Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

Hi every one. Wanted to introduce myself, as I am starting out.

I just bought a 1.1 acre property in central Oxford county, and I want chickens. Figured you guys and gals would have the answers. Sooo. My name is James, I go by pipes online as I'm a plumber. I have a background in agriculture having worked with dairy and sheep during high school, and at the Co-op for 11 years after college. Once I got married I wasn't allowed to have a garden, or any pets other than A cat... Well, that problem is solved now! As of December 1st, I am a free man (it's a good thing in this case ). This chicken adventure will allow me and my 3 boys (11, 11, & 7) to learn about life, nature, and live a little more sustainably. Come spring we will either convert a 8' x 12' garden shed (currently has power) into a coop (probably with an extension), or build a new one. So I will need ideas on runs, nest boxes, I'd like to build a "roost tree", or two, unless that's a bad idea. Also looking for a straight answer on space required for each bird (coop and run) for around 6-10 birds..

I have talked to a very nice man locally, on the phone, who has Barred Rock chickens, but am open to different breeds. Also wondering what price is reasonable to pay for pullets. I'm just looking for hens for eggs. Different colored eggs would be interesting too. I wouldn't be breeding, so not sure is heritage birds would be good, or I should stick with common general dual purpose birds.

Are there any shows coming up in southern Ontario?

Thanks for reading, and looking forward to meeting some of you as well.
James (pipes)

to James

Sounds like you are in for quite an new adventure. All I can comment on whatever plans you have for housing chickens, just think bigger is better. It's called chicken math :wink:

Welcome. You will enjoy teaching your youngsters about country life!
Lots of help here.

Welcome , enjoy ...

Welcome to the wonderful world of chickens. I was once "told" that I was spending too much time with the girls and that I better not get the trio of light Sussex chickens I was looking at "or else"! You know many of the neighbours commented on how pretty those Sussex chickens were.

For just eggs Leghorns can't be beat, the eggs are white however. For brown eggs the red star hybrid can't be beat, those are the reddish orange chickens seen around. You can get them ready to lay for under $15 at feed stores. Barred Rocks are good birds but will eat a little more and lay a little less than the other two I mentioned, they are good for first time owners. Make sure to try to get under one year old. Five or six months old is ideal. You don't need a rooster if you are not breeding, he can actually reduce the number of eggs you get by harassing the hens. Everybody else jump in here before he gets away lol.

Welcome to

Hope you have lots of fun!!

Welcome to PTO! "A few hens for eggs" is how most people start, I know I did. I won't tell you how many I have now, but we moved to have more room :-D The hatchery hens really cannot be beat for eggs. My oldest was 16 when she died, still laying occasionally, and I have a 13 year old giving me 3 eggs a week, though I expect her to take a break soon until days get longer again. They can't have too much room, and they tend to mysteriously multiply :-D so build as big as you can get away with. It's helpful to be able to partition a coop (or have more than one) so you can separate if one is getting picked on, or to introduce new hens to old ones.
Roost "trees"-- make sure it's well sealed so it can be washed from time to time, as tiny creepy crawlies like scaly leg mite can hide in microscopic cracks in wood. Don't go too overboard with nest boxes, because they'll all pile into only one or two anyway. Two nest boxes for 10 hens is lots. 4 sq. feet of living space per hen is a good number if there's a run. Don't expect a grassy run no matter how large, to have any grass in it within a couple days--what they don't eat, they scratch up and kill. Don't use chicken wire. It works fine for keeping chickens in, but not at all for keeping predators out...and once you have chickens, the raccoons will find you. OK I've gone on long enough :-D

Hi pipes!!!! Hope you enjoy the forum.
A few chickens....i am afraid you will learn about chicken math in short order....

One tidbit of advice from me-build bigger than you think. You WILL need it.

Welcome to PTO

Hello and welcome...build as big as you dare...and at some point you will discover it's too small...bahahaha...i started with Barred Plymouth Rocks...got them as day olds ..havent looked back...awesome layers...

Shows: the Royal Winter fair is in Toronto tomorrow, and there's a show at Sarnia in early January.
There's a couple of clubs close enough to you and they have spring/fall sales where folks buy and sell birds to each other. Woodstock has a sale in March for poultry with the game bird club sale the following weekend (pheasants, quail, partridges, peafowl etc.) check in Jan here for more details
1.1 acre? You can get in lots of trouble with that
Breeds: look at the catalog for a hatchery (mcmurray is great for reference) https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/standa ... hicks.html
Handy chicken breed chart:
http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html
There's only question: will you process (slaughter) excess or old birds, or find someone who will do it for you?

Check out the public library for books.

Good luck and have fun!