Newby with no chickens yet!

[DeanaCal]

So glad I found this place! DH and I are planning to move out of the suburbs and into a semi-rural area in about 2 years where I can have chickens in my back yard. I know nothing about them so I am researching ahead of time. I'm hoping it will help me figure out what size yard we need before we even buy a place, so it will narrow our search.

I'm literally starting from scratch - I have no idea how many chickens I need to keep us in eggs, how much money I need to plan on having for startup and maintenance, etc. I'm hoping that by reading a lot and asking a lot of questions, I'll have plenty of knowledge stored up when I'm ready to take the plunge.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. Study the forums, ask questions, plan and you will be good to go when you move to your new home. You have come to the right place.

 

[N F C]

Good for you on doing your homework ahead of time. Make yourself at home here!

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC Do you want just eggs or eggs and meat? How about turkey? Just wanted to get the thought process going... We're so happy you joined us and we look forward to sharing your adventure, mine started a year ago

 

[drumstick diva]

Glad to meet you Deana - welcome to Backyard chickens

 

[blackdust951]

hello and welcome to byc!thank you for joining us

 

[Pork Pie]

Welcome to BYC

Here’s a link to the Articles section - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ There you’ll find lots of information on almost every aspect of keeping chickens - from coop building ideas, to incubating eggs.

There’s a link on the page above to the Learning Centre - it’s a great resource. If you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.

Each week, various topics are discussed, which can also be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

You may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread#post_3239224

All the best

Pork Pie

 

[black_dove2]

Hi welcome! Good your not like more putting the cart before the horse. Lot of information here and helpful people for support!

Edit like ME not more!

 

[DeanaCal]

Wow, thanks so much for all the replies in such a short amount of time! I think I've found a great community here already.

I have a full time job outside my home, so I'm really only looking to have enough chickens for eggs, plus companionship. I've always loved animals but always lived in the city so dogs, cats, and rats are the only pets I've ever had. Besides the chickens I want to raise, I have a strange urge for a small number of goats but don't actually know what I'd do with them. LOL. I've done a little cold-process soap making, so maybe goat's milk soap, but since I already work full time job I need to make sure I don't bite off more than I can chew.

 

[Trish1974]

Welcome! I also joined before I got chickens and I'm so glad I did. I learned so much which made me well prepared by the time I got my flock. I didn't have to go through my own trial and error process which probably saved some chicken lives!