Where do you all get your chickens?

[aart]

I'd put them on both sides and on the front, above the roosts. A couple across the front and up at the very top would be good.

Ditto Dat^^^

Unfortunately I don't have much of an over hang for my coop.

Without overhangs you'll have to get some vents that will protect against rain....many types of louvered vents to choose from. Hopefully you could find some about 4-6" high and 12-18" long.

 

[apryl29]

Thanks. I'll definitely put a couple on the sides to start and see how it goes. The front door faces the east and there's a wind tunnel there b/c of the trees.. it pretty much faces into a big open field. Unfortunately the layout of the yard pretty much left us w/ no good place to put it. Either we were in the middle of the yard w/ no protection from weather, or next to the woods where it was unsafe. Near the peak on the sides there's a nice flat space that would be a good support for a vent. I'll see if maybe I can find adjustable vents for the front that way I can close them up if there's too much wind coming through. We live in NE Ohio up close to the 'snow belt' so some years we get hit w/ a ton of snow and ice & others we don't even need coats in February.

 

[lazy gardener]

What Aart says: louvered vents will be the way to go. I would put one or more at the front peak, and perhaps one on each side at the top.

 

[apryl29]

What Aart says: louvered vents will be the way to go. I would put one or more at the front peak, and perhaps one on each side at the top.

Great idea! Thanks. I'll be done working on this coop some day.

 

[Folly's place]

You could add openings up top, covered in hardware cloth, with awnings (like horizontal shutters?) over the top to manage the water blowing in. My coop and run have overhang to help with that problem.
I'd get rid of, or cover over, all that chicken wire with hardware cloth well secured. Any predator can get through chicken wire!!! Mary

 

[ehoneybee]

I'm in Western Mass. Zone 5

Up to you.
I don't see your location in your profile,
depending on where you are,
it might be more than just once a day that you'll have to provide liquid water.

 

[Dawnclucks22]

We got our originals from our feed store as chicks. A couple died and we needed replacements of the same age so we got a couple from a nice lady from craigslist and our most recent one from another feed store. We've been everywhere!

 

[Steve J]

Mine came from a feed store as babies, got them mixed as to breed. They never got along and always fought a lot. Now I have some red sex links I ordered as 18 week old and they don't even seem to have a pecking order. One extreme to the other!

 

[Abriana]

I got most of mine from Southern States, but I find that they aren't as healthy there, and the people there don't really take good care of them (obviously not chicken people). When one chick of two that I was hand-raising died, I bought two Wyandottes from a place called Rural King I think and they were very healthy and are both laying and are beautiful.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I was just about to buy day old chicks from mypetchicken but then thought, what am I going to do with chicks in my house for months and then maybe not even get eggs out of them until February (I'm in New England). Ugh. So now I'm looking locally for juvenile birds from farms about an hour or so away from me. Is this a good idea? They seem to be small farms owned by people who also make coops and sell other birds but what if the birds have diseases? I would have to purchase online first and then pick them up when ready this fall. I'd really like to just go to these places, scope them out, and then decide. I really don't want to have birds shipped to me - juveniles cost $200 to mail!

I have avoided haterchy chicks because of the cost of shipping and order size limit. Most will do no less then 6.

I drove 4 hrs round trip to get girls last year and got to see the farm and the woman who was just as chicken crazy as I am.

This year I found a NPIP breeder about 10 min from my house. She has more rare breeds so they were a little more expensive but breeds I wanted. I got to see the whole farm and talk with the woman before deciding. I saw how they were treated and biosecurity measures. I felt very comfortable bringing home 2 girls that day.

Most people recommend a quarantine period. I unfortunately do not have a separate space for that. So I have to run that risk. So far so good.

I've looked at FB groups and Craigs list but I'm always leery. There are even rescues. Maybe once I have a separate space I'll go that route. But buying a more expensive bird to get NPIP and pullet... is cheaper then shipping and less risky then the unknown that could cost me my flock.