Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We just bought two chickens, baladi chickens i'm assuming.
They're "fully grown", and they are female.
We were sold them by someone we don't trust, so we wanted to make sure what he told us was true.
He said for a little while after you move them to a new place, they don't lay eggs, even if they were laying eggs beforehand. Is this true? If so, how long should it take before they start laying eggs?
If you can direct me to some more information about Baladi chickens, i'd be very appreciative. We're not quite sure they are baladi chickens. They're white and they have a big feather "crowns"- like a huge feathery pompom on their head.

Also, how do i make a roost for them? what do they need to sleep on?
We live in a warmish climate (In summer it is often over 100 degrees farenheit during the day, and can get down to about 40 at night in the winter. It does snow on a rare occasion here- maybe one or two days of snow a year if even.) It is windy and rainy here in the winter.
Our coop that we built has three sides, and the fourth is merely chicken wire. Is that sheltered enough, or do we need to make a fourth side? If it is sheltered enough, do we need to add anything warm inside for the chickens to warm up with?

Any other information for new chicken owners would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Go to Backyardchickens.com There is a lot of information that will answer all of your questions.

As for the shelter, my rabbits are in a similar constructed hutch (my chickens sleep inside, long story, they were house chickens before we got them!) and my boss told me to put a tarp over the open side to shield out any wind/rain/snow that might suddenly blow that way. They will grow feathers that meet the outside requirements, during the winter you can add a heater (they make some by k&h) for underneath your hay =)

As for a roost, anything does, my little fighter bantee (she will pick a fight with your foot or the cats or the wild finches...) likes roosting on the patio furniture.

I am not great with breeds, so can't help you there =(