What am I getting my self into ?

[Hoot]

Quote:
My first name is Jim, but my last name isn't Purdue.

 

[chicksalot]

You are entering into a great venture...you definitely have the shelter needed...and so few chickens certainly won't cause you grief (much!). Sounds like a mix made in heaven ! Good Luck! There are so many places to glean info...the web, books & here, you shouldn't have trouble hashing out what you need to know to keep chickens.

 

[Hoot]

Quote:
OK Chicken Salad. It took me less than 5 days to go from " Oh, I only need 4 hens to give me a doz. eggs a week" to:

My name is Hoot and I'm a chicken addict.

5 days ago I thought all of you were full of chicken poop. But, I am really liking the idea of rotating my garden and my chicken run every growing season. Why not let the girls keep the weeds down, fertilize and help spread the compost on alternate growing times.

And If my garden area is going to be large enough to keep me in Bell Peppers, Greens, Tomatoes, Onions, peas and Squash. I can have MORE CHICKENS ON THE OTHER SIDE!

And If I have more chickens, naturally the coop needs to be larger. And if the coop is larger I might as well make room for me to be comfortable because my wife is gonna make me sleep out there.

UGH!

Anyway. Looking over the different options for chickens and like the RIR's and the White Leghorns. I know...Like ordering Vanilla ice cream. But I really like these guys. Good for my area and are little egg factories.

Anyhoot, Here I go.

 

[Clay In Iowa]

Quote:
OK Chicken Salad. It took me less than 5 days to go from " Oh, I only need 4 hens to give me a doz. eggs a week" to:

My name is Hoot and I'm a chicken addict.

5 days ago I thought all of you were full of chicken poop. But, I am really liking the idea of rotating my garden and my chicken run every growing season. Why not let the girls keep the weeds down, fertilize and help spread the compost on alternate growing times.

And If my garden area is going to be large enough to keep me in Bell Peppers, Greens, Tomatoes, Onions, peas and Squash. I can have MORE CHICKENS ON THE OTHER SIDE!

And If I have more chickens, naturally the coop needs to be larger. And if the coop is larger I might as well make room for me to be comfortable because my wife is gonna make me sleep out there.

UGH!

Anyway. Looking over the different options for chickens and like the RIR's and the White Leghorns. I know...Like ordering Vanilla ice cream. But I really like these guys. Good for my area and are little egg factories.

Anyhoot, Here I go.

I told you so....

Took me 3 months to go from a few, maybe 6 chickens, to having 7 dozen eggs on order for spring.

You're coming around nicely.. I bet you can get 100 chickens in that barn easily. Maybe more....

 

[AtRendeAcres]

I am sure you will love having chickens!

In building your coop building you might want to keep these things in mind:
area for layers
broody area
quarantine area
brooder/growing out

***I will add in spring a area for extra roos that will be processed & storage area in coop !

 

[toletiquesbysam]

I bet those chickens will keep you nice and toasty at night! Maybe DW will give in and let you return the house if you bring her enough eggs!!

 

[dturren]

Hello Coot: I started out with 4 chicks, but had one killed by a fox, so now I have 3. The other day I went to the feed store and saw this poor girl with most all of her feathers pulled out...literally. She was with five other chickens and apparently was "low man on the totem pole" and really got the "you-know-what" picked out of her. She was not for sale, but I got so upset that they sold her to me just to get rid of me.

I now have 4 chickens again.

I love my girls and know that your wife will love them too. Maybe let her pick some out??? I recommend the Wyandottes. They are absolutely beautiful...and lay wonderful eggs. Good luck.

 

[kobesmom81]

Welcome to the addiction! I told DH that there was no way we were getting chickens. He wanted American Game Foul and I didn't think they were very pretty, plus I was never a bird person. Then I saw silkies....I said you can get yours if I can get a couple silkies.........he reluctantly agreed. He got a few birds, I got a few birds. Then I decided some Phoneix's would be good to add to the mix. He said maybe. By the time we saw Phoneix's for sale I said, "no big deal, I happy with my little silkies, we can get Phoneix's down the road". Shortly after that sentence he bought a Gold trio and a Silver pair. And then I found a little Old English bantam I had to have. But she had to have friends. So, I bought her and an Old English trio. His aunt gave me 5 Marans eggs that I have a hen sitting on.......this weekend we are going to a show and I will just die if I can't find a Polish to bring home with me.........And after the polish, who knows........Oh, and when our babies started having babies I was in love! We got our first bird in September. We are up to 70 or so now and looking for a new house to relocate to that must be bird friendly. We sell some off and we get some more. And the American Game fowl DH wanted that I didn't like?? Well, two of the roosters that were DH's are now my loves. I don't go in the house when I get home from work. I go straight to our birds and spend some time with them and unwind. They listen great and are the best stress relievers ever!

 

[Hoot]

It's hard to see, but the back of the black 3 board fence has 2x4 welded wire. This helps keep the blueticks in the barn yard area and out of my neighbors flowers.



I'm planning on using a portion of the wood fence as my run. The coop will be a smaller version of the barn. The rear door will open to the run and the front will open to the yard. The girls will have a protected area while i'm away and can free range the back yard while i'm out back.

I have a project!