What did I get myself into?

[Grr8scot]

Hello, my name is Rhonda and I am a Northern Ohio gal new to backyard chickens. I started back in August when my 7 year old son found he really lived the chickens at the fair. Fast forward a few months, I now have 9 chickens in the coop (Brahmas and Sienna Stars) who just started laying for me and 11 Brahma chicks in the heated garage (I may be a little in live with Brahmas). Anyway, I am hoping I'm not in over my head. I am a big softie, so I am emotionally attached to these guys and joined this forum so I could get some advice on how to care for my chicks best. Here's hoping my son and I are great at this and we have some very happy and healthy chickens.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello Rhonda and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
You'll have a great time with your new hobby! I'm glad your son got you into it! Think what you would be missing if you hadn't taken him through the chicken exhibition barn at the fair that day.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi Rhonda - yay for your son’s love of chickens

On this link you'll find lots of information on almost every aspect of keeping birds - from coop building ideas, to incubating eggs - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/

Each week, various topics are discussed, which can be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archives . Ditto the Learning Centre - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/

This is a useful link of BYC guides to take a look at announcements-feedback-issues-guides.3 I’d suggest including your location using the guide in that link. You can use this link to contact members in your area - Find your State's thread.

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[Melky]

Chickens are a great pet for children and will teach them in an enjoyable way about pet ownership. Letting him care for them will be invaluable. Welcome!

 

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

Hello, my name is Rhonda and I am a Northern Ohio gal new to backyard chickens. I started back in August when my 7 year old son found he really lived the chickens at the fair. Fast forward a few months, I now have 9 chickens in the coop (Brahmas and Sienna Stars) who just started laying for me and 11 Brahma chicks in the heated garage (I may be a little in live with Brahmas). Anyway, I am hoping I'm not in over my head. I am a big softie, so I am emotionally attached to these guys and joined this forum so I could get some advice on how to care for my chicks best. Here's hoping my son and I are great at this and we have some very happy and healthy chickens.

Welcome to BYC. Getting into chicken keeping is such a rewarding experience! I started with my flock back in April and i never realized how much i would enjoy it! Now we have been very fortunate so far with strong healthy chickens and keeping predators at bay. I think with young children my self losses are my biggest concern. It is definitely what has affected some of my friends experiences.

My advice since you are about to double your flock is to just make sure they have plenty of space in their enclosure. My girls struggle a bit right now because they are mostly in the coop and run area with not a lot of free range time. And although my run meets the 10square foot per bird concept it could stand to be larger for sure! I like to let them out of the weekend when we are home so during the week they are more cooped up! So the boredom thing gets us into some feather picking and arguments.

I am in NE Ohio. Loving that it hasn’t been too cold yet for my first chicken winter!

 

[N F C]

Hi, it's nice to have you here! There's a new article in the Learning Center you may be interested in, lots of good pointers on keeping your flock healthy:
coop-health-designing-and-maintaining-a-healthy-coop.74615

Best wishes to you and your son!

 

[JedJackson]

Hello Rhonda, welcome to BYC! I'm glad you and your son are enjoying your chickens. It's easy to feel like you've gotten in over your head with them, though. Twenty is an awful lot for a beginner. But this website can hopefully be useful to you. There are a lot of very experienced folks in here who love to help. And you can post whenever you like-- no question is too small or too big.

 

[50-45-1]

Glad you joined us!
I remember how my daughter really loved our chickens, named them all, helped with the chores, and had favorite pets that she carried around with her. It was so much fun.
Now she is 16, and her interests have changed , of course.
Welcome to the backyard!

 

[Chullicken]

Here is a secret all the chicken keepers keep in a coveted enclave full of candles, burning sage and shadows...chickens are easy. Yes, I let it out for the world (Or this forum at least) to know! Good food, clean water (And water dispensers), dry, safe and secure shelter. Sure there are a ton of little things that we as keepers need to look into and do, such as space issues, not to over crowding and ventilation. But, just keep good faith as its enjoyable and 'easy' once you get all the T's crossed and loose ends tied up. And one of thee most important things to know, no matter how much they try to convince you they need more treats because they are all desperate and starving...learn to tell them no as well as learn to tell yourself no and you'll be on the path to success. And no, chickens don't need sweaters and bedazzled nest box curtains to be happy.

 

[alexa009]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens, Rhonda! We are glad you joined the flock! BYC is a helpful site providing all of the information you need to know about poultry. There is always space for members on the BYC roost! If you read and meet some of the members of this site, you will soon learn that being attached to chickens isn't abnormal. Hope you enjoy it here as much as we all do!