Pulling the trigger

[Alagirl]

Oh my, it has been 6 years since I first dropped in, and much has happened and no chickens in my life.

Until now.
SO, for various reasons, I have decided to get a small flock this year. And boy, do I have questions. It looked all so simple and then I read the one star reviews!

I gather that more than 6 chicks for a family of three (who don't eat eggs every day) are plenty but there are so many different kinds!
So I looked at coops, and thought I buy one. small/medium size, but then I read the reviews. They were quite scary plus the store does not have those in anymore anyhow. Well, it is just after Easter.
Then I looked at the starter kits, a lamp, feeder, waterer. The reviews were not great, but gosh, if I buy the components extra the price doubles! Does anybody have first hand experience with the tractor Supply Starter package?

When I buy chicks, how long do I have to build my coop?
I looked at the available coops online and really don't like any (once I read the bad reviews). And I will need to cover the run at least with netting/wire, as I know I have at least one hawk as neighbor, along with possums, rats, squirrels and lord knows what I have not yet seen.

I am recovering from a health scare that had me wanting to buy a coop but so far so good, I am getting my strength back.

what am I not considering?
My reasons for wanting chickens:
I need the manure. the soil in my garden is lousy.
I don't like store bought eggs anymore since I had home grown ones at my mom's.
Why not have chickens. I live in Suburbia, but in the county. I won't get a rooster (I hope) Because sheep or goats are out of the question.

I am starting my victory garden this year, chickens would be a great addition (as would be sheep and goats, and maybe a couple of horses, but let's be realistic here)

I am in central Alabama, it gets hot here, but most years not terribly so. (I could put solar cells on the coop roof)
So far we have a good relationship with most neighbors, so excess eggs should not be a problem. I hope I can coax enough produce out of my plot to feed us and the chicks.


What am I not considering?

Thanks for making it through my convoluted ramble. I am a little obsessed with my 'farmstead' (1/4 acre lot with house) this year.

 

[DobieLover]

Does anybody have first hand experience with the tractor Supply Starter package?

You can make your own brooder. Get the absolute largest box you can (like a melon container from the grocery store). Cut that down to make it about 18-24" tall. Cut about 10x10" windows all around it then heavily tape window screen or 1/2" hardware cloth over the openings so it has lots of ventilation. Put the entire thing up on a low table so you are not always approaching the chicks from above and they can see you coming.
Set the table up in your garage or somewhere else like that where you can keep the mess out of the house.
Buy a brooder plate, not a heat lamp. You can make a baby bottle like this:

Then all you have to buy is a chick feeder (I like the trough design), a bag of chick starter, chick electrolytes and a bottle of Corid to have just in case you need it. You will also want to get a large enough piece of window screening to clip over the top of the brooder so the chicks can't fly out.

When I buy chicks, how long do I have to build my coop?

Before you buy the chicks.
You can also look on CL or FB Marketplace for an old wood shed or walk-in size kids play house to convert into a coop.

 

[Tre3hugger]

I hope I can coax enough produce out of my plot to feed us and the chicks.

I am sorry but feeding your family and your chickens off your little 1/4 acre is unrealistic. Please feed the chicks a formulated starter grower feed (around 20% protein) to give them the best chance to thrive.

 

[Alagirl]

I am sorry but feeding your family and your chickens off your little 1/4 acre is unrealistic. Please feed the chicks a formulated starter grower feed (around 20% protein) to give them the best chance to thrive.

well, not everything, but it should (fingers crossed) get me plenty of produce to add to the menu and scraps for the flock. To really feed the family I would need a few acres, intensively farmed, completely true.

 

[Alagirl]

You can make your own brooder. Get the absolute largest box you can (like a melon container from the grocery store). Cut that down to make it about 18-24" tall. Cut about 10x10" windows all around it then heavily tape window screen or 1/2" hardware cloth over the openings so it has lots of ventilation. Put the entire thing up on a low table so you are not always approaching the chicks from above and they can see you coming.
Set the table up in your garage or somewhere else like that where you can keep the mess out of the house.
Buy a brooder plate, not a heat lamp. You can make a baby bottle like this:

View attachment 3073648
View attachment 3073649​

Then all you have to buy is a chick feeder (I like the tough design), a bag of chick starter, chick electrolytes and a bottle of Corid to have just in case you need it. You will also want to get a large enough piece of window screening to clip over the top of the brooder so the chicks can't fly out.

Before you buy the chicks.
You can also look on CL or FB Marketplace for an old wood shed or walk-in size kids play house to convert into a coop.

I was going to use a large plastic storage tub, and make a screen with chickenwire to go over the top.
What is the nipple you put in the bottle? (Love the design as well)
And what is Corid? Maybe I need to wait a few months with my chicken dream?
I have considered the old play house/shed thing, but so far no luck.

 

[southwestclucker]

As a first-timer myself (got 6 chicks on March 19), with regard to this question:
"When I buy chicks, how long do I have to build my coop?"
my answer is NOT AS LONG AS YOU THINK, lol. I was amazed by how fast they outgrew the brooder. I have a 2nd or 3rd hand coop that I got cheap, but it needed a lot of work and I ended up not having nearly as much time to do that work as I was expecting (I work full-time)....got it done, but not as perfectly as I would have liked to. The good news is, chickens don't care what stuff looks like.

 

[NatJ]

When I buy chicks, how long do I have to build my coop?

I strongly recommend that you build the coop before you get the chicks.
Then you can brood them right in the coop, and there is no question about how soon the coop will be ready.
It also saves the bother and cost of setting up a separate brooder area.

I am recovering from a health scare that had me wanting to buy a coop but so far so good, I am getting my strength back.

Definitely a good reason to build the coop before getting chicks.
If anything comes up to prevent you building it, you can just let it wait until you are able to work on it again, and wait a bit longer before actually getting the chicks.

Then I looked at the starter kits, a lamp, feeder, waterer. The reviews were not great, but gosh, if I buy the components extra the price doubles! Does anybody have first hand experience with the tractor Supply Starter package?

No firsthand experience, and they may have different packages in different parts of the country.

Many starter packages include extra things you do not need.

Needed things:
--heat source (heat lamp or brooder plate).
--something to hold food and something to hold water.
Think about what feeder and waterer you want to use when the chickens are grown up. Some styles can be used by baby chicks from the first day, so don't buy special ones for chicks until you know if you will even need them.

Things I have seen in starter kits that you probably do not need:
--a roll of cardboard to surround the chicks (only useful if you are brooding chicks on the floor of a big, safe building. Even then, you can use a big box, or cut pieces from boxes and fasten them together.)
--thermometer (if you already own a thermometer, just use the one you have.)
--little bag of chick feed (just buy the big bag, which is much cheaper per pound)
--booklet on raising chicks (you have the internet, and libraries often have good books too)

I'm pretty sure I've seen other not-needed things in such kits as well, but those are some of the most common ones.

If you need some items that are in the kit, and if the kit is genuinely cheaper than buying those items separately, then it does make sense to buy the kit. I just haven't seen a case when that would be true for me.

what am I not considering?...
Why not have chickens. I live in Suburbia, but in the county. I won't get a rooster (I hope) Because sheep or goats are out of the question.

Check your zoning, and if you have an HOA or any restrictive covenants on your property you should check them too.

Some areas permit chickens, many suburban areas forbid chickens, and some make you get a permit or comply with special rules.

I'm sure you do not want to build a coop and get chicks, and then learn that you cannot have them, or learn that the coop should have been 10 feet further from the property line, or that you are only allowed to have 4 hens, or something else of the sort.

Setbacks from property lines, and limits on how many chickens, are pretty common in suburban areas that do allow chickens, but the exact numbers vary from one place to another. So you definitely need to check the rules in YOUR area.

I am in central Alabama, it gets hot here, but most years not terribly so. (I could put solar cells on the coop roof)

Shade and ventilation are very helpful in hot weather.

I suggest you NOT build the style of coop that looks like a solid little house with an attached run. That style is good in cold climates, where the chickens spend long stretches of time indoors, and only use the run in good weather. (Common size advice: 4 square feet of space per chicken in the coop, 10 square feet per chicken in the run. More space is always fine.)

If you want it to stay in one place, I suggest you build an open air coop: solid roof, wire mesh for most walls, just enough solid walls to keep wind & rain off the roosting and nesting areas. Allow at least 10 square feet per chicken, because this serves as both coop and run (of course it is fine to attach an extra run as well.)

Or you could choose to build a movable coop (sometimes called a "chicken tractor")
Moveable coops often use wire mesh to keep predators out, and tarp instead of solid material on the roof and walls to keep out the weather. Plan on securing the tarp so it doesn't blow around, and replacing it every year or so.

Since you also want to garden, it could be nice to put the chickens in one place for a year or so (kill weeds, fertilize the soil, make compost in the chicken pen). Then move their pen over a few feet and let them prepare another place while you grow plants on the first spot. Over several years' time, you could rotate them around however many sections of garden you want to have. If you only move it once or twice a year, it doesn't have to be quite as light and portable as the ones that get moved daily. Just make sure it is not impossible to move.

 

[Red Rhodes Island hybrid]

My new chicks where settling in, until I (it seems) accidentally traumatised them by accidentally tripping over their coop, I have been putting so much effort into looking after them, but now I don't know what to do.

 

[Iluveggers]

Here is a picture of my ~3x~4 ft watermelon bin brooder. It housed 15 chicks up until 4 weeks old.

I don’t know if you can see, but I cut out a drawbridge in the side, and would pull down the door a few times a day to socialize my chicks and feed them wet mash (dry food mixed with water). They loved it, my kids & I loved it, and they were so friendly! Bin was free from the grocery store, sticks & wood to jump on was from my yard, water holder & foodholder were about $3 each at TSC (ball jars fit on so I didn’t need the containers.) I used puppy pads the first week and switched to pine shavings for last 3 weeks. I went with a heat plate, cheapest one available is prob the TSC plate around $40, but you could use a heat lamp (just be very careful with it next to cardboard.) No fire hazard with thr plate. Covered the whole thing with a plastic garden fence clipped on with clothespins for easy removal when cleaning.

Are you hoping to have friendly chicks or just livestock for eggs? I’m sure you can get good recommendations for breeds. Most common & easy to find: Leghorns & Rhode Island Reds lay lots of eggs but are not super cuddly (usually…some people have said there’s are cuddle bugs!). Plymouth Rock are friendlier (usually) and lay a few less eggs but definitely enough to feed you. Easter Eggers lay blue eggs and can also be very friendly! There’s millions more breeds, but those three are super common.

Good luck!

Brooder pic:

 

[DobieLover]

I was going to use a large plastic storage tub, and make a screen with chickenwire to go over the top.
What is the nipple you put in the bottle? (Love the design as well)
And what is Corid? Maybe I need to wait a few months with my chicken dream?
I have considered the old play house/shed thing, but so far no luck.

Plastic tubs don't have good air circulation and the chicks quickly outgrow them.
You can get the vertical poultry nipples at most farm stores. The bottle I got at a thrift store for $0.75.
Corid is used to treat coccidiosis and can also be found at your farm store. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
I strongly recommend you have the coop finished and the run build well under way before getting chicks.