Relatively New to Farm Life, Completely New to Chickens.

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The Apiartist

The Apiartist

In the Brooder
Jul 30, 2025
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19
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Hello everyone!
I have been lurking for a couple of weeks now. This forum always shows when I'm doing my chicken research. I have found it super helpful so I decided to join!
I am relatively new to farm life. Bought some acreage a little over two years ago. Honestly, I never intended to have any farm animals. My main goal and lifelong dream was bees and apples. Plant and orchard and a wildflower meadow and keep my bees in it. Then, the homestead lifestyle got me. It started with me not wanting to use any pesticides in the orchard, and after some research on alternative methods I decided to get some ducks and let them free range the orchard during the day. They not only do great pest controll, but also take care of the weeds and of course, fertilize the soil. Then, my concerns for the ducks' safety made me get them a couple of geese companions. The property came with a barn cat that was gracious enough to let us live in her domains, so i knew I needed something else to keep everyone in check. I always wanted an Old English Sheepdog so... you could say that i now have a very complete workfore on my little orchard.
So even if full farm wasn't the original plan at all, I can't imagine it any other way now. Next right step is looking like chickens. Which is why i have been doing some online research and how I came across you guys. I hope I can learn lots from you!
I want to start with a small amount of egg laying chickens. (Pardon if that is not what they are called). We get cold snowy winters and even though i will make sure to provide the best shelter possible, i do wish to find a breed that thrives in New England weather.
I don't have fabilous pictures to share with you guys at the moment, but I will make sure to take some of my ducks for future threads :)
 
N F C said:
:welcome

Hi, glad to meet you! In case you haven't found it yet, the Learning Center has 100's of member-written articles that cover a wide range of topics: Learning Center And you can always post questions in the forums.

Make yourself at home here, thanks for joining us!
Click to expand...
Thank you! I am still learning to navigate the site, but i will definitely give it a look :)
 
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Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
After 7 years in New York and having experienced more than one episode of minor frostbite, I have settled on Ameraucanas as my breed of choice. However Chanteclers would also be an excellent choice. My recommendation is to avoid any breed that has a single comb. The hens would be okay but if you want a rooster of the same breed his comb does not shrink during the winter as the hens do and he will always be subject to potential frostbite. Pick a breed with a pea comb or a rose comb that is tight to the head and he'll do better. I chose the Ameraucana because of their pea combs and their beards and muffs that keep their wattles protected.
Make sure when you build your coop that it has copious amounts of ventilation high overhead. You want to think in terms of square feet not square inches of ventilation. My coop has 23 sq ft of permanently open ventilation in it and the coop itself is not heated or insulated. The windows at roost height can be closed during the winter to protect them from direct drafts while they're roosted. The windows offer many more sq ft of ventilation during the dinner when left open for the season.
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