[SLI]

Hi All,
I've just registered. I have a small veg patch & several fruit trees etc. & have just bought a chicken coop.... So excited!

Haven't bought any hens/chicks yet as I really don't know where to start. I live on the coast in Norfolk with my partner & two of my teenaged sons.

I could use any advice that anyone would like to share. Thanks

[Roxy]

Hello and welcome to the forum - I am in Derbyshire.

If you have a question about chickens or anything smallholding related, ask away.  There is always someone who can come up with an answer for you - everyone is really helpful!

[SLI]

Thanks so much. I've ordered a few books as I'm a Londoner who's moved to the country/seaside and as a townie has no idea, so any help and advice would be very much appreciated.
I think the first thing I would like to know is what breed of chicken I should go for as a beginner - if there is a "beginners breed" as such...

I've ordered a coop with an attached run as I'd like my "girls" to have as much space as possible. The recommended number of medium sized hens for the coop is 3 - 4.

I'd also like to know if there are any essentials I'll need as a first timer.

[gavo]

Hi you need to make sure it's a breed that you like looking at; then decide how important egg production is to you.Don't worry too much about being green so to speak most of it is commonsense and poultry are surprisingly hardy .

[SLI]

Thanks for your advice. I think that's what I would have done - gone for something I liked the look of, but it's reassuring to know that poultry is fairly hardy.

[Wizard]

Hello SLI Every one has a different favorite bod as you will find but POL (Point of Lay) is a good bet for the beginner and Rhode Island Red X Black Rock is a good choice of bod they lay well and eat well when finished laying Pedigree Rhode Island Reds are very expensive to purchase Lots of people on here obtains a few ex battery bods but they need much more attention I found in the past.Let us hear how you get on

[HappyHippy]

HI and welcome to the forum  
I'm fairly new to chickens, but with my limited experience - here goes !
Feeder and drinker
Worming medicine
Mite/louse powder
Oyster shell and grit
Cider vinegar (for adding to their water, but can only use in plastic drinkers)
sawdust & straw for bedding
Layers pellets and mixed corn.
I'm sure there will be other things I've forgotten but more experience folk will keep you right
If your run suggests 3-4 chickens, I'd probably start with 2 in there and see how you get on - you'll maybe find you have to move it quite regularly if it's on grass/earth cause they do a LOT of scratching about. Our 2 have a 6ft by 6ft run and I feel as if I'd like it to be (at least) twice that size !
I have a warren and a rhode island red - the warren LOVES cudles, but the RIR is a bit more stand offish ! I inherited these ones, but if I was choosing more, like Gavo says I'd go for ones I liked looking at. Don't get me wrong, I love my wee chookies, but there are lots of very pretty breeds out there.
Good luck and lets us know how you get on !

[Hilarysmum]

Hi enjoy your first fresh eggs, I doubt you will ever buy from a supermarket again after that   

[Rosemary]

Hi and welcome!

My advice would be buy 2 point of lay pullets this year and two in about 18 months. If you buy 4 now, your coop will be full and they will all be spent at the same time.

[SLI]

Hi Rosemary,
Thanks very much for that info - it seems so obvious once you say it, but I would never have thought of it.

[SLI]

Thanks to you all for your help and advice. It's all very much appreciated. 

[Daisys Mum]

Hi and welcome, if I had a pound for everyone including myself who just thought it would be nice to have a couple of chicks, then I would be very rich instead of broke feeding my ever increasing menagerie.

[SLI]

Hi Daisy's Mum, I bet I'll be the same as you! I can't do anything by halves... I'm not going into this to make money. I'm thinking of the chickens as pets and if we get eggs it'll be a bonus. I just love the idea of having the chooks pecking around. They'll eat bugs in the garden & if they peck the plants - so what.
I read somewhere that chickens can be poisoned by many garden plants; daffodils, tulips - in fact the list seems endless. I was going to site the coop in an area that's just grass with a few mature trees and shrubs around. There are daffodils there at present but the bulbs will be dug out. Does anyone know if this will this be ok?

I haven't even got my chooks yet and I'm so full of questions! Better now than later though.

[chickenfeed]

  hi from me too sounds like your not a million miles away from us.

if you ever want to look around our poultry you are more than welcome.

we thats mum & myself at 2 locations have pekins, leghorns, utility light sussex & rhode island reds, rhode island red x black rocks, red co's and hatching a heap of different breeds at the moment.

i would also add on your shopping list leg rings so you remember the age of all your birds i have a new colour for each year.

[Hilarysmum]

Our hens free range totally and have access to many poisonous plants.  They are well fed, have access to grass and "good" plants, so never touch anything poisonous.  If they are like pigs they have to be very hungry indeed to eat anything noxious.