Newbie from New Hampshire

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njgreg007

njgreg007

Hatching
5 Years
Apr 1, 2014
7
0
7
Hello everyone! I am a 100% pure newb and planning to get started with a backyard chicken or 2, or 3. We live on a 1/2 Acre in Southern New Hampshire and would love to get started with 2-3 chickens!! We have a 6 month old baby girl and a Pug/mix dog named Bailey. Our land is not fenced, but our 1/2 acre is half grass, half wooded. We have TONS of ticks and bugs that I would really rather do without, and I'm hoping that the chickens could help out on that front as I would hate to have to spray our yard with pesticides. Getting chickens is not just for bug control, we are animal lovers and would really like to have them around as part of the family and of course for fresh eggs!

So now for my questions...

What breed of chickens would be best for our small amount of land? I'm worried that letting them free-range, they will wander off or end up in the neighbors yard. Also, I don't want our neighbors to hate us, so is there a breed that are on the quieter side?

Would my dog being a Pug/mix be able to keep them in the yard while free-ranging? Or is that a bad idea? We could put up temporary fencinge to keep them from wandering off, but we have plans to fence in the entire yard next year.

Is it better to get them as chicks and raise them ourselves? Or is getting grown chickens a better idea?

Being in New Hampshire the winters are pretty brutal, do we need a certain type of coop to help keep them warmer in the winter? Obviosuly we would run a power cord out there for a heat lamp. But just wondering if there are different types of coops for different climates.

Thanks!
 
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Welcome to BYC!

You might want to start with some reading in our learning center here on BYC as many of these questions can be answered there along with all the other aspects of keeping poultry....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

As for breeds, there are lots of great breeds out there that are friendly, docile and great layers. You might want to take a look at both of these external links for some ideas....

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/chickenbreedcomparison.pdf

Check out our coops section as well so you can get an idea on what type of coop will suit your needs...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops

If you have any other questions, that is what we are here for!

Oh, and welcome to our flock and enjoy this new adventure!
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! TwoCrows gave you some great links to get you started. Also check out the BYC Breeds section for member reviews on a lot of breeds. Your chickens will wander off, and even if she is good with them the dog will not be able to keep them in the yard, you might want to consider a chicken tractor type thing to move around the yard (lots of examples in the Coops section) or electric poultry netting. Predators are a big concern no matter where you are with free range birds.
Check out the Housing Your Chickens section of the Learning Center for tips of coop building for your area, you might also wan to check out your state thread for what types your neighbors are happy with https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/61852/new-englanders-much-ado-about-new-england
Chicks vs hens is really personal preference ... Chicks are cute and fun to have and the chickens usually wind up tamer if you raise them yourself, but they are a lot of work and rather fragile and some may die, and you have the possibility of accidental roosters... with grown hens, you know you have hens, and you get eggs a lot faster, they will tame down with time.
 

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