Texas

[txmel]

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why not !?! good luck.

i've seen people sell puppies at one so i dont see why not.

 

[SAKim]

I see Puppies and kittens at garage sales (not sure if it is legal), so why not chickens. It might be a great opportunity to educate people about raising chickens. I think I would be prepared to do a few Coop-Tours!

Meanwhile, I am so tired of this heat and it doesn't seem like my poor little feather-babies have closed their mouths in weeks. I am new to this and I am trying everything to keep them cool but would love to hear what people are doing to keep their chickens comfortable. I would be so devestated if I lost any of them.

I've been putting a plate of ice water with sliced bananas/tomatoes/etc on it out in the middle of the day... I don't know if it is good for them to have so much fruit but they sure like it and somehow I think it is helping replenish their lost Pottasium and Vitamin D... I think it makes them drink more water too... plus they like to stand in the ice water.

So, folks... if you have any ideas for a newbie backyard chicken-mom, I would really appreciate the suggestions.

 

[boobooblueeyes]

When it is really hot and the babies start panting I put a frozen water bottle in with them, the other day I even had a fan blowing on a big chunk of ice in the cage. But that was before the rain that got them, then I was trying to get them warm and dry. I have had such bad luck of late with all my pets, I need some change in luck soon.

I think some of my eggs have made it through the heat though, thank goodness, got a few peeps today, yay!!!!

 

[havi]

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The one and only thing that comes to mind is...how many chickens do you plan on having? Well whatever it is, times it by at least two. Then wait a couple of months(if you can last that long) and try to multiply it again. Thats how many chickens your really gonna have. I havent met one person yet who has said they were only going to get X amount of chickens. And really only have X amount of chickens. There is always one more breed you want or one that just looks too darn cute to pass up.

Oh and another thing. Build your coop 2 times bigger than what you planned. All I can say is..read the first part again.

Welcome to BYC!

 

[SAKim]

Y'all are so right -- this Texas weather is so varied and unpredictable! I just put some water in bottles in the freezer -- i bet that will feel good.

I know what you mean about wanting more chickens... City ordinance allows 3 chickens. Then when I went to get them the wonderful lady at the farm told me to just take extras and she would take back the roosters once we knew what they were... so I did, then everytime I went back out there, I fell in love with another one or two... long story short --- now I have 10.

The oldest ones are 3 months old, the youngest are about a month. I only know for sure what one is because he started crowing really loud... but I LOVE all of them -- they all have captured my heart and have wonderful and unique personalities. Unfortunately when we ordered our coop, it will hold 6 chickens max

. I am just taking it one day at a time.

Thanks for the warm welcome and all of the suggestions.

 

[texasgal]

LOL .. havi is right .. it's never quite what it seems.

And I was going to have one .. maybe two different breeds .. and breed true.

Ha! I have a rooster of one breed and abou 5 different breeds of hens .. I do it mostly for the eggs .. and I love my pretty flock!

 

[SummerChick]

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Hi SAKim...are you in San Antonio? Welcome to BYC. It so hot here i bought a misting system to put in the run and a fan inside the coop...seems to be working great!

 

[boobooblueeyes]

I heard about a mister a little while back, it may be helpful to have. If I can ever get my coop finished I probably will look into one.

 

[SAKim]

I always wonder how many people have backyard chickens in San Antonio? The other day I was driving down Blanco (major big road) outside the loop (Castle Hills) and as we got closer to Loop 410, I think I saw chickens in a backyard, they had a chain link fence but we were going pretty fast and I can't be for sure. I don't live around there but am going to see if I can find them again and knock on their door (lol). I tried to find a meet-up group but the closest one was Austin. So, if any of you know of a group in the San Antonio area, please let me know

For those of you that have misters in your run, I have a couple questions ...
Do you have the kind that is a tube with emitters that is attached to porches/fences etc or the kind that is free standing with just one emitter?
What height do you have the mister (up high or chicken level or somewhere in between)?
Is it left on all day or just when it is really hot?

Thanks for all the help. I read books about chickens all the time but it is so nice to have real people with real life experiences to learn from!

 

[txmel]

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hi i live out in boerne. cant help with the mister question but just thought i'd say hi. there are a few of us out in the hill country that have gotten together a couple of times and i think there was a big get together in seguin? or maybe schertz area.