New chicken lady 😃

[tweeter_and_the_red_coop]

Good day all! Just joining the flock with my newly developed feather fever! I'm sorry, I get corny when I'm excited.

I am in deep east Texas and adding 4 adorable Barred Rock chicks to our furred menagerie. We live rurally on 10 acres amongst miles and miles of piney woods. We are deep in owl, hawk, fox, coyote, bobcat, cougar, and Sasquatch territory here (all nightly visitors) as well as an overabundance of snakes so I'm loading up on anti predator knowledge as well as everything else I need to know.

I look forward to chatting with you all! Thank you.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

We have a predator forum you can peruse or post in: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/predators-and-pests.13/

We border a forest and found that solar motion lights keep the varments back during the night and our two dogs keep them back during the day.

1/2 inch hardware cloth can usually keep out everything, so we use that for the breeding pens. Our other chickens are free-range, and the coops they have are predator-proof (remodeled Amish sheds).

If you need to know more about raising chicks or chickens, or need to figure out a coop to build, both can be found under the Article tab above, in our Learning Center.

Be sure to ask if you ever have questions!

 

[chrissynemetz]

Hi, and welcome to BYC! We're so glad you decided to join us! Make yourself at home!

 

[tweeter_and_the_red_coop]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

We have a predator forum you can peruse or post in: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/predators-and-pests.13/

We border a forest and found that solar motion lights keep the varments back during the night and our two dogs keep them back during the day.

1/2 inch hardware cloth can usually keep out everything, so we use that for the breeding pens. Our other chickens are free-range, and the coops they have are predator-proof (remodeled Amish sheds).

If you need to know more about raising chicks or chickens, or need to figure out a coop to build, both can be found under the Article tab above, in our Learning Center.

Be sure to ask if you ever have questions!

Thank you for all this intel! I had planned to buy a TSC coop, but after reading for just 20 minutes, I've decided to hire the builder who did our house to make a real coop - ventilated roof for the heat, the predator proofing, and a long covered run.

Thank God for this forum, or I would have wasted alot of money and not had happy chickens! I'm so happy to be here and get educated properly on my new obsession.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[OrpingtonManiac]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[N F C]

Hi, it's nice to meet you! Good call on getting a good coop built, those pre-fabs aren't the way to go. If you ever have questions, just find the most fitting forum and post...there are a lot of helpful members here to that can assist. Best wishes!

 

[Jenbirdee]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC! I'm also in east Texas but not deep et. A big open air coop run combo covered top to bottom with hardware cloth is your best bet. Deep shade and good drainage are important for our hot, humid summers and torrential rains.