Total beginner!

Date sort Score sort
B

Bluegrasschicken

Chirping
Apr 19, 2020
31
27
66
Hi, I am in Lexington, KY and a complete beginner with chickens. My hope is to have 6-8 of the friendliest chickens possible for my family - my kids will want to hold and be around the chickens a lot! We would also like some eggs, but friendly temperament is most important. My plan so far is to buy the chick starter kit from mypetchicken, 6-8 chickens (silkie bantams are my first choice, but always seem sold out), and the Formex large coop. We live on a horse farm that has 4 board fencing. We are in the country and our neighbors are other farms, but is it too risky to let the chickens free range during the day? Will they wander off? Are hawks a big risk - we have many large birds of prey around? How often is the coop cleaned?

Is there any other online source where I can buy only 6-8 day old chicks at a time besides mypetchicken?

Thank you!
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
You can buy 3 minimum at Meyer Hatchery.
I recommend against Silkies as they come straight run and you will end up with cockerels and you never really know what you're going to get with the boys personality wise, Silkies don't lay well to begin with and go broody A LOT.
I would recommend Orpingtons or Plymouth Barred Rocks.
I've never bought a pre-fab coop and never would so I can't comment on the one you intend to buy other than to say it needs to provide 4sq ft of space per bird in the coop and 12 to 15 sq ft per bird in the run.
My coop is walk-in style with poop boards that I scoop daily. The coop floor bedding gets changed annually.
Any time a chicken is released from a predator proof enclosure it's at risk of predation.
Hawks kill chickens daily.
All this being said, I release my birds daily into a 1/3 acre pen enclosed with poultry netting peered with a 10,000 volt charger to protect them from ground predators. They have cover for aerial predators. I've not lost a chicken in over 2 years that was inside this setup.
 
Last edited:
Hi and Welcome to BYC. There are quite a few hatcheries around the USA. Maybe try and locate one closest to you so chicks aren't in transit long. I've heard good things about MyPetChicken . I have only experience with 2, Purely Poultry where I ordered chicks, and Cackle where I ordered ducklings, and you might check out our Buy Sell Trade forum here on BYC never know you may find someone local and then there is your state thread at Where am I where are you! We built our coops so can't help on buying a coop. But I love Cochin bantam they are the sweetest cuddliest chickens I have. And my Salmon Faverolles are Large breed and very sweet and don't mind a cuddle either.
Have fun deciding :)
 
Bluegrasschicken said:
Hi, I am in Lexington, KY and a complete beginner with chickens. My hope is to have 6-8 of the friendliest chickens possible for my family - my kids will want to hold and be around the chickens a lot! We would also like some eggs, but friendly temperament is most important. My plan so far is to buy the chick starter kit from mypetchicken, 6-8 chickens (silkie bantams are my first choice, but always seem sold out), and the Formex large coop. We live on a horse farm that has 4 board fencing. We are in the country and our neighbors are other farms, but is it too risky to let the chickens free range during the day? Will they wander off? Are hawks a big risk - we have many large birds of prey around? How often is the coop cleaned?

Is there any other online source where I can buy only 6-8 day old chicks at a time besides mypetchicken?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Welcome to BYC!

My advice would be to order from a hatchery close to you, we see too many chicks shipped across the country and fail to thrive due to being in shipment too long and be rough handed.

I think you'd be best off ordering from either Cackle Hatchery or Mt Healthy Hatcheries.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom