Yay, chickens! I
have an obsession have been raising them for eight years, and although I'm by no means an expert, I hope the advice I offer here can help you. There is
a lot of information that all owners need to learn, and even breeders who have been in the field for a while can be overwhelmed at times. I'll try to keep this simple, lol!
I assume that you've already done the basic research, but if you haven't:
• Check your zoning rules. Even if you live in the country, your county may have rules that apply to all residents, regardless of your environment. Some may permit you to own a few hens and a rooster, and stricter areas may not allow you to have any.
• Why do you want chickens? Do you want them for meat and/or egg production, show purposes or just as pets? My Pet Chicken has an excellent breed recommendation tool that covers all breeds recognized by the APA (American Poultry Association) that can be found here:
http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/which-breed-is-right-for-me.aspx**I advise staying away from Orpingtons. Although sweet, they don't handle hot weather well and can often develop heart or crop problems.
• Invest in a good quality chick starter feed - I whole-heartedly recommend Nutrena, NOT Purina.
There is little difference between the brands' lay feeds. However, Purina's chick starter, Start & Grow, is protein-free. As feathers are comprised primarily of protein, feathering chicks need extra protein during their growth to help them develop strong, silky feathers. My month-old chicks were feathering at a horribly slow rate, but once I switched them to Nutrena's 18% protein medicated starter, I saw progress within a day. They are now almost entirely feathered, whereas they had little more than chick fluff before.
If you're not sure that you're going to raise chickens long-term, be sure to use a coop-design that can be transformed into another building - i.e., a dog house, storage shed, or a greenhouse. Chicken coops, regardless of size or quality, are often hard to sell. Many owners make the mistake of building/purchasing coops that can't be used for anything other than housing chickens, and can't get rid of it when they want to.
Before you build your coop, there are a few points you'll want to keep in mind.
• What direction does the wind typically blow in? For example, where I live, storms and wind almost always blow in from the west, so my coop is built where the back is facing against the storms.
• Your coop size will need to compensate for the amount of birds you own.
• Learn what predators you have in your area - this includes other domestic animals, such as dogs, cats, and even livestock; I lost a hen to
cows once. Be sure to check the surrounding area and objects for any potential danger; I've failed to do this and lost birds to chicken hawks and a bobcat as a result.
(Be aware that if you lose a bird to a predator, it has found an easy source of food and will return.)
Regardless of what anyone tells you,
never house a duck or goose with your chickens. I have both, and allowing my chickens to roam free around them was the biggest mistake I ever made. Not only to they make a horrible mess of the food and water, but the goose takes great pleasure in hurting my chickens. She's pulled out tails, created bald patches, and once broke a wing on a bird. Needless to say, the chickens are now locked up if she is loose.
• What bedding material are you going to use? While straw can be dusty at times, it absorbs moisture well and is my ideal bedding choice. Never use moldy straw in your coop for any reason! Alternatively, you could use pine shavings. I use these only in my nest boxes, as I can use a litter scoop to clean out any droppings.
**Never use cedar shavings, the sap is toxic to chickens!
• You will need to keep your coop clean, not only to provide a healthy environment for your birds, but to keep your neighbors happy as well. To help control odors, sprinkle a light coat of zeolite/Sweet PDZ on the floor and in the nesting boxes.
Still with me?
When it comes to purchasing chicks, purchase only the healthy and average-looking birds. Never purchase a bird that has weeping nostrils/eyes, missing toes, or appears sickly or inactive. If you're purchasing from a breeder, check their environment. Are the birds provided with fresh food and water? Are the houses/brooder boxes clean? Do the birds appear healthy, lively and alert?
(I'm going to temporarily go off-topic to discuss a subject that often ensnares many new chicken owners. There are two important categories of chickens, production and heritage. Production fowl are the kind bred by hatcheries, hence their name. They're very common and often have messy gene pools. Heritage fowl, on the other hand, are rare birds bred to the original standards of their breed and are very different from their modern counterparts in many ways, including appearance, egg production, size and personality. For example, take a look at this production Rhode Island Red. (First photo.)
http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Day-Old-Baby-Chicks/Rhode-Island-Red-p228.aspxNow go into this thread and look at the photos posted by the members there. See the difference in color, shape, and size?
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/407294/the-heritage-rhode-island-red-siteThe reason I'm telling you the difference between these is not only to spread awareness of these rare strains, but to warn you against dishonest sellers who try to pass their production stock off as heritage. Because of their rarity, heritage fowl are often pricy (I paid $100 for a breeding quartet of HRIR, for example) and some sellers try to take advantage of folks who can't tell the difference.)
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation in the chicken world, and rumors/old wives' tales are still prevalent. Be sure to take your information from a reputable source. I recommend reading the following:
• Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow
• Dummies Guide to Chickens
Backyardchickens.com is an excellent online forum for chicken owners, breeders and hobbyists alike. If you decide to join, send me a PM - my username there is Feathyr - and I will give you a list of reputable members who offer truthful tips and advice, as well as point you to important threads and the like.
(This goes for anyone, not just the original poster! I don't bite.)
In my next post I will discuss coop designs and show pictures of mine.
Post Merge: April 01, 2015, 09:11:58 PMThere are thousands of chicken coop designs online, many of which can be modified for your own needs and preferences. But there are a few things that you should keep in your design:
• Roosts should be no higher than a foot off the ground. Chickens will try to roost as high as they possibly can, and can break their legs when they fly or fall off from such a height.
• Your coop should be lifted off the ground a few inches to prevent the underside from rotting and protect from rodents. However, this can create a potential hiding space for predators - be sure to block it off with chicken wire/hardware cloth, or rocks.
• A good chicken coop has excellent ventilation. How much you need will depend on your climate; for example, my coop was well-ventilated in California's central coast, but here in western Idaho, not so much!
If your coop has mold or spiderwebs, it doesn't have enough air flow. Aside from restricting mold growth, good ventilation will improve respiratory health; as well as allow excess moisture out of your coop. Excess moisture will cause frostbite.
BYC has a whole section dedicated to coops. There are some tractor designs too; I can't speak for tractors as I haven't yet used them.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/CoopsThis is the most recent picture of my coop, taken in December. It was based off an online design and modified for my needs. The dimensions are 8' x 12'; 7'11" tall, and it comfortably houses over forty adult birds throughout the whole building. (In the back part, it comfortably houses about twenty-five.) Had we built it any larger, we would have had to pay for a California building permit.
It was built seven years ago and is holding up nicely. The best part? It was all built for under $2000.
(The hot water tank core and windmill are just for decorative purposes. The coop was recently painted to match the house, but we still haven't gotten around to painting the door red.)
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This coop was originally designed to hold supplies in the front and the fowl in the back. Lids attached to the top of the nest boxes allowed me to collect eggs without stepping inside the chicken area. See the following pictures:
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loginWhen we moved, however, I obtained a new supply shed and moved all chickens in both halves of the coop. The layer stock go in the back, while my pets and breeding stock go in the front.
As you can see, there is a welded run frame extending behind the coop, we haven't yet had time to install the chicken wire. This is what it originally looked like. I don't know of any better pictures; but it has a small door on the opposite side that allows me access to the run.
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loginSince I obviously don't have the run built, I run my layer birds in a portable run made by Premier1. While pricy, they hold up well and many models contain hotwires, which allow you to electrify your fence if you need to.
So where do all of my breeding stock and misc. birds go? They walk past the supply shed to a small run that was originally used to house sheep.
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loginI apologize for writing a small novel! I've learned a lot, through trial and error, and want to share that information with others so that they don't make the same mistakes I did. Best of luck with your birds, and please keep us updated!
(I demand pictures.
)
**Also, I apologize if anything is strangely worded or misspelled. I have a head cold, and my brain is horribly muddled.**
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