Spring 2017 first timers post!

[Treerooted]

I have my fitst chicken! Coop being delivered separately this evening so she is in large hutch till the morning. Im in love already. This is rocky.

Hi rocky

Congrats on your first chicken

My first batch of chicks arrived on Friday from Ideal Poultry. We ordered the Plymouth rock mix, and ended up with 12 barred rocks and 3 white rocks. One of the supposed white rocks has feathered legs, so I don't know if it's really a white rock with feathered legs, or if it's a surprise. It will be fun to watch. My guess is it's a Buff Brahma. I think I can safely guess two are roosters for sure.

Sounds exciting

Good luck with the chicks!

 

[Treerooted]

I still haven't placed my order because I'm incredibly indecisive apparently

 

[Yvette 11]

Thank you! She is lovely! She follows me everywhere in the garden, such a delight. Cant wait for my other 2 to come today. I think nk ive caught the bug!

 

[pioneerchick816]

@ApexChix
Welcome to the flock

 

[Clackamas]

Hi, I am new to the forum. I am 47 and grew up with Chickens, ducks, turkeys and pheasants as a kid. I did 4-H for many years and even had an Oregon State Grand Champion Mallard hen. New to the forum, and to be honest a little rusty. I finally moved back to the country on 5 Ac. and put our hen house in about 1.5 years ago and do free range chickens Turkeys and chukars.. We have currently 6 hens of an assortment of breed (Barred rock is our favorite). 8 9 month old Rio grande Turkeys (2 hens and 6 toms), and 2 9 month old Chukars. We have lost quite a few birds this last year, 8 ring-neck pheasants, 8 silver pheasants, 10 Chukars, 3 chickens and two Turkeys. We have all sots of predators, from skunks, coyotes, raccoons, bald eagles, and owls. It is tough raising birds. Our losses are due to predators and escapement. We had one terrible night when most of our losses occurred. This was a good learning experience for my kids. close the coop or else. Anyway I joined to ask some questions and hopefully I can provide equal value back.

 

[jacksonad]

So after much "discussion" my wife and her friend convinced me to get 8 one week old lavender orpingtons from a local breeder. We have never had birds of any kind before so this has been a huge learning curve. We are allowed 6 hens only in our city but assumed a couple at least would be roosters and would end up in the freezer or a new home. Well 3 weeks later and these are quickly becoming my chickens. The coop is about half done and hoping to have them outside in a week or 2. They are currently in a dog kennel in the garage. I am really excited to see the finished coop and them enjoying it and can't wait for our first egg. Thanks to BYC for the warm welcome I have eceived and the wonderful information. Orpingtons truly are lap chickens and here is my proof.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

So after much "discussion" my wife and her friend convinced me to get 8 one week old lavender orpingtons from a local breeder. We have never had birds of any kind before so this has been a huge learning curve. We are allowed 6 hens only in our city but assumed a couple at least would be roosters and would end up in the freezer or a new home. Well 3 weeks later and these are quickly becoming my chickens. The coop is about half done and hoping to have them outside in a week or 2. They are currently in a dog kennel in the garage. I am really excited to see the finished coop and them enjoying it and can't wait for our first egg. Thanks to BYC for the warm welcome I have eceived and the wonderful information. Orpingtons truly are lap chickens and here is my proof.

Welcome to our thread and to BYC!

Lol, I guess I got it all wrong, worrying about getting the coop done before the chicks come!

Gary from Idyllwild Ca here

 

[jacksonad]

Welcome to our thread and to BYC! 

Lol, I guess I got it all wrong, worrying about getting the coop done before the chicks come!

Gary from Idyllwild Ca here

It was really a quick decision to get the chicks, and I work better under pressure.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

It was really a quick decision to get the chicks, and I work better under pressure.

I was kidding, it seems that LOTS of people do it just like you and they post that the chickens are getting bigger and the coops not finished yet. I am hoping to avoid that, if the snow ever melts I only need a few days of work to finish up mine. Its huge, I really over built it....

Gary

 

[lazy gardener]

Speaking of dogs, and killing chickens...
I have to brag just a bit.
I have 2 Aussies that are trained herding dogs.
I originally thought, that they need to watched very carefully around chickens, because of that instinct!!
That turned out to not be true at all, quite the opposite!!
Well funny story, our first chick that we ever hatched had no fear, and would run up to the dogs and peck them really hard on the nose.
If that wasn't enough for them to stay away from those vicious chicks, we had a silkie who had just hatched her first brood, and decided the (sleeping) dog must be a threat to her baby as they walked past.
I wish I would have had it on video!
That silkie kicked some butt!! I actually felt sorry for the dog!!
She was just laying in the sun slipping, when put of nowhere gets beaten up by a fuzzy little chicken!!

Anyway, just thought I would share that.

I have 1 more week to wait, till my chicks ship from MPC!!!!

Would you like to loan me your silkie? I got my dog last Feb. The intent was to have her guard my flock from predators. NOT! She has decided it's fun to watch chickens run. She's a JR mix. Currently on a wireless transmitter boundary collar. I plan to get a remote behavior collar this spring to fine tune her training, and hopefully train her in the fine art of chicken avoidance. She also will only come if there's a treat in it for her, and has a prey drive that would include cars if not for her E-collar.

Looking forward to being a part of the flock! Just joined! This is my first post!

Welcome!

I still haven't placed my order because I'm incredibly indecisive apparently

Check out Henderson's Chicken Breeds chart. You want to get that order in early, because most hatcheries sell out very early. In order to get what I wanted, I placed my order the first day the hatchery was accepting orders. Don't forget, that chickens are not forever pets. So, you can do a mixed shipment the first time, and get a feel for what you like, then fine tune for your next group of chicks down the road.

Quote: Gary, have you got the wall sections of your coop built? Nothing wrong with overbuilding. Down the road, you'll be glad you did.

To all the newbies finding their way to this thread, may I suggest:

1. Put your general location in your profile. It helps people to connect with you and give appropriate advice.
2. Consider deep litter in your coop and in your run.
3. Build your coop to accommodate deep litter. Build it big enough. Plan on minimum of 4 s.f./bird, with enough height to allow roosts to be above nest boxes and at least 18" between roost and ceiling. Predator proof = 1/2" hardware cloth covering all openings. LOTS of ventilation. the extra height above the perches will come in handy to accomodate the ventilation without putting a draft on the birds. Plan for the eventuality of room for a brooding pen in your coop. This can also be used as a sick bay.
4. Consider using fermented feed.
5. Consider using Mama Heating Pad Cave to brood your chicks.

Gary, hope you didn't mind the hi-jack. Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.