New to the world of chickens

[AmyLynn2374]

Roosters have such wonderful personalities and beautiful colors you should at least have one

My two loves which I got knowing nothing about chickens but wanted 2 hens for eggs ended up being roos ... conformation of this last week when they started crowing (4 months 2 weeks old) but I wouldn't trade them for the world they are loving and so fun!!!

x2. My roos are so much more personable than my hens...lol I'm pretty sure I heard my (just turned 4 month) roo try to crow this morning for the first time. My son says, 'Mom? What's that noise?"
lol.

 

[luvmychix2014]

x2.  My roos are so much more personable than my hens...lol I'm pretty sure I heard my (just turned 4 month) roo try to crow this morning for the first time. My son says, 'Mom? What's that noise?"
lol. 

That's hilarious, it's like a teenage boy lol

 

[AmyLynn2374]

That's hilarious, it's like a teenage boy lol

It actually sounded like he was squaking 'I'm male!' lol

 

[aart]

I'd also would strongly advise against roosters at first, get the coop and run and a half a dozen hens under your belts for a year or so first, get all the kinks and learning curves out of the way.......

....theeennnn..... maybe get a rooster or an incubator and some fertile eggs locally if you want to do the hatching/brooding/integrating thing(that is sure to net your some roosters).

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I'd also would strongly advise against roosters at first, get the coop and run and a half a dozen hens under your belts for a year or so first, get all the kinks and learning curves out of the way.......

....theeennnn..... maybe get a rooster or an incubator and some fertile eggs locally if you want to do the hatching/brooding/integrating thing(that is sure to net your some roosters).

Why?

 

[lazy gardener]

You've received some excellent advice. I don't know if anyone has discussed space requirements: The recommendation is 4 s.f. in the coop, and 10 s.f. in the run per bird. I strongly recommend that you have a good run, even if you plan to let them free range. There are times when it will be necessary to at least keep them in a run. City company coming for an outdoor barbecue, and they don't understand chicken poop on the patio. Neighbor's dog running loose and he loves to chase and kill little things that flutter around and go squeak. I also recommend that you build your coop and run larger than you think you need.

Also, I recommend that you resist the urge to add chickens from other flocks to your existing flock. That's an excellent way to bring in disease and parasites which can make your flock very sick, or even kill them.

Your small little flock will seem to be just right for your needs... at first. Then, you'll see a breed of chicken that looks like eye candy, and has the most delightful personality, and you just have to have a few of them. Then one of your hens will go broody. And no matter how much you try to break her, she continues to sit on the nest and whisper sweet nothings to her invisible eggs. So, you simply have to give her some fertile eggs to hatch. Besides, it's a wonderful way to teach your boys about the miracle of life. How could you pass on the opportunity to let your sun cradle an egg in his hand, shine a flashlight into the egg, and see a baby chick dancing inside that egg? Then, down the road, your first hens enter their golden years. You're faced with culling them, or opening a geriatric wing on your coop. Even if the old gals are only laying a little bit, you'll need to start some new chicks so you'll have a constant supply of those fresh eggs you've become addicted to. SO, BUILD THAT COOP PLENTY BIG, OR PLAN ON BUILDING IT TWICE!!!!!

 

[EricandJeri]

You are going to have so much fun! I am new to chickens too - a city girl - but we recently bought some land and I want fresh eggs, plus I am just an animal lover. A friend gave us six newly hatched chicks at 3 days old and they were great! One of them (Marilyn) loved me and let me hold her and talked to me. Notice I am speaking in the past tense. Unfortunately something killed all six of them! Whatever it was peeled back the chicken wire from the top and killed them all, it was horrible.

I decided to try again and on Dec. 3 received 13 babies from MyPetChicken.com, all hens (in theory), all brown egg layers. They are growing like wild and I touch and feed and talk to them a few times a day, hoping for a couple of social ones. They are still inside in the brooder but now we have constructed what we hope is the Fort Knox of chicken coops so that we don't lose our girls again.

I hope you enjoy your chickens! They are really pretty and so interesting to watch.

This is me and Marilyn

 

[aart]

Quote:
Because roosters can be an unpleasant pain in the butt, especially for the inexperienced......because he has small kids and they can be dangerous...because they're not necessary if you only want eggs and pets...because if you only want a few hens just one rooster can overwhelm them...there are many reasons. Don't get me wrong, roosters can be great to have, I have had more than few and have eaten several(another thing newbies might not want to consider)......but most newbies just getting started with a small flock will have a better experience with hens only, especially those with small kids involved. JMHO.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Quote:
Because roosters can be an unpleasant pain in the butt, especially for the inexperienced......because he has small kids and they can be dangerous...because they're not necessary if you only want eggs and pets...because if you only want a few hens just one rooster can overwhelm them...there are many reasons. Don't get me wrong, roosters can be great to have, I have had more than few and have eaten several(another thing newbies might not want to consider)......but most newbies just getting started with a small flock will have a better experience with hens only, especially those with small kids involved. JMHO.
I find my roos to be more personable than my hens. Honestly. My boy is 6 and haven't had a problem yet. Granted, mine are being hand raised, and are handled on a daily basis. I wouldn't keep a roo, or any bird for that matter that was overly aggressive. My very first chick turned out to be roo. He is my baby.


True, if you aren't interested in fertile eggs, there's less reason to have one in your flock, but I've also heard that roos are good for protecting the hens and alerting to preditors.
Many families raise hens and roos with young kids with out incident. I think it's unfair to count them out on that basis. Out of these 12 I hatched plus my pet roo, there are more roos in the bunch I'd rather keep than the hens. Alas, I can't because it would defeat my purpose for getting into raising them, and too many roos in the coop would overwork the hens.
I have to respectfully disagree.

 

[William1hens]

Welcome to backyard chickens

.
You would need a fence for the chickens to be 4-6 foot high if you don't have a roof on it.
It might need to be adjusted because some chickens are flightyier than others.Your're supposed to have 4 s.f per chicken in the coop and 10 s.f in the run but since you have the space you could make it bigger.Some of my favourite breeds are light and speckled Sussex and Australorps.There is more info on the breeds in the breed section on backyard chickens.
Roosters aren't necessary unless you want fertile eggs.They don't affect the egg production at all.If you are going to hatch chicks in the future its best to use your own eggs so you know where they are coming from and that they are fertile.
If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask.