Hello from Hamilton

[Jaye]

to
Good to have you here!

[Bayvistafarm]

Welcome!! I'm from the Hamilton area... well Flamborough.... and like everyone else said....... Go BIGGER. You won't regret it, but will if you don't. I can supply you with EE chicks in the spring... and did I hear 'someone' mention Guinea's? Turkeys? I can supply you with those too!!!!!!!!!! lol.

[Killerbunny]

Welcome!! I'm from the Hamilton area... well Flamborough.... and like everyone else said....... Go BIGGER. You won't regret it, but will if you don't. I can supply you with EE chicks in the spring... and did I hear 'someone' mention Guinea's? Turkeys? I can supply you with those too!!!!!!!!!! lol.

Easter Eggers are fun especially for kids. The neighbours grandkids have so much fun picking out green, blue or olive eggs from the nest box!

[KimChick]

Welcome! I see you are from the Greater Hamilton Area! We moved here, to Eastern Ontario, 3 years ago from Hamilton. We lived "on the mountain" for 32 years.
We have a hobby farm that came with a barn and a horse barn. And this is our 3rd year with chickens.
This is my experience:
We started with Black Sex Link pullets - good layers of large eggs and excellent foragers when free ranging. Next we got Red Sex Link pullets - good layers of medium eggs, good foragers, adventurous and free range a good distance (not always a good thing). We have a mixed breed rooster that was given to us.
From those, I hatched eggs this year and now have a barnyard mix of chickens; the pullets should start laying at the beginning of December.
We have an enclosure in the barn that the chickens can access from the outside enclosure.

[Killerbunny]

I will touch on one, less than pleasant, subject. Be prepared if one of your birds is either extremely injured or very sick. You may have to put her out of her pain. Not fun but it happens.

[KimChick]

I will touch on one, less than pleasant, subject. Be prepared if one of your birds is either extremely injured or very sick. You may have to put her out of her pain. Not fun but it happens.

On this note, also be prepared with a place for a chicken if it would benefit being separated from the flock.
For example, we have had "house hens" (one at a time) in a very large, high sided, cardboard box, with chicken wire sitting over top, a few times in the last 3 yrs. The box would come in the house, the sick or injured hen would be put in it, and it would convalesce. In the summer, this would be in the garage.
Right now, I have a hen, still recovering from a molt, in the house. It was being pecked on the tail. Since there was a bit of blood, the pecking was getting worse. This way, its feathers can get a better start without further injury.
We have a rabbit cage for the summer time, but I use that to isolate a hen for egg eating behavior.

[Pollo Caballo]

Welcome to PTO. You should not have any problem finding buff Orpingtons (and many other colors) in your area. I have some Orpington hens in my flocks ( lavender, lemon lavender and even a lavender splash) and I acquired the last four of them from local egg stock and I am in the Milton area. They are lovely, friendly, docile girls and pretty reliable winter layers.
If you check through the site you should come across the ‘coop plans’ section that should have lots of good ideas for coops and pens for all budgets. Some people have been very imaginative and crafty about repurposing building materials or items as building coops from scratch can get very expensive. All of us on here have had to go through some sort of learning curve so it is nice to learn from other people’s mistakes as you can’t ( and your chickens won’t) live long enough to make them all yourself!
If I have a few pieces of advice to give they would be:
1) if you can do so try to actually visit one or two hobby farms/ chicken coops to see ( and feel and smell etc) the pros and cons of their set up. It will give you a little dose of the reality of it before you start to invest and build.
2) Be as generous as you realistically can be with your budget to build as solid a coop as is feasible if you are planning to be keeping chickens for any length of time. A well made coop will not come cheap unless you are extremely lucky and can get a well made ( and properly cleaned) one second hand.
3). If you are building your own coop then do: put in proper screened windows (that open and close), ventilation ( ridge vents etc) and insulate the coop. This can be even more important in the summer than winter as most chickens do not do well with our hot humid summers.
Good luck with your chicken and coop search!

[Flat Rock Farm]

I am little late in my to the forum.

Just up the mountain from you, in Flamborough.

As some have said plan bigger, chicken math IS REAL!!!