Howdy. Just wanted to come out of lurk mode and say hello. I am a rank newbie when it comes to chickens....don't have a coop, don't have a pen, don't have a chicken, don't have an egg. But, there's a good chance all of that will come together.
I'm located in south central Alabama along a state highway, but in a rural area so neighbors aren't a problem. Predators are coyotes, fox, possums, and chicken snakes (knocked a 5-footer off the purple martins' gourd rack last year....thankfully the martins came back this year!).
I have plenty of room for coop, pen, and free ranging...pastureland bordering on pine forest. I'm thinking that, though day-old-chicks have to apparently be ordered well in advance and they stay under the brooder for several more weeks, that I won't order anything until I have the coop and pen ready.
My interest is in a dual-purpose flock with the primary focus on layers. I'll probably start out by ordering a 25-lot of day-old-chicks being as this appears to be the price-break point. I'm trying to decide on whether to stick with a single breed or get a couple of different breeds. Later on I would like to hatch my own chicks and it seems that focusing on a single breed would make things less problematical. I'm currently looking at the Wyandottes and Australorps as I'm looking for good layers and birds that are docile and calm....I'm got a 2+ year old granddaughter that will probably be my ranch foreman.
How do those two breeds handle the southern heat and humidity?
As an option to buying day-old-chicks I'm thinking of buying eggs and trying my hand at incubating my own chicks. "No no" for a newbie?? Worth trying to start out with???
Anyhow, I've been reading and reading, already got my library on chickens going (I tend to over research things that I get interested in
). The information here on BYC is terrific...thanks to everybody for contributing!!!
Take care,
Ed
I'm located in south central Alabama along a state highway, but in a rural area so neighbors aren't a problem. Predators are coyotes, fox, possums, and chicken snakes (knocked a 5-footer off the purple martins' gourd rack last year....thankfully the martins came back this year!).
I have plenty of room for coop, pen, and free ranging...pastureland bordering on pine forest. I'm thinking that, though day-old-chicks have to apparently be ordered well in advance and they stay under the brooder for several more weeks, that I won't order anything until I have the coop and pen ready.
My interest is in a dual-purpose flock with the primary focus on layers. I'll probably start out by ordering a 25-lot of day-old-chicks being as this appears to be the price-break point. I'm trying to decide on whether to stick with a single breed or get a couple of different breeds. Later on I would like to hatch my own chicks and it seems that focusing on a single breed would make things less problematical. I'm currently looking at the Wyandottes and Australorps as I'm looking for good layers and birds that are docile and calm....I'm got a 2+ year old granddaughter that will probably be my ranch foreman.
As an option to buying day-old-chicks I'm thinking of buying eggs and trying my hand at incubating my own chicks. "No no" for a newbie?? Worth trying to start out with???
Anyhow, I've been reading and reading, already got my library on chickens going (I tend to over research things that I get interested in
Take care,
Ed
