Beginner Chicken Keeper Seeking Knowledge! HELP!

[KimKimWilliamson]

I was shocked to find the Poultry Row today! I have been researching Chickens and thier care, breeds, etc for DAYS, practically obsessively! LOL I have come to AA for ever and never noticed this section!

My husband is currently building me a coop for a small, 4 Hen flock to live in. Now I just have to figure which four I want, and where to get them

But I have to admit, Im finding the breed categories and sub-categories for the 400 chicken species to be soooooo CONFUSING!!!
Maybe because so many people have taken it upon themselves to create thousands of.....Hybrid? or "Mutt" breeds? I keep thinking I am getting a handle on it, and then find out shortly after that I am NOT, LOL

Basically, we want cold hearty breeds, average to above average egg layers, friendly or non-aggressive temperments (which I know is never a guarantee) and beautiful feathering. After reading and reading and reading and reading, I realized that all of the really striking breeds (IMO) are not great egg layers. All of the plain looking breeds, are above average layers.
So, that being determined, I think we want two "ornamental" breeds, and two good laying breeds. We only need enough eggs to feed a family of four, like a dozen evey two weeks or so. Im keeping the Hens mostly for Hobby/Interest purposes (cause Im a crazy bird lady!) but I also really like the idea of having our own fresh, free range organic eggs while not contributing to the inhumane commercial egg industry. Plus Im looking forward to the manure for my garden We are on a 10 acre farm with plenty of space to put them out to pasture (in a chicken tractor) and then we have a huge Chicken Wire Pen with a coop for them.

So, assuming my knowledge on breeds isnt entirely bunched up, Im thinking of getting :

- Two Millefluer's (horrible layers according to a local hatchery, but some sites indicate othewise?)
- One Buff Orpington (great layers, friendly, etc)
- One Barred Rock (great layers)

Or, some other combination of pretty and productive Do you know of any heirloom/heritage breeds that are pretty and cold hearty?


I really like the Golden/Silver Laced Wyandottes, but worry about the vent feather maintenance. I also like Sebrights, but Ive read they ar aggressive and fliers and not great layers....? I like the Brahma too......

If there are any experienced chicken keepers (is that what you call yourselves?? LOL) I would sure appreciate some insight from someone other than someone trying to sell me something

 

[Ziggymon]

Backyardchickens.com is a chicken discussion board with many well informed members.

My father kept chickens all his life. I never inquired as to the breed - they were white and good layers, possibly Rhode Island whites.

I have chickens - ISA Browns, with a rescue rooster of a breed I haven't identified. My ex chose the ISA Browns - he used to keep them in Michigan, and knew them as cold hardy and excellent layers. (I of course insisted we heat the coop. ) They are very nice girls, not tending toward hysteria, and there has been no intra flock aggressiveness until recently - I'm having to keep one girl separated, because she's being picked on. They are really sweet, smart, chickens.

Please be aware that any laying statistics you will read will be true for the first year or two, and laying will thereafter fall off dramatically.

My sense is that it is much easier to keep a flock of the same kind of chickens, to avoid the kind of aggression which leads to them killing each other, at least if you want to keep them in the same space, rather than separating by type. The people at backyardchickens.com can give you more insight about that.

Also, you will be surprised at how difficult it is to predator proof. You have to account for attacks from the air (hawks), large, fearless predators who can rip pens and chicken houses apart (roving dogs), raccoons, who are known to lure chickens over to the side of the fence and then reach through and rip their heads off), predators who dig under runs/tractors, foxes and raccoons which can climb pretty much any kind of fence, and the weasel family, which can get through any opening larger than 1/2" (just had my ducks attacked by a mink in a house which I thought was safe). Snakes are also an issue in many locations.

Don't use chicken wire for anything - it's useless. Backyardchickens can again give you lots of good information about how to build for your birds to be halfway safe.

When my ex decided he wanted to again keep chickens, I wanted to adopt rescued chickens, but he really wanted the ISA Browns (and they really are very nice chickens - I am very fond of each of them). I should have stood my ground - I know that most male chicks are killed (the demand is for girls) and mostly in very inhumane ways - in the large hatcheries, they're sexed in a kind of assembly line, the boys are thrown into large bins, where many suffocate, and the bins of living and dead chicks are then emptied into grinders, where the chicks are ground up. alive.

 

[GG.]

I just replied to your pm


I will say that I have found that we have mixed species here and they are not aggressive to one another - the only time I see aggression is when introducing new hens to an established flock - to counter that, I rarely introduce less than 3 new hens at a time - they will band together making it harder for the older girls to pick on them until everyone settles down and decides the new girls are ok

and ummmm..... they are pretty much self care and I have had a problem with vent feathers



what are you planning on feeding them? I use a mash/mix prepared by our local feed store that has laying mash pellets in it - they do need the extra calcium to prevent soft shell eggs


the only time I have had them feather picking each other, I added a daily handful of cracked oats to their diet for added roughage and the picking stopped

 

[birdlover82]

I've learned alot from backyardchickens.com. I have a varied flock of hens with 3 Australorp, 2 Golden Sexlink, 1 Buff Oprington, 2 White Leghorns, and a very naughty White Rock. I will never again have White Rocks. I did have 2 but gave the first to my friend because it kept getting out of my yard. Well the one I still have gets out everyday. The others are all fine and stay in but not my little White Rock. Which we actually got all the white ones for free last year off CL.
Good luck choosing.
Be sure to post pictures of whatever you do get. I'm hoping to get some more chicks this week.

 

[GG.]

we have a silver wyandotte, a Black Star , a buff orpington and a an easter egger cross that is an EasterEgg chicken (not a true araucana) crossed with some type of game chicken - she is our naughty girl

she lives in the courtyard instead of the chicken pen and hops the gate and goes out there to visit, then makes the rounds of the front yard - I guess she is going under the wooden gate to get from the alley to the front and then back to the courtyard and she roosts in my laundry room - refuses to move out with the other girls

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

Thanks for all the responses

I also have read that mixed breed flocks do just fine with eachother, and I think thats the way we are going to go. If it doesnt work out we will re-think it.

I havent chosen a feed yet, I figured a trip to the local feed store and a hopefully helpful store attendant and I would be good to go.
Question: Do I feed a "laying hen" chicken feed, in addition to "scratch" or are they the same thing?
They will also be allowed out to pasture in a chicken tractor to graze fresh grass/hay etc often, and some table scraps too.

As far as predators go, I am quite nervous. Im not sure if you saw my thread, but we have two permanent Great Horned Owls nesting in the tree's surrounding our property. Im sure these pullets will be a yummy, much desired snack. Right now, they feed on the Pheasants and Grouse that live in our trees and under our barn, but I bet they'd love variety We dont have racoons here, or snakes, but we do have Fox and hawks and the Owls. I dont worry about dogs, but Coyotes would be a concern. We do have three dogs that guard the house/yard during the day, but they do come inside at night, so........
Hopfully I can avoid any deaths.

We plan on keeping them in an old dog run attached to our Garage. The run was used by the previous owners to breed Border Collies. It runs the length of a 6 car garage. So, its a wood framed run, with chicken wire which has been set in concrete 4 feet under ground level, then has river rocks at ground level around the perimiter (border collie puppies couldnt get out, so I assume fox's cant get in). There is currently no cover on the run, and we are trying to figure out what the best way to do that would be. We will place a coop/nesting house in that run, and it will give about 15 Square feet per bird and have 6 nesting boxes, for just the four chickens. They will only be ina chicken tracto when supervised (while Im in the garden or out with the kids) so if we go in the house, they will go in thier run. Im hoping these are adequate precautions, and Im willing to take additional precautions if necessary.

I think we want a Lemon MilleFleur, A Plymouth Barred Rock, a Buff Orpington, and a Golden Laced Wyandotte.....if I can find someone who will sell me all four as pullets. Im nervous about raising chicks in the house with my parrots and all, but my kids are soooooooooo wanting baby chicks....not sure I can handle that though.

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

Oh and BTW, I registered with BYC a few days ago, but find it a confusing website to navigate through, and TONS of conflicting information.......I dont know why I found learning about Parrots so easy, and learning about chickens sooooo hard!

 

[Ziggymon]

I would put 1/2" galvanized hardware cloth around the bottom part of your chickenwire fencing.

Avian netting over the top would discourage hawks and owls, even though it wouldn't be proof against other predators: Fencing Materials Distributor | Louis E. Page, Inc. Fencing or harware cloth over the top would be more secure.

I would also build your coop with the idea that foxes and coyotes can get into the run at night - they are much better at climbing fences than border collies are. The most difficult predators to keep out are those in the weasel family. As I said, they can get through any opening larger than one half inch, and you won't even know there's one around until there's been an attack. My entire chciken house is clad in 1/2" hardware cloth, and I have no confidence that a weasel couldn't find its way in, since one found its way into the duckhouse, which is a more solid structure.

 

[GG.]

I am sure things vary a little from region to region - laying mash here is like a pelleted or crumbled blend that is fortified with calcium to keep the egg shells from being soft

'scratch' is actually a grain mix


our feed store makes up their own scratch and includes laying pellets and that's what I use


before they came out with this particular combination, I fed a scratch mix and added laying mash crumbles to it

I also add a few cracked oats as well

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

Yes, thats a great idea. I mentioned the idea of some sort of smaller gauge metal cloth that could cover the bottom 5 feet of the 8 foot high run to my hubby and we agreed it would be smart. And I was thinking about using a low gauge chickin wire (like 1x1) and 2x4 wood to close in the top of the run. The netting might work too, but I wanted something more sturdy and reliable. Logistically, we just have to figure out how to ad the roof to the old run....its been there a while, and wasnt built with a cover in mind of course. Im really not sure if Southern Alberta has weasels?? I know we have badgers and muskrats......I havent seen any here......I do find Grouse carcasses often and always assumed it was the Owls (usually they are laying in a pile of plucked feathers under a tree) but I will consider them a fear too.
The Dog run had a huge dog door into the garage at one point that has since been covered....I wonder if I re-opened it, and sectioned off an area of the garage, if the chicken could flee there if they felt danger?

 

[GG.]

you might could construct a frame inside the dog run to hold the top fencing and then overlap it down the sides and use wire ties to secure it

hubby builds all of our houses and fences and pens and stuff here - once you get started, it inspires the creativity



the only thing about giving them garage access is that chickens are nosy, very nosy, and may decide they like your garage as a coop better than the outside one

 

[Ziggymon]

Yes, your worry with any thing you put over the top of the run is the weight of snow in the winter - I have run into issues with that with my cat enclosure (my cats can come and go at will from the house to an enclosure adjacent to the house). If you have an ice storm followed by snow, that's a lot of weight.

Weasels and their relatives are found pretty much everywhere. The Least Weasel's range encompasses all of Canada: Least weasel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Minks too: American mink - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia And again, you will not know that they are there until you experience an attack. I didn't. And the males have a relatively large territory, so you may be safe for years, and then....

ETA: Letting the chickens have access to the garage would give them cover from airborn predators (assuming they see them in time), but if the chickens can get into the garage, the predator most likely will be able to follow them in. The only thing that couldn't would be a roaming pack of dogs, assuming they tore through the fence. A coyote or fox can get through a door that a chicken can get through.

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

Hahaha, thats a good point! I wouldnt want that after all the work my husband is putting into this coop! LOL He'd kill me. Boarded up the garage access will remain! LOL

yeah, we will have to think of something creative, LOL
Our house was built in 1926 and is a beautiful farm home that has managed to keep many of the original fixtures and buildings from over the years. There is in fact a well built Chicken House directly beside our house, which the previous owners converted to a smaller, gravel filled dog run and dog house. My husband was trying to get me to use that as the coop, and kick the dogs out, but I was concerned with the closeness to the house and the mice that might come in due to that.......but maybe theyd be safer and warmer in there.....Id have to rip down the chainlink dog encloser and pull out all the gravel and put up a covered fenced run area anyhow, so I figured going with the larger, farther from the house dog run was better and more equipped......I dunno....tons to think about, LOL

 

[GG.]

sounds like more work trying to re-convert the dog area than building a new one - they love to scratch in the dirt and leaves too

 

[Ziggymon]

You have unfortunately caught me at a time of extremely high paranoia about predators, since I still have eight ducks in the bedroom after the weasel/mink attack, until I get to some level of comfort about having re-secured their house. I'm buying sheet metal to encase the floor and lower walls.

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

It would without doubt be more work to convert the chicken house, strangely enough. And no grass. So yeah, I think I'll stick with the original plan.

I understand your paranoia, it would be awful to lose a single hen to an attack I could have prevented. Its even scarier to think I cant prevent them at all. But I suppose there is risk with any pet ownership. I just have to make sure I cover every base I can, and hope for the best.
Im equally worried about keeping them warm in winter, LOL But I tend to be a paranoid, doting pet owner, only the best for my pets!! LOL I am the same with the parrots, LOL

I will try to get some photos for you today of the pre-existong run we want to use. I also would love to see everyone elses chicken areas for inspiration

 

[Ziggymon]

I find that heat lamps work well. (Although I just recently learned of their dangers from a thread here - you need to *burn off* dangerous chemicals by first using them in an open area. I'll try to find the thread later and link it.

My duckhouse, which is 4' x 8' and about 3 feet high (intentionally built small, to conserve body heat) stays comfy with one 125 watt heat lamp. The chicken house, which is about 10' by 12' (rough guess, haven't measured it), and about 6 1/2' at its highest point, has three heat lamps, and I use some combination of them, depending on how cold it is. Even when the temps were subzero (Fahrenheit), it didn't get colder than 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Both houses are double walled, with insulation in between the exterior and interior walls. The windows are covered with 1/2" hardware cloth, and in the cold weather, plexiglass windows, and then insulating plastic over that.

The chickenyard is currently just enclosed with chicken wire fencing, but I arrange my schedule so that I am home every day before dusk, to lock everyone up, and my Pyr is out all day. There are enough trees in and overhanging the yard that hawks aren't a problem with respect to the chickens. I will probably be moving later this year, and the chicken and duck house that will be built will have a concrete foundation, and the yard will have to be covered to provide protection from hawks. I will be using 2x4" fencing, but with a layer of hardware cloth along the bottom - more raccoons there, and my Pyr won't ne able to be out as much.

ETA: The heat lamp cord in the duckhouse doesn't normally dangle like that - it had just been mucked out, and the cord hadn't been put back up yet. Also, that was taken a couple of years ago, before I figured out about weasels - the chickenwire over the windows was replaced by hardware cloth that spring.

 

[merlinsmom13]

Your new farm sounds great. I miss having chickens. We always had everyones easter chicks, mainly Rhode Island Reds. Some actually laid double yolk eggs. We had weasel problems too, w/ our ducks. We had a pair of white ducks, they looks so much like Ziggiesmom's Dagwood. The weasels killed 12 babies in 1 night. I saw your great horned owls, they also like to eat chicken You've gotten good advice, nothing worse than loosing your chickens to a predator.

 

[GG.]

I find that heat lamps work well. (Although I just recently learned of their dangers from a thread here - you need to *burn off* dangerous chemicals by first using them in an open area. I'll try to find the thread later and link it.

My duckhouse, which is 4' x 8' and about 3 feet high (intentionally built small, to conserve body heat) stays comfy with one 125 watt heat lamp. The chicken house, which is about 10' by 12' (rough guess, haven't measured it), and about 6 1/2' at its highest point, has three heat lamps, and I use some combination of them, depending on how cold it is. Even when the temps were subzero (Fahrenheit), it didn't get colder than 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Both houses are double walled, with insulation in between the exterior and interior walls. The windows are covered with 1/2" hardware cloth, and in the cold weather, plexiglass windows, and then insulating plastic over that.

The chickenyard is currently just enclosed with chicken wire fencing, but I arrange my schedule so that I am home every day before dusk, to lock everyone up, and my Pyr is out all day. There are enough trees in and overhanging the yard that hawks aren't a problem with respect to the chickens. I will probably be moving later this year, and the chicken and duck house that will be built will have a concrete foundation, and the yard will have to be covered to provide protection from hawks. I will be using 2x4" fencing, but with a layer of hardware cloth along the bottom - more raccoons there, and my Pyr won't ne able to be out as much.

ETA: The heat lamp cord in the duckhouse doesn't normally dangle like that - it had just been mucked out, and the cord hadn't been put back up yet. Also, that was taken a couple of years ago, before I figured out about weasels - the chickenwire over the windows was replaced by hardware cloth that spring.

your coop is awesome

 

[Ziggymon]

It's close to a hundred years old - it was built by my father when he was a young man (he was born in 1903).