New to chicken raising

[rhmerriman]

I am brand new to back yard chickens and just bought the chicken coop (Innovation Pet Chicken Resort for 18-20 Chickens). I have no chickens yet and hope to get help with selection. My chickens will be pets and will not become dinner. Eggs are ok but nobody loses her head. I could use help with equipment and feed recommendations. I live in Georgia which doesn't get too cold.

I'm a recently retired federal worker with areas of expertise in large rockets (missiles, space launch vehicles, orbital vehicles), explosives and electronics. My hobbies are rockets, electronics (of course) and computers. I used to enjoy SCUBA diving and sky diving until my wife decided I was too old to be jumping out of perfectly good airplanes or swimming with sharks. I enjoy bull riding as a spectator (wife won't let me ride).

While Googling chicken raising, I kept coming across BackYard Chickens and decided I should join.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Interesting intro! Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

Welcome to our eggcelent flock here at BYC! Remember that those prefab coops are smaller than what they advertise. A chicken needs 4sqFt per chicken.

 

[Brahmachicken240]

Welcome to BYC

 

[ldrchickens]

Welcome to the flock!!! If your looking for chickens as just pets and the eggs will just be a plus you should get ya some silkies or if you like super different breeds look into showgirls!! They are my absolute favorite! Good luck!

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Welcome to our FUNomenal community!
Best wishes and have lots of fun!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
The coop you have will never accommodate 18-20 chickens! Those pre-fabs never house as many birds as the information provided for them claims. At most, you could comfortably fit 10 LF chickens in it and that would be tight if you have any conflicting personalities.
If you are not in a rush and have any building skills at all, you might want to consider building your own coop or even modifying a shed to make a nice coop.
Good luck with your new chicken adventure!

 

[fldiver97]

Welcome! Glad you decided to join Love scuba diving, “worst day diving still better than best day at work”, lol.... Agree with DobieLover.....Almost all prefab coops usually are only suited for the #chickens listed if the chickens are bantams or teenagers. As far as breeds go, you don’t have to worry about extreme winters, that helps. I am fond of heritage breeds, variety of egg colors and fairly hardy breeds. My chickens are pets with benefits, don’t have to be prolific layers. I have/had Wyandotte’s (GLW), my oldest will be 10 years old next month, Black Australorp, Barred Rock, French Wheaten Marans and lavender Marans (dark brown eggs, very pretty), Speckled Sussex, Salmon Faverolles and Easter Eggers (all of mine laying eggs some shade of green).
But there are so many other breeds you may enjoy, check the breed section and article on breed selection. Good luck establishing your flock, enjoy! Ask away if you have questions

 

[feathermaid]

Glad you could join us here! How many chickens do you plan on keeping? @DobieLover is right, but I think that particular coop will house even less chickens, maybe 4-6, if this is the one. Us backyarders like to offer our birds at least 10 sq feet of space per bird in the run and 4 sf in the coop. That's definitely flexible though depending on your management plans, free range time included. Please read this article:
How Much Room Do Chickens Need

Almost all prefabs (I used to have one myself) have outrageous specs that are practically laughable, but are sadly within industrial standards.

Even organically raised birds are only allowed about 2 sf (16"x16") their entire short lives, which is exactly what the prefab you're considering offers for 20 birds:
Run - 80"x64" = estimate 7'x5'=35 sf
Coop - 60"x64" = 5'x5'=25 sf
I think it's a nice little coop and would make a great house for 6 chickens, especially if allowed to free range daily. Sorry if I went on too much, but it sounds like you want the best for your future chicken pets and I didn't want you to be deceived by the specs.

Good luck starting your backyard flock!

 

[Meg-in-MT]

Hello! Welcome to BYC!!

Good luck on your new adventure! What are the dimensions on your coop?

Feel free to check out the links below for some interesting reading.