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MtnGrlByTheBay

MtnGrlByTheBay

In the Brooder
7 Years
Jul 3, 2012
33
1
26
Southern MD (Western Shore)
My Coop
My Coop
Wow, he finally said, "Let's Do It!" I'd been workin' on getting my husband to agree to a mini-flock of chickens for nearly 3 years. Once he heard that the neighbor up the street had a few, he decided we could finally "keep up with the Jones."

So, of course, I'd had all these dreams and ideas, but now that they are on the cusp of reality... I'm a bit panicked! So, bear with me, while I give all you birds the scoop on my environment, and then PLEASE LET THE ADVICE FLY!!!

I live in Southern Maryland. Our weather is rather unpredictable. We've had winters with feet of snow, and winters with only a few flurries. Our summers can get hot (of course, it seems it's unusually HOT everywhere right now!) - even up to 100 and with high humidity. We have rain, and sometimes hurricanes.

I live in a neighborhood, but it's an older one with mature oak, holly, and a few other deciduous trees. I live in a split level home with a garage and basement. I have about 3/4 of an acre and my back yard is fenced with a 4 foot chain link fence. I have a slope, and some parts of my yard have nice grass, but others - especially under the holly trees - is pretty barren.

Here's the rough part: I have three dogs (boxer, pug mix and a boston terrier) and a huntress of a cat. My dogs have a separately fenced portion of my back yard and access to my basement via a doggy door. Yes, if I open their gate, they can run the whole backyard, but usually only with supervision. My cat, like the dogs, is vaccinated and on flea/HW preventatives, but comes and goes via the doggy door. She is quite proficient at hunting mice and voles, and has presented us with the occassional sparrow - and one time - a live baby O'possum (which we took to the local DNR rehab center).

I also have two young boys - ages 6 and 8. My husband and I both work full time.

So, I KNOW that keeping my fowl safe is a big priority. Sure, I'd love to let them free range, and might, if the dogs were out of the way, and I was out there with the hens to supervise. But then, we do have some hawks, osprey and a few eagles, so I'd be nervous. We've seen fox in our neighborhood too, but I've never really had a problem with critters coming into my backyard (that I know of, anyway) because the dogs usually bark at anything unusual.

I'm pretty sure I want to build a "chicken tractor" and have a design in mind that I got from a book that I checked out of the library. It's a 4x10 tractor with an arched pen and an attachable coop. It is not a raised coop. I would really like something that I can (or with the help of our lawn tractor) move about our yard. I also hope to make something out of recycled materials, like a dog kennel, dog crates, wood pallets or the like. I might even consider building a coop and stationary pen in addition to a tractor, but I'll have to see how much energy I have and what freecycle.com and my budget allow!

Now, this might sound silly, but why are most stationary coops raised? Some provide extra pen space underneath, but some are raised but still adjacent to a separate pen.
hu.gif
I'm leaning on starting with the tractor, so in that case, it can be flat on the ground right? But I've seen some tractors that have the coop part raised.

Oh man... and building the coop and pen is the easy part! WHAT sort of hens should we get??? Can you mix different breeds together? I'd love some eggs, but don't want to get overwhelmed. I'm not opposed to "harvesting" them, but I have a feeling they'll end up more as pets than providers if you KWIM. I don't care too much about size, but don't want more poop than my yard can handle. I haven't even begun to research just what sort of FEED to provide either.... and how much? I'm great with dogs and cats, but birds kind of intimidate me. I'm not letting that stop me from learning but... can someone tell me how you actually PICK UP a chicken? Don't laugh - at least I'm willing!

And how do we go about acquiring said hens? I hear you can order them, and they'll arrive chirping at the post office. Is this the best way to go, to start off with a tame relationship? I don't mind acquiring older birds, but don't want them bullying my boys... or me! We often see them at our county fair in September, but is that a bad time to start things off? We also have a good Amish population (a fowl co-worker told me they'll pluck, clean and package chickens for you for like $3 a bird!) here, so maybe I should check with them? Still, I don't much like how some of them supply our canine population down here (so many of them are poorly bred in terrible "kennels") so I'm not real trusting of their poultry raising techniques either - but that's probably apples and oranges.

I know all my questions can probably be answered here, but there's SO Much info that I'm a bit lost. Plus, I really love personal advice based on my situation, so all help is appreciated.

Cluck away....

Erin (The Mountain Girl - originally from North Central PA - now in Southern MD close to the Chesapeake!)
 
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Well Moutaingirl,from what i read, sounds like you have plenty space for a flock,the dogs will get use to them after awhile,the cat will do the same, AFTER the birds get older and bigger,need to keep a eye on them when there little,as far as food, your local feed store should have everything you need ,from ''chick starter'' to ''layer pellets''.feed an water pans, now lets talk about the best breed for your location,I live in Arkansas,as the ole saying here is ''if you don't like the weather,stay 10 more minutes and it will chage'',lol, my advice is to go with a Barred Plymonth rock, or a Red star, these breeds are very weather hardy,and are average layers, and the best part, if you get them at a young age , they will won't more of your,and the familys
time for peting then your dogs or cats,hope this covers most your concerns,if there are certain questions you have don't be shy, we all learn everyday!! good luck,and welcome the BYC coop!!! :)
 
Yes, you can mix most breeds. And you can mail order chicks -- though sometimes they don't ship well, especially this time of year, with this heat. The easy way to do it is pick up chicks at your local feed store -- you'll need to find a feed store, anyway. Most commonly, they will carry Buff Orp, Rhode Island Red or Production Red (not really a breed) and Barred Rock. But there are many breeds -- check out our breeds section. I would stay away from the Reds as you're more likely to get standoffish or even mean birds -- though you can find most any temperament in any breed. Usually they arrive in spring, and it's a little late now. You might check at the local feed stores and see if someone knows of someone who has some chicks they would sell, or check out the Buy Sell Trade section here. You could also check your local Craigslist, and some areas have auctions -- but be careful if you do this. Some flocks will be carriers of a disease and you could lose the whole flock.

Another approach is to see if there is a good local breeder and talk to them. Again, there is a forum here to check that out. Or even, post on BYC a little more til you can place an ad in our Buy Sell Trade forum, and place a wanted ad -- be sure to put your general location prominently in the ad, maybe title it "chicks wanted in southern Maryland" or some such. You will get a better quality of bird if you can find a good breeder (emphasis on good) than from feed stores or hatcheries -- feed stores generally sell hatchery stock. But, hatchery birds are perfectly good chickens, too, just not "good" examples of the breed that you can show.

Feed is simple enough -- most people simply buy starter or starter/grower for chicks, then layer at around 20 weeks when they reach laying age, approximately.

You might want to chime into the state thread here and hopefully pick up more info relevant to your area. Go to the Where am I, Where are You forum and look in the blue box at the top, what we call the stickies. There is a thread there that links to all the state threads. Maybe even jump in two state threads -- sounds like your state line isn't far from you.

Between our FAQ page, our various stickies, and the learning center, there is an awful lot of information here. But please always feel free to post a question, too. Good luck, and welcome!
 
Hi, you should check out the learning centre on this site and also the Coop section for ideas. I'd suggest you build a proper, predator proof coop and run. If you've seen foxes etc they will very likely become a problem when you have food for them in your backyard. You can mix different breeds, most people seem to do that.
As for picking up a chicken... I sometimes slip my hand between their legs, from the front and lift them up like that, but if you want to cuddle the chicken, put your hands on her sides, to just below her wings, get a firm grip and lift her up. While holding her, put your hand under her feet. They are happier that way.
Getting chicks is the best way if you want to bond with them. We have a section on hatcheries here where you can read about the hatcheries and you can also post questions about them.

Almost forgot
welcome-byc.gif
 
YAYYYYY! I need this encouragement! Keep it coming! I actually put my brain to work, and I think I have two personal contacts who have hobby flocks, so I'll consult with them... but I'm making myself wait until I get the Tractor built first. I told myself I HAVE to refinish the steps in my den FIRST, but then I'll be heading to Lowe's for building supplies and planning my first visit to the feed store! So Rhode Island Reds can be feisty? They are so pretty.
 
Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan :D

An elevated coop provides an outdoor, shaded area for summer. Elevating the coop also provides for better cooling in hot weather. You can not have too much ventilation in hot weather, and even in cold weather draft-free ventilation is necessary.
 

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