Well it's official...finally signed up! Newbie in the beautiful PNW

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JulesChicks

JulesChicks

Songster
5 Years
Jan 2, 2015
452
52
116
Right here, right now in the beautiful PNW
Hi there Everyone!

I have been lurking here for the better part of a year and finally signed up! We moved last year to the PNW and last fall bought a fixer upper where we plan to have lots of chickens (along with our 2 kids, 2 dogs and 2 cats). While the contractor tears the house apart and rebuilds it, we will be working on the coop. Not exactly sure how big it will be, just know it's needs to be large enough to help with the "chicken math" problem I see discussed here often ;) So, I have been tirelessly researching everything chicken, especially breeds and coops/runs. I seriously can't wait to get started! I feel like a kid anticipating Christmas and even dream about chickens. Very strange- never thought I would say that. So, I can be a bit shy chiming in, but hopefully I'll figure this thing out and start actually posting some (beyond the intro).

Thanks everyone for posting to this site so that people like me can come and learn so much from your experience prior to actually getting a chick!

Happy New Year... can't wait for Spring chickies!

Jules
 
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Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. A lot of us were lurkers before joining. :eek:) Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Do you have a breed preference?
 
Thanks so much!

Well the breeds I am considering most so far are Marans, Welsummers, Cream Legbars and Ameraucanas. I would like friendly birds that like to forage as well. I love the egg colors of the above breeds and my husband's only request is that we have brown egg layers. He insists they taste better. Not sure if the color of the shell makes a difference or not, I'm more apt to believe it's what the hens are eating - but whatever gets me some chickens! I also am interested in pure breeds, but if we end up with some roos and I don't separate them out at first we may end up with some mutts.

We have two wonderful medium dogs that love running around our property and killing moles and such. We did get cats last year as kitties and they adapted very well to them with them in the house and learning they weren't for them to chase, etc, so I am hoping we can train them the same about the chickens. It will be harder though, I think.

Some points I would like input on would be:
-Breeds: which are your favorite and why? Are there any others I should consider?
-Coop design ideas to give flexibility for growth and possible partitions inside? (breeding, brooders)
-Ideas on how to protect from aerial predators (hawks and eagles) - A local guy told me he ran wire across the top of the run every six inches to keep them out (he didn't like netting because he said it would weighed down with snow, though it snows very little where we are).

That's all I can think of right now...have fun talking chicken
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Welcome to BYC!!! There are loads of members on here…so if you have ANY questions…just ASK!!!

Hope you have loads of fun and all your answers answered here on BYC the BEST CHICKEN KEEPING FORUM on EARTH!!

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JulesChicks said:
Thanks so much!

Well the breeds I am considering most so far are Marans, Welsummers, Cream Legbars and Ameraucanas. I would like friendly birds that like to forage as well. I love the egg colors of the above breeds and my husband's only request is that we have brown egg layers. He insists they taste better. Not sure if the color of the shell makes a difference or not, I'm more apt to believe it's what the hens are eating - but whatever gets me some chickens! I also am interested in pure breeds, but if we end up with some roos and I don't separate them out at first we may end up with some mutts.

Some points I would like input on would be:
-Breeds: which are your favorite and why? Are there any others I should consider?
-Coop design ideas to give flexibility for growth and possible partitions inside? (breeding, brooders)
-Ideas on how to protect from aerial predators (hawks and eagles) - A local guy told me he ran wire across the top of the run every six inches to keep them out (he didn't like netting because he said it would weighed down with snow, though it snows very little where we are).

That's all I can think of right now...have fun talking chicken
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You will definitely have a colorful egg basket with those breeds, particularly if your Ameraucanas are Easter Eggers instead of true Ameraucanas as most are. If you're not familiar with the difference, there is a good article at http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/09/ameraucana-easter-egger-or-araucana.html explaining the difference between Araucanas, Ameraucanas, and Easter Eggers. As far as egg shell color goes, chemically there is no difference in the egg within; nothing to make a taste or nutritional difference. Studies have been done where blindfolded test subjects have attempted to pick out whether the egg they are tasting is white or brown and they have been unable to do it with any consistency. However, based on my own experience, the brown eggs do tend to have thicker and stronger shells. My favorite standard breed are Black Australorps. I've raised them for years (along with dozens of other breeds) and they are extremely hardy, calm and gentle (my children, and now my granddaughter, made lap pets of them), and the best layers of the standard, brown egg laying breeds. Other breeds which are good layers and have a well deserved reputation for being friendly, calm, and gentle (good lap pets) include Orpingtons, Brahmas, and Sussex. There is a good article at http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/07/11-tips-for-predator-proofing-chickens.html on protecting your chickens from predators (including aerial predators). I would definitely suggest using hardware cloth instead of chicken wire or poultry netting as there are too many predators can can tear through chicken wire or squeeze through the openings in the mesh. Hardware cloth is more expensive, but it's cheaper than replacing your flock. Hardware cloth has saved many chicken owners a lot of tears. Whatever breeds you end up getting, good luck with your flock.
 
You can leave your shyness at the door - we are a friendly, helpful group- lots of shy people who bloom on this site. Welcome to BYC
 

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