Shasta Marie
In the Brooder
Nice to meet you (and Jim!) We only have the chickens in the barn, still hoping to get a few meat steers in the spring. We've lived here 3+ years and I know our barn was getting lonely! I might eventually get a few alpacas in the future. We have the floor and walls of our coop built (in pieces in the barn) and have all the supplies for it, but with one kid going off to first year college and another getting married, it was a hectic summer and coop took a back seat. Thank you very much for the suggestion of the Iowa hatchery! I'm going to check them out now. We bought 9 of ours from My Pet Chicken and other 3 from a somewhat local lady. The shipping was horrendous! But thankfully we didn't lose a chick and they were sexed correctly.Hello neighbor!!!
Well sort of. A little south of Rhinelander here. I actually love the coop in the barn idea unless you need that space for other critters it's probably a great place for your birds in our harsh winters. If you decide to go with hatchery chicks because of the sexing, might I recommend Hoover's Hatchery over in Iowa? I've tried several hatcheries and for me, they're the best hands down. The reasons are because first, I am very happy with the quality of the chicks for hatchery stock but more important to me is they all arrived healthy and happy. I think at least in part because they were shipped from far closer than other hatcheries so they spent far less time in the hands of the USPS. Also, they don't charge for shipping. Some of the others are ridiculous on the shipping costs. Feel free to pm me if I can be of any help. Otherwise, BYC, and this thread, are loaded with great knowledgeable folks who are more. than willing to help. Again, Welcome!!!