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I am new to chickens, in fact I pick up my first 6 pullets march 26. I have done a lot of research and found that keeping poultry is like keeping an aquarium - several "correct' ways of raising them. As I draw up plans for my first coop, can everyone share some mistakes that I can hopefully avoid making as I jump in. My 10 year old already named our new family members, so the pressure is on! and is there an inexpensive thermostat out that will turn on a light or heater when it gets too cold?
thank you everyone in advance for your help.
-joe-
I will be building a new chicken pen this month. My climate is very different than yours but I will show the basics in photos and ramblings on my blog (http://gardenwriterlady.blogspot.com/) as I go along.
I've never been big on heaters in a chicken coop but there are many who use them with no problems. I have always used a heat lamp of even a household type light bulb when I felt it was needed for the 'little ones' If there are enough chickens to huddle together in a draft free space, they are usually fine. Their water needs to remain ice free, of course. Busting a hole through the ice on top is usually enough. Of course, you'll need to follow your gut & do what is right for your own coop.
My girls use to name our chickens too. One of them even made them pets, carried them around and tried to bring them in the house when I wasn't looking! What kind of chickens are you going to raise?
