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jenemal

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Hello!

My name is Jen and I have been dying to get chickens for years and finally just bought my own home and now can actually get some! I am very new to chickens and have a couple of friends who raise them and suggested I check out this site for all of the chicken knowledge. I pretty much have been non stop reading and trying to soak up as much information as I can.

I am hoping to get some feathered family (primarily for eggs and pets) in the Spring of 2020 but would like to have everything all set and ready for them before the end of the summer so I can monitor and check coop temperatures/ conditions throughout our fall and winter (I live in Ohio).

Right now I work for The Ohio State University with my PhD in Biomedical Engineering but am also a professional cyclist. I have two rescue pups (an "Ohio Brown Dog" and an Old English Sheepdog) and am a huge animal lover. My other hobbies include painting and gardening.

I cannot wait to meet you all and am open to any and all chicken advice :)!
 
Doublegi said:
Hiya there!

Getting chickens can be a lot of fun and very rewarding. Just watching them run about the yard like dorks is better than tv!

Any specific breeds you have in mind?
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Hi!
I am definitely excited to bond with them and watch their antics.

I was told Easter Eggers and Silkies are good first chickens but I am really open to any. I definitely would like breeds that tend to be more social. I am also trying to figure out what the best number to start out with would be.
 
I can definitely help with that. As a chicken breeder I’ve had many different breeds, some super sweet and others not so much. But it also depends on the care they get growing up.

How much land do you have? Are they going to be penned up or free range during the day? How many people would need eggs?
 
Doublegi said:
I can definitely help with that. As a chicken breeder I’ve had many different breeds, some super sweet and others not so much. But it also depends on the care they get growing up.

How much land do you have? Are they going to be penned up or free range during the day? How many people would need eggs?
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My house sits on 0.13 acres (so not very large by farm standards but the backyard is fenced off with a 6 ft privacy fence). I would like to have them free range when I am home in the mornings and evenings but while I am at work I would likely pen them up to make sure they were safe. It would just be me needing eggs and I eat 2-3 eggs per day.
 
Welcome :welcome Nice to have you here! Look for breeds that are cold hardy.....Buckeye (breed originated in Ohio), Wyandotte, Easter Eggers, Barred Rock are some of the breeds suitable but there are so many more :) Minimum of 3 chickens is usually suggested. Chickens are flock animals and it’s hard if you have a loss and end up with a lonely chicken. If you are in town and have restrictions ( often somewhere from 3-6 ) I would get four to six if permitted.... Space, coop, personal preference, ordinance etc play a big factor
 
So I’d have maybe four hens or so. If you end up getting too many extra eggs you can always give them to your neighbors as thanks for not complaining about chickens. That’s what we do, and our neighbors can’t even hear our chickens

As for breeds, silkies are wonderful and cute to look at. They’re one of the few breeds I have not for standard but for all the unique colors they can come in. Splash, calico, mottled, cuckoo, chocolate, etc. However, they aren’t very good egg layers and they lay smaller eggs. But are super cute to watch, so one or two won’t matter.

For laying purposes, nice breeds that lay pretty eggs are Black Copper Marans and Welsummers for dark eggs. Ameraucanas or Legbars for blue eggs. And Wyandotte’s come in many colors and lay nice light brown eggs.

Is it warm where you live or cold? I live in Florida so I need heat tolerate chickens.
 
fldiver97 said:
Welcome :welcome Nice to have you here! Look for breeds that are cold hardy.....Buckeye (breed originated in Ohio), Wyandotte, Easter Eggers, Barred Rock are some of the breeds suitable but there are so many more :) Minimum of 3 chickens is usually suggested. Chickens are flock animals and it’s hard if you have a loss and end up with a lonely chicken. If you are in town and have restrictions ( often somewhere from 3-6 ) I would get four to six if permitted.... Space, coop, personal preference, ordinance etc play a big factor
Click to expand...

Thank you very much -- do those breeds tolerate the heat as well? I was thinking of starting with 4 or 5 but trying to permit for 6 to 8.
 

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