PoultryParent-2-6
Hatching
- Mar 23, 2018
- 1
- 7
- 9
Hi there ALL
I have been reading and watching a plethora of videos on chicks/chickens since November 2016, yes...2016!! I have spent a TON of time here on this site. I saved it in my favorites when I first started learning all this stuff, but just became a member today
Now that I'm closer to getting my chicks I feel like I can officially join the "mom's/dad's club" in ChickenLand because no matter how much I've learned over the last 15 months- there's always more to learn...SO much to learn and there is a WEALTH of info here! These are tiny living beings so I wanted to make sure I had a very good handle on what I was getting into and what to expect. I'm originally a city-girl, but we bought our first house way out in Hill Country Texas (30 miles north of Austin if you're not familiar with the area). A few months after we moved here I decided I wanted to raise a little flock just for eggs. My husband wanted to raise them dual purpose, but I'm too much of a softy I guess...so eggs only it is, lol. This last November I finally decided I had collected enough info and was ready to started building our coop. I've never built anything in my life. I went to Lowe's and gathered some basic lumber pieces to start (4- 4x8 sheets of plywood, 4- 8ft 2x2's and 20- 2x4's and a ton of screws [the washers were ridiculously expensive at Lowe's so I got those at the local hardware store for a fraction of the price]). Our property came with a HUGE barn lacking adequate shelving so I knew if any of my purchase didn't get used in the coop, it would definitely get used in the barn. I have no idea how to do angles or anything so my coop was actually constructed underneath an old goat pen. I think it came out ok for someone who's never built anything before. I did enlist the help of my husband. No matter how independent I tried to be, there are some things that just require 2 sets of hands. It ended up being a huge project...way bigger than we thought, but it was actually pretty fun. A lot of work, but still fun
Our goal was to have it done by NY's, but with weather, trips out of town, etc., it took a lil longer than we hoped, but as far as functionality- we finished it last Sunday finally. My husband wanted to have a ribbon cutting ceremony
. Now it's just lacking a little paint on the outer structure. It's a 4x8 coop with 3 internal nest boxes, windows, ramp, ventilation (I think it might need more), cleaning access door, a roost ladder that I built (not sure if it's gonna work) and it's got a feeder and a waterer. The feeding system outside is PVC piping and the waterer is a 5 gallon bucket with 4 poultry nipples. The run doesn't have any roosts yet, but it will. They do have a swing that was a side project to take a break from all the work and do something fun and it's got a couple of mirrors that I got at Goodwill, cleaned them up and painted them.
The amount of chickens has changed continuously from 6 to 8 to 5...we're sticking with 6 now. 2 weeks ago I started thinking about the brooder and I looked at sooo many options. I thought about the tote, but saw that some people had issues with them jumping out after a couple of weeks...I thought about the pumpkin box too, but then I found a hidden treasure in the barn (this barn had a TON of stuff when we moved in). I found an old shipping crate built with fairly thin wood and crappy staples so I pulled it all apart, sanded it all and securely screwed it all back together, cut out some holes, added some hardware cloth and threw on a quick coat of paint I had left over from the coop (paint free from the barn) and BAM! A matching brooder . I later found some casters in the barn so I put them on there too since it's kind of heavy and will be in our rec room. I know it may sound a little overboard, but I figure it will come into use later either for an injured hen or maybe I'll start hatching someday? Who knows? At the very least I can put it in my tack room (now chicken supply room) and use it for storage or something. Maybe I should post pics so if I missed something it can be pointed out before the girls go in their permanent home?
I picked up the baby chick feeder and waterer this last weekend. Pulled the heat lamp out of our pump house (record lows here this last winter). Got some Starter feed and I ordered my baby chicks yesterday from a local lady with a HUGE chicken farm! Here's what I ordered:
1 Black Copper Marans
1 WHITE Leghorn
1 Easter Egger
1 Delaware
1 Orpington
1 Brahma
(ALL female)
I'm supposed to be able to pick up the order on Monday and I'm SUPER STOKED!!! I've been thinking about this stuff for sooo long now!
I still have lots of questions so here I am
I have been reading and watching a plethora of videos on chicks/chickens since November 2016, yes...2016!! I have spent a TON of time here on this site. I saved it in my favorites when I first started learning all this stuff, but just became a member today
Now that I'm closer to getting my chicks I feel like I can officially join the "mom's/dad's club" in ChickenLand because no matter how much I've learned over the last 15 months- there's always more to learn...SO much to learn and there is a WEALTH of info here! These are tiny living beings so I wanted to make sure I had a very good handle on what I was getting into and what to expect. I'm originally a city-girl, but we bought our first house way out in Hill Country Texas (30 miles north of Austin if you're not familiar with the area). A few months after we moved here I decided I wanted to raise a little flock just for eggs. My husband wanted to raise them dual purpose, but I'm too much of a softy I guess...so eggs only it is, lol. This last November I finally decided I had collected enough info and was ready to started building our coop. I've never built anything in my life. I went to Lowe's and gathered some basic lumber pieces to start (4- 4x8 sheets of plywood, 4- 8ft 2x2's and 20- 2x4's and a ton of screws [the washers were ridiculously expensive at Lowe's so I got those at the local hardware store for a fraction of the price]). Our property came with a HUGE barn lacking adequate shelving so I knew if any of my purchase didn't get used in the coop, it would definitely get used in the barn. I have no idea how to do angles or anything so my coop was actually constructed underneath an old goat pen. I think it came out ok for someone who's never built anything before. I did enlist the help of my husband. No matter how independent I tried to be, there are some things that just require 2 sets of hands. It ended up being a huge project...way bigger than we thought, but it was actually pretty fun. A lot of work, but still fun Our goal was to have it done by NY's, but with weather, trips out of town, etc., it took a lil longer than we hoped, but as far as functionality- we finished it last Sunday finally. My husband wanted to have a ribbon cutting ceremony
. Now it's just lacking a little paint on the outer structure. It's a 4x8 coop with 3 internal nest boxes, windows, ramp, ventilation (I think it might need more), cleaning access door, a roost ladder that I built (not sure if it's gonna work) and it's got a feeder and a waterer. The feeding system outside is PVC piping and the waterer is a 5 gallon bucket with 4 poultry nipples. The run doesn't have any roosts yet, but it will. They do have a swing that was a side project to take a break from all the work and do something fun and it's got a couple of mirrors that I got at Goodwill, cleaned them up and painted them.The amount of chickens has changed continuously from 6 to 8 to 5...we're sticking with 6 now. 2 weeks ago I started thinking about the brooder and I looked at sooo many options. I thought about the tote, but saw that some people had issues with them jumping out after a couple of weeks...I thought about the pumpkin box too, but then I found a hidden treasure in the barn (this barn had a TON of stuff when we moved in). I found an old shipping crate built with fairly thin wood and crappy staples so I pulled it all apart, sanded it all and securely screwed it all back together, cut out some holes, added some hardware cloth and threw on a quick coat of paint I had left over from the coop (paint free from the barn) and BAM! A matching brooder . I later found some casters in the barn so I put them on there too since it's kind of heavy and will be in our rec room. I know it may sound a little overboard, but I figure it will come into use later either for an injured hen or maybe I'll start hatching someday? Who knows? At the very least I can put it in my tack room (now chicken supply room) and use it for storage or something. Maybe I should post pics so if I missed something it can be pointed out before the girls go in their permanent home?
I picked up the baby chick feeder and waterer this last weekend. Pulled the heat lamp out of our pump house (record lows here this last winter). Got some Starter feed and I ordered my baby chicks yesterday from a local lady with a HUGE chicken farm! Here's what I ordered:
1 Black Copper Marans
1 WHITE Leghorn
1 Easter Egger
1 Delaware
1 Orpington
1 Brahma
(ALL female)
I'm supposed to be able to pick up the order on Monday and I'm SUPER STOKED!!! I've been thinking about this stuff for sooo long now!
I still have lots of questions so here I am
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to have you join the family. Enjoy your time here at BYC! 
We are glad you joined our flock.
