new flock.

Enjoy this new journey you are on and welcome to our flock!
 

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