Possible Newbee

[Katie2u]

Ok, my husband and I are looking to buy a new/old place, with a 0.25 acre of land. We would like to become more self sufficient by raising chickens, he wants to get some Genihens or a couple of geese as watch dogs. Now he has raised chickens before, however I know NOTHING about raising chickens or geese or anything besides children. I would love any advise if possible. Now, my friend has told me about her hen "eggbound" and might possibly die? How do you know these things? How do you fix them? I know I would have my Vet busy all the time between my cats and other animals. Help !! Besides this we are going to be raising bees. We have our raised beds for veggies and the chicks will be great as bug control. Oh yeah, I dong want to sound dumb...ignorant yes but aren't females chicks and males roosters? How do you tell the difference when they are babies?

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to Backyard chickens. I recommend you visit the Learning Center, then you will know a lot and be able to impress your husband. You will also gain confidence with dealing with everyday issues. People and friends always like to talk about their bad situations and that can make it seem like every problem is inevitable. Any forum you check in too will impart you with added knowledge. You don't need to overload just check them out if the need rises.

BYC also has an excellent "emergencies, diseases, injuries, cures," thread. You can also learn a lot by putting a topic in the search box. I'm not aware of what a genihen is but, wonder if guineas or guinea hens is what is meant. Guineas and Geese are great alarm systems. Guineas are also fantastic tick eaters and will often "mob" snakes either to drive them off the area or kill them. Geese however have the attitude and physical attributes to DRIVE intruders away. Both would keep you well covered.

You may also like to join your state thread to determine what breeds do best in your area, what type of coop for your climate . You may even meet chickeners close enough to be friends with.