JudithsChickens
In the Brooder
- Jan 2, 2019
- 8
- 52
- 44
Hi all,
I am super new to this, but have been considering getting chickens for some time now. Now that I own a home in an area that allows chickens, I'm excited to start! I'm in Colorado, which can get both super hot and cold, and I'm starting this at a weird time of year, but I hope it all works out well.
Right now, I don't have any chickens, but I have eight chicks arriving hopefully next week that I purchased online. My area only allows for 6 hens max and seems to have generous requirements for the chickens given what I've read so far. I ultimately plan on rehoming the extras of the eight that survive the first six or so weeks. I expect the chickens to be a mix of easter egger, buff orpington, austra white, rhode island red, australorp, barred plymouth rock, and silved laced Wyandotte. A prefab coop is arriving in a week or two, and I plan on using it for a base to modify into the final coop.
I have two dogs and live in a suburban area with neighbors with dogs, so it will be interesting to see what final setup works best for the chickens. The entire yard is surrounded by a 6 foot fence, so in theory I think I could just let them roam freely after they've acclimated to their new coop and mini run, assuming no predators make this impossible. The coop I got is on wheels and designed to be moved around and has like a little mini run right under it, so I plan on making a much larger frame to act as their real run. I also plan on adding a second story to the coop once it gets here and improving the roosts etc. Hopefully my shop skills will pay off!
I'm joining the community to get advice and guidance from people who have been doing this a lot longer than me. I want my chickens to be as happy and healthy as I can let them be, and that's going to require some learning. I have two questions now that I'll also post in forums:
(1) Would chickens be bothered by the walls of the coop being see-through? I've seen some coops based on translucent plastics, and it seems like it would be useful to be able to count your chickens in their coop and monitor them. But I don't know if it would stress them out or something. Anyone done this before?
(2) I've been testing out the heat lamps I got for for brooding in my heated basement, and everything seems to say I need to have 95 deg Fahrenheit for the first week. Does that mean if I leave a thermometer under the heat lamp about where the chicks would be, that the thermometer needs to reach 95 after sitting for a while and go no further? I've generally assumed that giving them enough space to go away from it or toward it to suit their needs would be enough, but do I have to worry about them falling asleep right below it and like frying themselves?
Looking forward to chickens and your advice!!
I am super new to this, but have been considering getting chickens for some time now. Now that I own a home in an area that allows chickens, I'm excited to start! I'm in Colorado, which can get both super hot and cold, and I'm starting this at a weird time of year, but I hope it all works out well.
Right now, I don't have any chickens, but I have eight chicks arriving hopefully next week that I purchased online. My area only allows for 6 hens max and seems to have generous requirements for the chickens given what I've read so far. I ultimately plan on rehoming the extras of the eight that survive the first six or so weeks. I expect the chickens to be a mix of easter egger, buff orpington, austra white, rhode island red, australorp, barred plymouth rock, and silved laced Wyandotte. A prefab coop is arriving in a week or two, and I plan on using it for a base to modify into the final coop.
I have two dogs and live in a suburban area with neighbors with dogs, so it will be interesting to see what final setup works best for the chickens. The entire yard is surrounded by a 6 foot fence, so in theory I think I could just let them roam freely after they've acclimated to their new coop and mini run, assuming no predators make this impossible. The coop I got is on wheels and designed to be moved around and has like a little mini run right under it, so I plan on making a much larger frame to act as their real run. I also plan on adding a second story to the coop once it gets here and improving the roosts etc. Hopefully my shop skills will pay off!
I'm joining the community to get advice and guidance from people who have been doing this a lot longer than me. I want my chickens to be as happy and healthy as I can let them be, and that's going to require some learning. I have two questions now that I'll also post in forums:
(1) Would chickens be bothered by the walls of the coop being see-through? I've seen some coops based on translucent plastics, and it seems like it would be useful to be able to count your chickens in their coop and monitor them. But I don't know if it would stress them out or something. Anyone done this before?
(2) I've been testing out the heat lamps I got for for brooding in my heated basement, and everything seems to say I need to have 95 deg Fahrenheit for the first week. Does that mean if I leave a thermometer under the heat lamp about where the chicks would be, that the thermometer needs to reach 95 after sitting for a while and go no further? I've generally assumed that giving them enough space to go away from it or toward it to suit their needs would be enough, but do I have to worry about them falling asleep right below it and like frying themselves?
Looking forward to chickens and your advice!!
We are glad you joined this flock!
Glad you joined.
