New to having chickens

Date sort Score sort
Twoeggheads

Twoeggheads

Hatching
8 Years
Feb 5, 2011
7
0
7
Hi, My wife and I are contemplating having about three laying hens for out backyard in Beaufort, NC. Since we are new to this we have a couple (or a thousand) questions. 1) How big a coop do we need? 2) Are the roosts, in the coop where they lay and sleep? Sorry for the silly questions but hey, gotta start somewhere. Thanks!
 
frow.gif
&
welcome-byc.gif
from Michigan
You need four square feet for each bird and yes they sleep on the roosts. Also you need to plan a bigger coop because you will end up wanting more, it's inevitable! There are no such thing as silly or stupid questions. What breed of chicken are you planning on getting?
 
Wellllll, funny you should ask, I have looked at several breeds on here but kinda like the RIR's or the Leghorns. But not quite sure. We live on the coast so any sugestions for breeds?
 
From my experience the RIR's are not ususally very friendly and I have heard that the leghorns are flighty. My favorites that I have are the delawares and the black australorps. They are very friendly. The delawares are in your face friendly and even like to get on your lap. Not everyone wants this type of chicken however and to each their own. It depends on what you want in particular. There is a breed selection tool on here, just look at the top of the page and click on breeds. That should help you decide.
 
Quote:
Wow, my two least favorites
lau.gif


That's OK

Love your member name!

welcome-byc.gif
frow.gif
from California.

Is the number 3 something you came up with due to regulations?

I wanted 3 and have 50.

Make sure you check out a lot of breeds. Do you want them just to supply eggs or will they also be pets?

The big dual purspose birds are nice, but as you can see from researching the breeds, there are many.

Are you able to have a roo?

Trust me once you get a couple of chickens the chcick math will get you. Make the coop as comfortable and easy to clean as possible. There are great coops on the design pages and also threads full of advice and information and more designs.

Hope you have a great time with your birds.

And this is a great place to be for any information.
 
Thanks Wolftracks, See this is the kind of info I was hoping for. We just want layers, and pets. The eggs are for us and others we will give to neighbors. The Delawares do look like a great breed. Hope to get somthing started this spring maybe, nothing elaborate just fun for two old kids at heart to have fun with.
 
Welcome from Northern California.
frow.gif
Make sure you have your coop ready before you get your chickens. It will save a lot of headaches. Good luck and have fun!
 
I would start with three standard-breed hens, of whichever breed you like the looks of. I personally like Barred Rocks and Wyandottes but they aren't super friendly. Funny and talkative (noisy!) though. If you want an assorted egg basket you should get a Ameraucana for blue or green eggs, a Marans, Penedesenca or Welsummer for dark brown eggs, and Plymouth Rock, Australorp or Orpington for light brown eggs.
You will love having the hens; they are so fun! If you are allowed to keep one, you might want to add a rooster eventually. Roosters get a bad reputation but can be very sweet and do protect the hens.

BTW,
welcome-byc.gif
from NY! (a galaxy far, far, away....)
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom