Newbie from NC

ncfastdogs

In the Brooder
7 Years
Apr 23, 2012
12
0
22
Rutherford County, NC
Hi all from Western North Carolina! My husband and I brought home 6 barred rock girls about two weeks ago. They are about 5 weeks old and doing great so far. They seem to have all of their feathers now. We have been wanting chickens for awhile and finally decided to take the plunge. We wanted the barred rocks due to their heartiness and duel purpose (not sure if I will be able to kill and process them yet). I was surprised at how hard it was to find barred rock chicks. I thought they were pretty common, but I had a difficult time finding them. Our girls have been living outside under our carport since we got them, but have only been without a heat lamp for about a week. I gave them the heat lamp for tonight since we may have frost.

We are currently finishing up their coop. We are almost done, but have a bit of a problem. We built it in a different location than where we want it. Does anyone have advice on moving it to a new location? It is 4x6, 2 feet off the ground, and VERY heavy. We were not expecting it to be as heavy as it is.

We are new to BYC and are excited to learn all we can. We are also hoping to become more self-sustaining. We liven in a small rual town in Western North Carolina. I am a special education teacher and my husband works at a small local university. We have have a greyhound and border collie who live inside. I am a bit worried about my greyhound getting my chicks. The chickens will have their own lot (we are using a 6ft 20x14 chain link dog kennel) so I don't think she will be able to hurt them, but I am worried she will harrass them. I have been working with her to get her used to them. I think my border collie will not hurt them, but again he may harrass them by trying to heard them. Lol. I was wondering if anyone used a hearding dog for hearding chickens back into their lot or coop.

I am afraid I have been bitten by the chicken bug! I am already planning out what I want to get next and where we can build a new run for breading pairs! Lol! I think it is amazing to hatch your own eggs. I am hoping to try that next!
 
Your local TSC (Tractor Supply) should have Barred Rock chicks, but they are "straight run" only and they only have shipments of chicks and ducks for about 6 weeks. My local TSC has stopped receiving them for the year but they have a small "swap meet" there on the 2nd saturday of each month. Local breeders bring their fowl and some bring ducks, ponies, goats, etc. to sell. If your TSC has stopped receiving chicks and ducklings for the year you might check with them to see if they have swap meets, or know of any local breeders that may sell the Barrd Rock breed.

There are also several breeders out there that sell the breeds you want and will ship them to you through the USPS. The chicks will be one day old when they ship and some send extra chicks in case one or two die during shipment or guarantee replacements for the price of shipping.

As for moving your coop.....Is it narrow enough to jack it up off the ground far enough to back a trailer under it and move it to its new location?

I hope this helps you. Good luck with your babies.


Tim
 
Hi && Welcome!!!
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I'm looking into moving to that area! Have fun with the chickens! :)
 
Good Morning and Welcome to
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. Barred Rocks are fairly common in My Area Rural NY . Being in The Educational Field you may be surprised to find out that Chicken Lovers have a different type of Math .. They call it Chicken Math .. Watch how Fast 6 can multiply I truly Think Chickens are addictive .. Not To Feed What will probably become an addiction .. But One New Rooster .. Will Make it easier for you to Find More BR's in your Coop .. Before you know it People Might be coming to you to get theirs : ) And Then of Course you Will Want an Incubator for Valentines day .. An entirely new fun experience and next year you will be writing telling us how excited you are about the new Bigger Coop you are planning ! So Heck you might want to Leave that coop where it is and save the space for the Expanded Coop you will want next year !!!
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As For the Dogs .. Lots of Dogs live in Harmony and even will protect Chickens, but they usually do take a lot of supervision at First .. So The Dogs understand we do not want them Harmed .. Just like bringing a Kitten in the House .. I Saw a You Tube Video the other day of a Woman allowing a Dog to Hatch a Mature Egg ( Why I Do not know ) I Wouldn't risk it... But The dog kept listening to the chirps in side the egg and gently with his teeth a little at a time helped the Chick chip away at the shell .. and eventually licked it all clean and snuggled it by his nose until the lady took the Chick ..
I Have three Dogs One is a Pure Bred Doxie .. Which was Bred of course to be a Ratter .. and will go crazy if she sees a Mouse .. It took me a little time but She no longer Chases any of the Chickens at all .. And as She follows me every where, she Walks through the Hen house with me.. New Chicks if lower on the Floor still get her Very curious.. as I think she thinks they are mice..But I Just give her a warning and she just watches. She Has never grabbed one .. I WOULD Watch Very very Closely though and stay in attendance or keep them very protected until you were very comfortable with them together though ..
 

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