Newbie in NC

[verity]

I have just joined the BYC forum -- because I am going to need lots of advice!

My husband and I are retired and I have decided that I NEED some backyard chickens --

Our chicken house project has taken on a life of its own and may never be finished -- it is huge and we keep adding details (I only want a few chickens!) One of our grandsons saw the coop over the weekend and said,
"Yikes! How BIG are the chickens going to be?!!"

This chicken-house may not be finished for another two or three weeks ---

So -- first question:
Is this going to be too late in the year to get my chickens?

We have a warm garage and enough cages to keep babies until they get to be a good size but we are hoping to find someone who will sell a couple of 'grown-up' hens.

If we find baby chicks in this area, will they be mature enough to move outside before the 'real' winter sets in? -- chicken-house will have electricity, etc.

We have had some experience with chickens in the past as our kids had them for pets -- all of us loved them! The chickens all lived to be 'senior citizens' and were petted and pampered.

I can't figure out how to post a picture of the 'coop-in-progress' (I am way better with chickens than I am with computers!)

Thanks for any and all advice!

SueR

 

[Chicabee19]

W

You'll find a lot of good answers here!

Depends on your location and what your weather is like.

I use Photobucket to post pics. Load your pics up there, copy the BB link and paste it into your forum post.

 

[Matt A NC]

What part of NC are you in?

There are several shows coming up over the next few months. All will have folks outside with birds forsale ranging from full grown to very young. I will be at the shows in Morganton(Oct 25), Winston-Salem(Nov 29), and possibly Greensboro(Dec 6).

There may be some sales that have haven't been announced yet. These will get posted once dates are set.

Matt

 

[verity]

We live in Clemmons (just outside Winston-Salem)

I saw your post about the chickens at Tractor Supply in Statesville and thought about going over there -- but the chicken house is still a work in progress --

I only want a couple of chickens to start with!

Interested in having eggs (no chicken stew around here!)

We'd like to have a rooster just because it won't seem 'complete' without some crowing in the morning ---

Thank you for the info!

SueR

 

[cmom]

Here is a great referance book, Gail Damerow's 'Storey's Guide to Chickens' is an excellent guide, as well as this web site.

 

[hensdeliverthegoods]

Hi from a fellow NC'er...be happy to help out if I can.

 

[krjwaj]

Welcome! We are in Wake County and still awaiting our first eggs to be laid. You will enjoy the experience!

 

[gritsar]

Howdy verity and welcome to the forum. I am originally from NC, raised in Asheville and moved here to Arkansas from Wilson.
If you will have electricity in your future coop and are quite sure it's predator proof than you could start either way, full grown hens or chicks.
My chicks started out in a shed with electricity. Since it was early April at the time and still chilly, I used an oil-filled electric heater and their heat lamps at first, then just their heat lamps and soon after they didn't need additional heat.
I definitely prefer starting with chicks vs. full grown. It's alot of fun watching them grow and develop their personalities.

 

[verity]

Thank you for the good advice you have already given!

I have the 1995 edition of Storey's Guide to Keeping Chickens as well as some other chicken books (is this
'chick-lit?!')

I have tried several ways to send photos but can only do it by e-mail -- :-(
Will ask our son to help out next time he's over this way.

It's good to know there are so many chicken fanciers in NC --

next question:
Is it okay to have a bantam rooster in with 'regular sized' hens -- I truly only want one rooster and thought about getting one of those teeny-tiny ones --

We had a RIR rooster named 'Reuben' for nearly 10 years and he was the meanest thing any of us had ever seen -- only our daughter was not intimidated by him --

At that time we had several bantams and added this tiny baby chick from Tractor Supply as an 'impulse buy' when the babies were cheeping at TS -- paid extra for sexing so we wouldn't be getting another rooster (the three bantam roosters we had were PLENTY of roosters!)

So -- we were startled when 'Rosie' turned into 'Rueben-the-Terrible' -- but in spite of his wicked ways, he did have a certain amount of charm -- and a very high opinion of himself --

Our chickens at that time were 'free-range' during the afternoon and penned up at night -- a plan we intend to use again -- eventually.
Rueben was so scary that I had to keep a broom on the porch to use as defense when I went to the mailbox!

We plan to start with several Blue-laced Wynadottes from a friend this fall and then add to our 'flock' next spring ---

SueR

 

[gritsar]

I've heard that RIR roosters can be terrors. That's not so with all standard breeds. My two standard roosters are big ol' babies.
I don't know much about bantams, so I'll leave the question about a bantie roo with standard hens to the experts.