Salutations from NC

[Faithful flock]

Hey there!

Welcome to BYC!

So glad you decided to join

 

[sourland]

Hello, and welcome to BYC. Good luck with your chicks.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens. This is a great place to explore.

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

 

[Maravilla]

Welcome to BYC!

I had chickens for six years before branching out to other critters (goats pigs, ducks), and that's only because we moved to a house with more acreage. It is much more likely you will fall prey to chicken math before anything else.

"Chicken math" - I like that!

 

[Maravilla]

Welcome to BYC, glad to have you here!

I'm in eastern NC, whereabouts are you located?

North central, Guilford

 

[Maravilla]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

Thanks! I need to work out the sig things, but seeing yours - do you have the other birds together with the chickens, and do they help against predation?

 

[Maravilla]

Glad to meet y'all and welcome to BYC. Congratulations on your country home.

Chickens tend to lead to more chickens, or occasionally, other types of birds. Only will folks branch into other livestock if that's what they want. You don't have to buy into those "Just say no" DARE warnings about chickens!

In case it's helpful,
Here are my favorite beginning articles that helped me as a newbie. All articles are short, and have illustrations, and reviews, which are often worth looking at for the comments.

1. Intro to chicken keeping

2. Common mistakes & how to fix them

3. Ventilation (important to chicken health), with helpful links to coop designs organized by climate (because what is just right for my New England hens won't work for my brother's Arizona chickens)

4. Predator protection for new & existing coops

5. Dealing with a muddy coop and run

6. I suppose you have some sort of winter where you are: Winter chicken care

To look for articles on your own:

A. Use the SEARCH button, but use the Advanced Search choice, and select ARTICLES at the top of the box. Just enter your keyword(s) and scroll through your results!

B. I find it helpful to notice the rating and reviews. All articles are by BYC members, and all the reviews/ratings are as well. The ratings help a newbie like me sort the most useful and reliable articles.

C. You can bookmark the articles or posts you think you want to refer to again using that bookmark icon at the top of articles or posts. You can find them again by clicking on your own avatar and looking at the list of bookmarks you have built up!

Notes about where to put a coop:

1. As far as you can, put a coop and run on high ground, that drains well, so you won't have so much muddy coop problems. Chickens need to be dry, dry, dry.

2. As far as you can, put a coop with the ventilation lined up with your prevailing breezes, and away from the direction of your storms. If you are not sure of these (who is these days?), check with your local National Weather Service website.

3. As far as you can, arrange for some sort of shade over your coop and run. Preferably deciduous so the girls will enjoy winter sun, but summer shade.

Excellent links, thank you! We've been reading (and watching) about coop building and placement, happily I think we have most of these great points covered, but it is great to see them numerated clearly as a checklist!

 

[swampfox440]

Welcome to BYC! pleased to meet you and thanks for joining us.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!