Researching Chickens and overwhelmed!!

[THEFAN]

K..I..S..S.. Get them, feed them, water them and house them. Don't make it to complicated. Just do it!! Stop reading. Just figure out what you need for chickens and get them. This is not rocket science.

 

[FarmerJamie]

K..I..S..S.. Get them, feed them, water them and house them. Don't make it to complicated. Just do it!! Stop reading. Just figure out what you need for chickens and get them. This is not rocket science.

 

[DebFred]

HAHAHAHA! Okay, THEFAN!! Got it. Hope the chicks survive. Now I am getting egg-cited. (Sorry, couldn't resist)

 

[Hinotori]

I used a rubber livestock tub and a brooder light with a heat bulb. Grandma always used a galvanized tub in the quanset hut with the brooder light. Just secure the light in a couple places so it can't fall in on shavings and start a fire. Leave them space to get away from the heat if it's to much for them. I just changed bulb types as the got older to reduce the heat. I had some hardware cloth blocking them from jumping out.

 

[cheepo]

can understand...
the amount of choices...when it comes to chickens is phenominal...
but chickens are easy...water food shelter..with roost and nesting box...
for me it was finding a winter hardy breed...that would lay through winter...
and out of 7 hens...i had 6 eggs a day.. all through last winter...
unless you are planning a large flock...i wouldn't worry too much about space...
we have a 5x3 coop built underneath the balcony stairs and an original 4x6 space...
that got extended with an additional 4x8 space...mine very rairly get out in the yard...
but we consider we give them a spoiled life and they seem happy and healthy...
but my advise also would be to take your time and decide on your flock ...yes you can
integrate..new chickens to the flock...but it can jostle up and disrupt things...and take a while to settle...
and there can be potential health risks...

 

[FarmerJamie]

The possibilities are endless!

 

[THEFAN]

HAHAHAHA! Okay, THEFAN!! Got it. Hope the chicks survive. Now I am getting egg-cited. (Sorry, couldn't resist)

It's a trial and error thing. Some live some don't. Our first batch of chics all died. Learned and tried again. The little one was sad but what a life leasson. Specially when the one chic she named odd ball died. 5 yrs later she still talks about odd ball but now can help gut deer and help slaughter other animals. God provides!!!

 

[pinkfox]

i stopped going to BYC for any reason other than to look at pretty pictures...
seems a little more "urban queens" than "backyard hens"

heres what id say are your basic RULES for housing.
coop should have 4qft of floor space per hen and 12" of roost space per hen...however in areas with bad winters/lots of rain where they may not get out as much never hurts to go bigger.
it should be easy to clean, well ventilated but otherwise draft free and nice and dry. (windows are nice but unnessicary if you put in roof/ridge vents ect.
nest boxes in my experience do NOT have to be fancy and generally they will all try to use the same one so ewer but larger nest boxes seem to make for happier hens lol.

hens need light to lay, add windows/skylights or put coop somewhere you can hook up a light for when the days get short... (even good winter layers will often drop down on production if theres less than 12 hours light.)

theres no reaon you cant "range" them (just remember that if your iving suburban youll have to figure out how to keep them safe in the yard (clip wings, put up a fence ect) but i still think a good pen is a good idea or those days when you need to confine them for whatever reason...for a pen i like the 10sqt minimum per hen rule...

otherwise, plenty of clean water, good food with LOTS of resh greens and yummy bugs and tada...
it doesnt need to be as cmplicate as many of those threads make out.

 

[FarmerJamie]

From Pirates of the Caribbean

"and thirdly the code is more of what you call guidelines than actual rules..."

I got by with much less than 4 sq ft per bird in the coop, and the girls where healthy and produced just fine...they spent almost all their waking hours outside

 

[Boogity]

From Pirates of the Caribbean

"and thirdly the code is more of what you call guidelines than actual rules..."

I got by with much less than 4 sq ft per bird in the coop, and the girls where healthy and produced just fine...they spent almost all their waking hours outside

Our chickens are very seldom in the coop. The only time they go in there is to lay eggs and to sleep. Rain, snow, hot sun - they're outside and loving it.