hello one & all from a "soon to be" small-time chicken farmer, it's me ... delfargo.
i stumbled upon your web site and forum a couple of days ago. i've been checking it out and it seems like the perfect place for me to learn what i need to learn. seems friendly and educational.
my wife and i have lived out here in the middle of some corn field in central illinois on 3.5 acres we call "delfargo farm" named after our dearly departed "fargo", the first pet we had, a beautiful siberian husky who lived with us for 15 years.
the farm used to be a cattle farm, then a pig farm, then we bought the place. we currently have 7 cats and a huge garden (approx 7000 sq.ft.) to keep us busy. i've wanted to raise some chickens for years, but the wife has been saying "no" up untill a few months ago.
i quit drinking about a year ago and now i need a new hobby (instead of playing in rock bands and drinking myself to death, which i had been doing for 20+ years.) so she finally said "yes, you can have chickens next spring", so i have a good long time to learn all about the world of the small-scale chicken farm before i actually get the chicks. i grew up in a small farming community, so i'm some-what familiar with the whole "chicken" thing, but hopefully, with your help, i'll really know what i'm doing come next april. untill then, my main hobbies are music (i have a small 'home-studio" where i still write & record a little in the dead of winter), weight lifting, gardening and listening to white sox baseball on the radio. i'm also keeping myself busy transforming an area of the barn into my coop.
after i build the one wall i'll have to build, it'll be a nice insulated 9'x15' space. the space has 2 doors, one leading to another part of the barn (indoors) and one door to the outside, where i will fence in a good-sized run for my chickens. i have pre-made nest boxes, given to me by a guy i knew who used to raise some chickens, made of sheet metal. 2 rows of 5 boxes w/ perches in front of the nests.
my plan is to start with 10 hens and a rooster (i just love the sound of a rooster in the morning). haven't decided on breeds yet. like i said, i got plenty of time to figure that out.
anyway, just wanted to drop in and say "howdy" and apologize in advance for all the stupid "newbie" questions i'll be bugging y'all with.
thanx for having me and we'll talk to ya soon.
i stumbled upon your web site and forum a couple of days ago. i've been checking it out and it seems like the perfect place for me to learn what i need to learn. seems friendly and educational.
my wife and i have lived out here in the middle of some corn field in central illinois on 3.5 acres we call "delfargo farm" named after our dearly departed "fargo", the first pet we had, a beautiful siberian husky who lived with us for 15 years.
the farm used to be a cattle farm, then a pig farm, then we bought the place. we currently have 7 cats and a huge garden (approx 7000 sq.ft.) to keep us busy. i've wanted to raise some chickens for years, but the wife has been saying "no" up untill a few months ago.
i quit drinking about a year ago and now i need a new hobby (instead of playing in rock bands and drinking myself to death, which i had been doing for 20+ years.) so she finally said "yes, you can have chickens next spring", so i have a good long time to learn all about the world of the small-scale chicken farm before i actually get the chicks. i grew up in a small farming community, so i'm some-what familiar with the whole "chicken" thing, but hopefully, with your help, i'll really know what i'm doing come next april. untill then, my main hobbies are music (i have a small 'home-studio" where i still write & record a little in the dead of winter), weight lifting, gardening and listening to white sox baseball on the radio. i'm also keeping myself busy transforming an area of the barn into my coop.
after i build the one wall i'll have to build, it'll be a nice insulated 9'x15' space. the space has 2 doors, one leading to another part of the barn (indoors) and one door to the outside, where i will fence in a good-sized run for my chickens. i have pre-made nest boxes, given to me by a guy i knew who used to raise some chickens, made of sheet metal. 2 rows of 5 boxes w/ perches in front of the nests.
my plan is to start with 10 hens and a rooster (i just love the sound of a rooster in the morning). haven't decided on breeds yet. like i said, i got plenty of time to figure that out.
anyway, just wanted to drop in and say "howdy" and apologize in advance for all the stupid "newbie" questions i'll be bugging y'all with.
thanx for having me and we'll talk to ya soon.
