Hello, I live in Winter Haven, Fl and am brand new to chicken raising. I grew up in a rural area but never raised any animals other then in Ag class in high school. I am married now with two wonderful children and living within city limits on a whopping 1/5 acre. I am dieing to start farming/homesteading but until I locate a suitable property to relocate my family to, I am taking steps within my confined area to try and live a more sustainable lifestyle. About 3-4 weeks ago I purchased 5 RIR chicks from the local feed/farm store. I built a coop after doing a lot of research (most of the time Google brought me here to BYC.) I am enjoying every minute of it! My wife laughs because she will come out back and catch me sitting in the coop or outside of the coop on a 5 gallon bucket just watching them. They are all doing great except for one! I came home from work one day and one of the chicks had vanished! There was no sign of blood or feathers or any kind of animal markings on the wood. The other 4 girls didn't seem skiddish so I have no clue what happened. I felt horrible! the next day I started operation Coop Knox to be sure that there was no way anything was getting in or out of that coop. Things have been great since. This past weekend I let the girls out during the day and forage about my backyard garden beds while i did yard work. I know I have tons to learn and look forward to every minute of it!
and Welcome To BYC! Good luck with your new flock! Hope you are able to find the home and land you are looking for. You might also like the BYC sister site 
