Country Kitty.. your advise is on the mark I think. It takes someone with experience to know.

I had a Black Swede (dark greenish version of Blue Swedes) she laid like clock work. Left the nest by the time I got outside. Khaki Campbells did about the same.

I personally think Duck eggs are superior in flavor.

I have raised chickens for many years in several locations, all rural. My advice to you is: have a coop with a cement floor, or lay some good 2x2" net wire about 18" wide on the ground all around the coop to discourage critters from digging in. Skunks, foxes, dogs, coyotes, racoons, and maybe other predators will dig in and get your chickens sooner or later. Make a stout door and put a good lock on it. I have had both dogs and racoons get in by jamming the door. Screen the windows.

Any way, when you have the coop secure, keep the chickens in the coop! If let run, the darn things will eat anything and everything. If you were to faint and fall down they would eat you too. They will scratch up your garden, eat your crops, and crap all over your cars and sidewalks. It really is not worth letting them run. For your sake and theirs.

I have always been able to train my own dogs to leave the chickens alone but any other dog is apt to go after the chickens. Cats are not a bother to a full grown chicken, but look out for little chicks.

Heat in the winter? I have never heated my coops. In winter I put plastic over the windows and they do fine. You have to keep them out of the breeze.

If you have roosters, be careful, especially if you have children. Some of those roosters will attack a person. It is really disastrous when one attacks a child. Roosters are best put in the pan when about 4 or 5 months old.

I am not trying to discourage you, just sharing what I have learned about chickens. Hope your venture works out well.

quote:

Originally posted by HotSalsaMan:

the problem with duck and geese is that they do not want to go indoors at night. the geese are pretty good on protection but the ducks less so. However, the real problem comes when the ducks and geese sit on eggs on a nest made outdoors. then they will not leave the nest and the night animals catch them easy. they chop their heads off right on the nest. You will wake up in the morning and find the ducks gone from the nest and huge geese still on the nest with the head gone. terrible.

So that's where the saying "sitting duck" comes from. Learn something new evey day.

quote:

Originally posted by hemingway:
Should I be concerned about heating my coupe in the winter?

I've never heated my coop and I live in Central PA. They way I look at it is: chickens survived for thousands of years before man was around with his lightbulbs. They'll do just fine in your backyard. Just keep then out of the bitter northern winter wind as best as possible. They huddle together at night when they roost.

And James is right, if you don't keep them penned in somehow, they will reek havoc on your garden and landscape, and they are veritable pooping machines!

There are many resources regarding backyard chickens. Just check out the internet. There are many good coop designs also. We built a very fancy insulated coop several years ago; which we overdid.You would never know it's a chicken coop, it looks more like a play house for children. However it has many good features you should consider. 1) Concrete floor for easier cleaning.2)large windows on the south wall for natural light.3)ceiling ventilation; especially for winter.4)Roosting area (2x4s with rounded edges) built over a cleanout pit.( we built the pit at the back of the coop and installed clean-out doors 3'wide x 2' tall, so you can simply rack out the droppings from outside the coop.) We bought prefabricated nesting boxes and hung them on the wall. We hung large feeder and water stations a couple of feet in front of the roosting area. We built a large run 60' x 20' x 6' with 1"x1" chicken wire sunk 12" in the ground,the top is covered with mesh used for fruit trees and supported with wire from side to side. We even put a cupola on top of the roof, which is used for ventilation.We used glass board panels inside for easy cleaning.The south side has four large wooden storm windows for winter; and perminent screening for the summer, made of 1/4" hardware. The outside has clapboard siding. It cost us about $3000 for a 10' x 12' coop that should last 150 years. We as well as the chickens, are very happy with the results. Everyone thinks it's a play house until they see the chickens.

All the information you all have provided has been great. That backyardchickens website was very usefull. I will try to incorporate your recomendations in my new venture.