Excited newbie here!
They just approved backyard chickens in my city about 6 months ago. After our initial excitement, we decided it was probably best to wait till after our baby was born to start a big new project. BabyBoy is 4.5 months old now, so when we saw a pre-built coop come up on craigslist last weekend we jumped on it (we are not carpenters... YET). Then we stalked craigslist for chickens. Our bylaw allows 4, but we have three adults and three kids, and that didn't quite seem enough, so we're sneaking a few more in and will give our neighbours eggs now and then.
Today we went out and got two (over-priced, I'm sure) Ameraucana-Araucana cross hens, two Buff Orpingtons, and two Rhode Island Reds. The A-As are pullets and from a separate flock, so it's already clearly where they are in the pecking order and I'm already thinking of building them their own little chicken tractor. My daughter has claimed them as hers because she has long said "I was thinking to get TWO chickens," so when we went to pick those ones up first she assumed they were hers. She has named them Leaf and Keasha. The other 4 don't have names yet, but I'm mulling over some.
We have a fully fenced yard with many fenced compartments within it, but the chickens have their own makeshift enclosure, as well. I'm sure we will soon discover we need to build them a proper enclosure, but the coop is secure. We made our excited newbie error and let them out in their run when we got them home (why would we not want to watch them scratch and peck??) but then come dark they didn't know where to go. We managed to bribe some with pears and some oats, then we put a light in there. Then one got caught in the fence trying to jump onto a rail to roost and we got her. Then her partner just stood around on the ramp and *I* got caught on some fence trying to shove her inside. But they're in now and nice and quiet. I'm trying to resist the urge to go peek at them. I'll end up going, mostly to see where they're roosting. When we were putting the two stragglers in one of the AAs was in a nesting box.
They just approved backyard chickens in my city about 6 months ago. After our initial excitement, we decided it was probably best to wait till after our baby was born to start a big new project. BabyBoy is 4.5 months old now, so when we saw a pre-built coop come up on craigslist last weekend we jumped on it (we are not carpenters... YET). Then we stalked craigslist for chickens. Our bylaw allows 4, but we have three adults and three kids, and that didn't quite seem enough, so we're sneaking a few more in and will give our neighbours eggs now and then.
Today we went out and got two (over-priced, I'm sure) Ameraucana-Araucana cross hens, two Buff Orpingtons, and two Rhode Island Reds. The A-As are pullets and from a separate flock, so it's already clearly where they are in the pecking order and I'm already thinking of building them their own little chicken tractor. My daughter has claimed them as hers because she has long said "I was thinking to get TWO chickens," so when we went to pick those ones up first she assumed they were hers. She has named them Leaf and Keasha. The other 4 don't have names yet, but I'm mulling over some.
We have a fully fenced yard with many fenced compartments within it, but the chickens have their own makeshift enclosure, as well. I'm sure we will soon discover we need to build them a proper enclosure, but the coop is secure. We made our excited newbie error and let them out in their run when we got them home (why would we not want to watch them scratch and peck??) but then come dark they didn't know where to go. We managed to bribe some with pears and some oats, then we put a light in there. Then one got caught in the fence trying to jump onto a rail to roost and we got her. Then her partner just stood around on the ramp and *I* got caught on some fence trying to shove her inside. But they're in now and nice and quiet. I'm trying to resist the urge to go peek at them. I'll end up going, mostly to see where they're roosting. When we were putting the two stragglers in one of the AAs was in a nesting box.
