NY chicken lover!!!!

[cracrzy4chicks]

TOB - I'm about 45min from the Turning Stone Casino exit on the thruway, traveling East on tre 365 toward Rome.

 

[java girl 2]

Quote:

Welcone to the group. We have all sorts of chicken breeds among us.

I just got some Brabanters, and they are laying eggs! Yeah...
I also have Marans, Coronation Sussex, Lavendar Orpingtons & Silkies.
Hatching each week. Yes, I have a lot of chickens....LOL
Vernon, NY

Hi Java Girl 2 ...

As mentioned, I'm still in my early education mode with regard to my backyard chicken endeavor, but my thinking is that with pullets, I'd like them old enough to where they have been acclimated to outside / coop living. I'd like them as young as possible from that point, however, in hopes that it is still possible to begin a bond with the individual birds. I don't know if this is realistic or not, though it seems to be if I put in the effort.

I so appreciate your comments -- where are you located? I'm near Otisco Lake.

TOB

TOB, I am going to PM you!

 

[Glasshen]

Hi Tough Old Bird! I'm in LaFayettte, and my son lives in Otisco. His neighbors have chickens, and I too started out with 6, really only wanting 3, but now I love them so much I have 12, and only fear of my husbands reaction is keeping me there.

For my number having poop boards with a mix of sand and PDZ works well, I scoop it daily, so most poo goes to the compost. Then I have deep litter on the floor, and that is working well for the winter.

J and J Feeds in Big Bend is a nice feed store...there is a lady in Fabius who has speckled Sussez, which I love. My barred rocks are sweet and very smart and plucky. I have Rhode Island red who loves to be broody...

Chickens are such fun, and these are great folks.

 

[cracrzy4chicks]

Hi Tough Old Bird! I'm in LaFayettte, and my son lives in Otisco. His neighbors have chickens, and I too started out with 6, really only wanting 3, but now I love them so much I have 12, and only fear of my husbands reaction is keeping me there.
For my number having poop boards with a mix of sand and PDZ works well, I scoop it daily, so most poo goes to the compost. Then I have deep litter on the floor, and that is working well for the winter.
J and J Feeds in Big Bend is a nice feed store...there is a lady in Fabius who has speckled Sussez, which I love. My barred rocks are sweet and very smart and plucky. I have Rhode Island red who loves to be broody...
Chickens are such fun, and these are great folks.

Hi Glasshen
I LOVE Speckled Sussex Could you please pm me with the info for the lady in Fabiius ? Maybe I could get some eggs from her !!

 

[Lapeerian]

S

 Hi Glasshen  
     I LOVE Speckled Sussex  Could you please pm me with the info  for the lady in Fabiius ?  Maybe I could get some eggs from her !!

Speckled Sussex was one of the breeds I wanted to try out too!

 

[cracrzy4chicks]

I had 2 Speckled Sussex, but lost 1 this summer to a predator. They are very cool birds ! Mine are very friendly, curious & like to be held. Not to mention they have gorgeous coloring,

 

[Tough Old Bird]

Hi Tough Old Bird! I'm in LaFayettte, and my son lives in Otisco. His neighbors have chickens, and I too started out with 6, really only wanting 3, but now I love them so much I have 12, and only fear of my husbands reaction is keeping me there.
For my number having poop boards with a mix of sand and PDZ works well, I scoop it daily, so most poo goes to the compost. Then I have deep litter on the floor, and that is working well for the winter.
J and J Feeds in Big Bend is a nice feed store...there is a lady in Fabius who has speckled Sussez, which I love. My barred rocks are sweet and very smart and plucky. I have Rhode Island red who loves to be broody...
Chickens are such fun, and these are great folks.

Glasshen - I have sent you a PM. Thanks for the great info / advice!

TOB

 

[Tough Old Bird]

I had 2 Speckled Sussex, but lost 1 this summer to a predator. They are very cool birds ! Mine are very friendly, curious & like to be held. Not to mention they have gorgeous coloring,

Out of my 5 or 6 top choices in narrowing my breed preference list, I had considered Speckled Sussex. They sure are attractive and have some nice traits. Sorry about your hen being taken. Sounds like predators can be a real issue. We've got so many fox and coyotes here, and I love wildlife...but don't plan on providing a "KFC drive-thru" for their convenience! We'll have to really keep this in mind when constructing the pen and coop.

TOB

 

[Tough Old Bird]

TOB - I'm about 45min from the Turning Stone Casino exit on the thruway, traveling East on tre 365 toward Rome.

I would guess you are about an hour and a half from me.

TOB

 

[Tough Old Bird]

"like minded"? We're enablers. Build big. LOL Or do you already have a structure on the property? Draft free, good ventalation, with roosts and nest boxes. That's all they need. Power is wonderful, but not necessary. A close water supply is nice, but if you don't have 100's of birds, you can carry 2 gallon jugs down daily without to much stress to the body. However, if you are building a new structure, keep in mind that chicken feed comes in 50 pound bags. If I had it to do over, I would move my coop one group of trees closer to where I park my car. My wagon broke and carrying those 50 pound bags is killing me.

I have tried sand in my coop. Not a hit, but I have a LOT more chickens than I set my coop up for. (Like 3x the amount I said was my max. LOL) I am slowly switching to wood shavings. The sand didn't add anything to the compost pile and I am having a hard time composting the poo for garden use. When I only had a few chickens I could scoop the sand poop free in a few minutes. Now I can't even find all the poop, cuz there are so many birds they have squished it into the sand. (Just my 2 cents regarding floor covering)

Cass, you cracked me up. We are building new, and I have heard a resounding theme here: "build bigger than you originally planned"! So I am taking that advice to heart, though. The sand is interesting and something I would not have considered. Sounds like it makes clean-up after a small flock easier. Do you buy a certain type of sand (i.e. play sand)? I am figuring to place a window for ventilation in summer that will be boarded over in winter. Perhaps a vent in the roof. Although I am 99% sure I will completely enclose the pen area (roof included), are squirrels ever a problem? I have a lot of trees and would like to utilize some for shade, but to leave an open "ceiling" in the pen invites anything that can climb to predate...squirrels, raccoons, etc.

Power is planned and I'll be close to the spigot. Sadly, I do not think we will build close to our driveway, though! I'd better get in shape! (And be nice to my husband.)

TOB