South Carolina

[Mafloyd21]

im in sc

I am in Estill, SC

 

[Mafloyd21]

Hello my fellow South Carolians. I live in Estill, SC. I have a few diffferent types of chickens, but plan to expand. I am also hatching a few different types of ducks. I just love my chickens and ducks. The ducks are new to me, but I have been raising chickens since I was like 8 years old. Anyone else close to me?

 

[LowcoMatt]

Hello my fellow South Carolians. I live in Estill, SC. I have a few diffferent types of chickens, but plan to expand. I am also hatching a few different types of ducks. I just love my chickens and ducks. The ducks are new to me, but I have been raising chickens since I was like 8 years old. Anyone else close to me?

I’m only about 45 min from you near Beaufort. Howdy neighbor

and I’ve only got 5 baby chicks. Maybe 3 weeks old. First go around hatching and raising chickens. Only ever had dogs before.

what type of chickens do you raise?
I’ve got an empty coop out back, waiting for these little ones to get bigger, but I’m looking to get a few hens in the mean time to keep eggs going for the house hold.

 

[LowcoMatt]

Curious with our climate here toward southern SC how you all handle moving chicks outside? Ours first 5 chicks ever are 4 weeks old today and mostly feathered. Still missing the neck to head feathers of course.
Just curious. Highs in 70’s. Lows in 50’s here.
And with moving outside do you start with grit also?

 

[KRaZy_WaKa]

Curious with our climate here toward southern SC how you all handle moving chicks outside? Ours first 5 chicks ever are 4 weeks old today and mostly feathered. Still missing the neck to head feathers of course.
Just curious. Highs in 70’s. Lows in 50’s here.
And with moving outside do you start with grit also?

We're first timers as well, our girls are a little older at six weeks. The wife asked a vet in another chicken group or page that she's on who's based in NC with like 25 years of experience with chickens and birds and she said at least 70% feathered and above 40. Anything below 40 with a heater, if that helps.

I have plastic pallets that I fashioned into an upside down milk crate and tires together with nylon rope on the front porch roughly 4.5 foot squared. We put the plastic bin that we use for a brooder in the house in there at night with their roosting branch, that gives them options if they need to hunker down in the bin and get cuddly to stay out of the wind and keep warm.

We usually pull it out in the morning when we do water changes so they have more room to run unimpeded in there and during the day we'll sit out there and let them run the porch for a while. But I have a screened in porch. They've been out there the last couple nights.

We bring them in if it's gonna be under 45 or heavy rains are expected usually just to be safe. They've pretty much stayed on the roost all night for the most part. I'm usually up late and have checked on them throughout the night just to see what they're doing.

My porch is kinda cluttered at the moment with the coop on there as I have a spare set of Jeep tires stacked at the back side of it my grill is back there waiting to be unblocked as well as some other stuff, so there's quite a decent wind break on all sides for the most part anyway. They enjoy exploring everything especially the wood pile lol. They've gone out through a hole in the screen a couple times but they haven't gone anywhere. There's a yucca plant on the back side of the porch along the house that seems to attract flying insects, I Believe that's why they're so interested in going out there. That and they dust in the dirt under it at the corner of the brick underpinning for the house and porch. They just kinda hang out there in the corner.

 

[KRaZy_WaKa]

Oh also, we have a small bin that we mix about a scoop of cracked corn and layer pellets in as needed to help keep them warm as well as cracked corn will help raise their body temp. And we'll also pull a couple handfuls of grasses from the yard and toss on the porch for them. Basically just give them options along with their hanging feeder and water. They chase and eat any flies, mosquitos or stink bugs they find on the porch as well.

 

[LowcoMatt]

@KRaZy_WaKa

appreciate the info. Definitely helpful. I moved our littles outside and my wife and I are happy with the reclaimed interior space LOL

 

[Mafloyd21]

I’m only about 45 min from you near Beaufort. Howdy neighbor

and I’ve only got 5 baby chicks. Maybe 3 weeks old. First go around hatching and raising chickens. Only ever had dogs before.

what type of chickens do you raise?
I’ve got an empty coop out back, waiting for these little ones to get bigger, but I’m looking to get a few hens in the mean time to keep eggs going for the house hold.

I have buffs, Rhode Island reds, and easter egger, lavender buff, speckled Sussex rooster (my hen got caught by a fox), bard rocks, and some mixed breeds from these listed above. I got ducklings now too.

 

[LowcoMatt]

I have buffs, Rhode Island reds, and easter egger, lavender buff, speckled Sussex rooster (my hen got caught by a fox), bard rocks, and some mixed breeds from these listed above. I got ducklings now too.

that's a good mix of things for sure!

 

[Housespider]

I find SC weather to be great for chickens, at least in the low country. My flock didn't seem phased by the winter, even my younger birds did fine. Our summer heat also seems fine for most breeds since the actual temperature is not that high, just the humidity makes it feel hot. Larger mammals seem to suffer in the humid heat, but I noticed my birds didn't seem too bothered even on the hotter days.