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jackieo61028

jackieo61028

Songster
5 Years
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
166
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71
Points
136
Location
Alabama
Hello! My name is Jackie and I'm from Semmes, Alabama. My husband and I have 7 kids and, for some reason, decided that we needed a bunch of chickens!! Heck, to feed our family we probably need to have an entire farm. Lol. We are still newbies to the whole chicken raising thing. We're learning as we go. We decided to go big right off the bat and ordered 25 chicks from the hatchery. We now have 25 7 week old pullets, unless one decides to start crowing, (8 buffs, 5 sl wyandottes, 6 EE's, and 6 BR's) and a 5 month old rooster (white leghorn). The whole family loves the chickens to death. I'm so glad that we decided to just do it. The only problem might be that I want more. When you start with 26, more could be a problem!
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Welcome to BYC and the wonderful world of chickens!

I'm from a family of six kids myself, so believe me, I know how much we can all eat!
I also know how chicken math works, you get a few, and you need more!

We love talking about poultry, so feel free to ask any questions you may have, post comments or just fun stories and pictures.

Best of luck with your new flock!
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Welcome to BYC, Jackie. Glad you decided to join our flock. Beware of "chicken math." Very few BYC members are immune to it. :o) Raising chickens is a wonderful experience for children. My children and granddaughter (pictured in my avatar) loved our chickens and made lap pets of the calmer and more gentle breeds. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.
 
Chicken math? I should have done it before I jumped feet first into the water! We're going to have chickens everywhere! I'm going to have to add-on. My hubby will be HAPPY!
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jackieo61028 said:
Chicken math? I should have done it before I jumped feet first into the water! We're going to have chickens everywhere! I'm going to have to add-on. My hubby will be HAPPY!
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I love your coop; very cute! Thanks for posting the pic. :o) One thing you might need to think about however, if you've got any predators in your area such as racoons, opposums, skunks, etc. is completely covering the chicken wire with hardware cloth as these predators can tear through chicken wire. Also snakes, rats, and weasels can squeeze through the openings in the chicken wire mesh. It will cost some extra money to add the hardware cloth all the way up and over the top of the run, but it is a one time expense and it's cheaper than replacing your flock. There is a good article at http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/07/11-tips-for-predator-proofing-chickens.html on predator proofing your chickens.
 
Michael OShay said:
I love your coop; very cute! Thanks for posting the pic. :o) One thing you might need to think about however, if you've got any predators in your area such as racoons, opposums, skunks, etc. is completely covering the chicken wire with hardware cloth as these predators can tear through chicken wire. Also snakes, rats, and weasels can squeeze through the openings in the chicken wire mesh. It will cost some extra money to add the hardware cloth all the way up and over the top of the run, but it is a one time expense and it's cheaper than replacing your flock. There is a good article at http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/07/11-tips-for-predator-proofing-chickens.html on predator proofing your chickens.
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We have hardware cloth halfway up the coop and into the ground all the way around at least a foot. It's also covering all the windows and vents. We've been pretty worried about predators since we live in the woods. We may go back and cover the rest at some point. Although, during the day while the chickens are in the run, there are a million kids, a dog, and a couple cats wandering around. At night all the windows shut except for the vents. The only thing getting in is roaches. I hate roaches. I'm cringing now just typing the word. They FLY. They fly at me. I cry and run. I'm pretty sure I heard the chicks laugh at me. Is there a roach proof cloth????
 
Welcome Jackie,
Oh no let the roaches in the coop! That is the ultimate roach motel
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They get in and they will not come out!
You do have other options than building on to the coop. Like if you were to sew up some Chicken diapers they could just live in the house. I have 5 children 4 are grown and moved out now I miss the chaos sometimes
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. We have always had pets in the house, However I Have not managed to convince DH that laying hens could live happily with the cats but I am still working on it.
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Have fun all is fair here Chickens dogs cats Children ....

Dont forget to check out your state thread you may find some great tips for your area there.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you
 
jackieo61028 said:
The only thing getting in is roaches. I hate roaches. I'm cringing now just typing the word. They FLY. They fly at me. I cry and run. I'm pretty sure I heard the chicks laugh at me. Is there a roach proof cloth????
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Be glad you don't live in Hawaii then. :o) We have loads of cockroaches out here that are 2 inches long. The pic below is one of our Hawaiian cockroaches. We commonly call them B-52s (a reference to the huge bomber plane).
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Michael OShay said:
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Be glad you don't live in Hawaii then. :o) We have loads of cockroaches out here that are 2 inches long. The pic below is one of our Hawaiian cockroaches. We commonly call them B-52s (a reference to the huge bomber plane).

Wow. I'm so sorry I opened this right before hitting the sack. Nightmares.
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