Total Newbie in SE PA...

psubren9

Hatching
8 Years
Apr 25, 2011
7
0
7
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?

I'm TOTALLY new... been thinking about it for a while... caved in over the weekend. Now.... to learn about keeping chickens. This is not to say I've never been around them... as a kid, our family kept 3 hens and a rooster in the garage for a year, before the neighbors finally talked my dad into a month's worth of chicken soup
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I was too young to remember much about them though...

(2) How many chickens do you have right now?

Picked up 6 pulletts, 2 Red Comets, 2 Ameracaunas and 2 Tetra Tints. They're about 1.5 weeks old.

(3) What breeds do you have?

Oops... jumped the gun... see above.

(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?

Googling ideas for a coop... it appears I've struck gold!

(5) What are some of your other hobbies?

I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old... THEY are the only hobby I have time for at the moment
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(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.

Oops... jumped the gun again! Well, other than the 2 kids, I have a wife, a golden retriever, some parakeetes and an Angora rabbit. We live in West Chester, PA, in the western Phila suburbs on about 1.2 acres. We have fenced 1/2 acre where the coop will go.

Other than the actual coop construction, I'm interested in finding out the best deterents for Hawks and Owls. We have both in the area. Also foxes... I kind of feel like I'm sticking a free candy buffet at a kids' party by putting a chicken flock in our yard!

I'm not sure what type of hawk it is, but here are some photos:

(Nix that.... I'm too new to post pics... I'll post them when it's allowed)

Also... here's the owl that frequents our area. He particularly likes to stand on the window sill on my wife's side of the bed and hoot in the middle of the night. It's quite creepy
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(These photos were taken by a neighbor about a mile down the road, but if it's not the same bird... it's the same breed.)

(Nix that.... I'm too new to post pics... I'll post them when it's allowed)

And of course, what would an introduction be if I didn't post some photos of the chicks themselves... if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be on this board anyway!

(Nix that.... I'm too new to post pics... I'll post them when it's allowed)
 
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from Ohio
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Hurry up and post a few more times to get your numbers up.
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I think you need 10 to post pictures.

As far as predators...make sure the run is closed in on top and have some wire buried in the ground a foot or two to discourage digging. If you want to free range the birds, you may need to supervise them. There is a Predator/Pests board here that will yield a lot of information for you too.
 
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Welcome, from Connecticut! That sounds like a spooky owl stalker. Owls and chickens are not friends.
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