SonshineLearner Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Hey There, We can have chickens here, no rooster, and I want 2 - 3 dozen eggs a week. I'm trying to figure out if that's possible. I have a outside dog kennel that I could make a coop out of....(somehow) and 2 small spots of grass for them to run around on....(so we could switch back and forth) How much room do you need to make your chickies happy? Can you tell me how much it costs to feed 1 chicken? (So I can figure out how much I would need to the chickens I get??) What kinds of chickens do you like best?? Any opinions on if this is harder than you thought?? I generally like my animals to be happy...and so I don't want to try to overcrowd them...the thing in it for me would be kinda having a little "chicken farm" and getting my fresh eggs. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emilylou Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 http://www.backyardchickens.com/ Here's a site we used to get started with our chickens. You should find out everything you need to know and more. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCMom Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 (edited) Hey There, We can have chickens here, no rooster, and I want 2 - 3 dozen eggs a week. I'm trying to figure out if that's possible. I have a outside dog kennel that I could make a coop out of....(somehow) and 2 small spots of grass for them to run around on....(so we could switch back and forth) Thanks! Right now ours are pastured and we have two coops - 1 for the mom who just hatched babies and one for the others. We have 2 sq ft per chick in the house and >5 sq ft of running room outside per chick. Ours are outside all day winter or summer, so we need way less room in the coop. I spend about $5 a week on food for 15 (5 are only 2 weeks old though!) but I grow food for them and they eat a LOT of bugs, etc. Caged chickens or ones without lots of room need a lot more food given to them. Breed is all about what you want and what traits your prefer. I do not like the Rhode Island Reds (sorry Spycar!) or the black sex-links someone gave us - no personality and too flighty (haha). The smartest ones we have are Delawares, which are pretty too. The Buff Orpington hen who set this year is a crack mother and her beloved, the Buff rooster, is destined for the county fair. The New Hampshires are people chickens (or chickens who think they are people??). The Silver Laced and Blue Laced Red Wyandottes we will get soon are truly beautiful... You really need to plan keepingin mind your weather, predators, spacing issues, the fact that the chicken house doesn't always smell too good, just to name a few. (lol). Check out the backyard chicken website; it's really helpful! Backyard Chickens hth, Georgia Edited May 31, 2009 by Georgia in NC forgot something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I had 5 hens and was getting 35 eggs per week. I just sold three of them and am down to a more manageable 14 eggs per week. We got to where we were sick of eggs. I also got tired of the amount of chicken poo in the yard. :) I have a 1/3 acre yard and with them roaming free, my two are barely noticeable now. My coop is something that looks like a rabbit cage with a cover over it to keep it warmer in the winter. My biggest issue was when it was really cold or snowy for days, the silly things would just sit in the snow. On days when it was below 20, I would lock them in their coop. We have a 6' privacy fence around the yard which keeps the coyotes out, but a fox could jump it. We have a dog and the neighbors have noisy dogs that usually scare the foxes off. I do have to trim their wings or they would make it over the fence. I buy a big bag of chicken feed at a local feed store for $12 - its 50lbs. And it used to last 3 or 4 months. I supplement with green waste from the kitchen. I also feed them corn in the winter to help raise their body temperature. It is only about $10 per 50lb bag - yeah , not organic but its all the feed store has. They eat very little feed or grain when the weather is warm as they prefer bugs, worms and things that grow in the yard. I use pine chips or aspen and cotton wood chips or hay in their coop as bedding and litter, and I compost that. It doesn't smell bad as long as I change it at least once a week. I love my fresh eggs and hopefully never have to buy factory-produced eggs again. If only those hens would eat dandelions..... Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildflower Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Ours ship next week! DD1 is beside herself, it's Christmas in June! This is where we ordered from- http://www.mypetchicken.com Their site is very informative, including a 'find your chicken' breed selector. We have not yet built our coop.... I have the plans right here though. If you have a fax number I can send it over to you- send it by private message & I'll shoot it over, it's around 40 pages long. It is a large run with a raised coop that holds 8 large breed (or our 10 silkies)> We are not keeping hens for eggs- silkies eggs are very small. Silkies are said to be the lap dogs of the chicken world. Shall we call the lap chickens? Do you think Prada will make a chicken bag? Robyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Do you think Prada will make a chicken bag?Robyn I don't know about bags, But have you seen chicken diapers ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildflower Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 how awesome is that? and they have my silkies wearing diapers. oh, that would put dh over the edger i think.... i made him go searching for a turtle that we found outside our church this morning. we had left him in the hedgerow at noon and he was gone by 3 pm when i decided we needed another pet. what a good guy! I di want those diapers though. do you think 'we had cloth diapers for our girls, why not the chickens' is a strong enough argument?:D\ i really needed that laugh! thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boymama Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I have chickens that I put up at night due to predators. I let then out when I am home to watch out for them. I love the Rhode Island reds. They usually let me pet them up more than the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boymama Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I do feed them scratch and it does take more when they can't get out as much. I have restocked my hens this year and now they are half grown and will not lay until next year. I love the big brown eggs of the RI Reds and the Jersey Giants. Huge eggs. The Jersey Giants make good moms, but I haven't had good luck with my RI setting to make babies. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I want 2 - 3 dozen eggs a week. I'm trying to figure out if that's possible. We have about 20 standard-sized hens and get about 14-16 eggs a day. (Two are currently broody, so are not laying, and a couple are breeds that are more ornamental than laying chickens.) How much room do you need to make your chickies happy? Ours coop themselves at night (we usually go out and close the door before bed). I'd plan at least 4 sq ft per bird. Ours free-range during the day. Can you tell me how much it costs to feed 1 chicken? (So I can figure out how much I would need to the chickens I get??) I think this depends on where you live and what you plan to feed them. In New England, layer pellets currently cost about $13 for a 50lb bag. I buy two a week, but that feeds 20 hens, two roosters, five bantam chickens, 7 turkeys, and 15 guineas. We also give them food/veg scraps from the kitchen. In the winter we add corn scratch for about $11 per 50 lb bag. And they eat more layer pellets (while laying fewer eggs) in the winter 'cause there's nothing to free-range on... What kinds of chickens do you like best?? I love the funny-lookin' ones (polishes, turkens). For layers, we buy what sells. People like the green eggs, so we have Ameraucana hens. I like the dark, chocolate brown eggs, so we have Marans. Personality? The bantams: they're like tiny little doggies. The kids love whichever chicken allows itself to be picked up and held (currently the white rock and the dark cornishes). My oldest loves his Golden penciled Hamburg because she won him a ribbon at the fair . Any opinions on if this is harder than you thought?? Chickens are EASY! They practically take care of themselves. Just be careful to avoid the breeds that are known for aggressive (with other chickens) behavior. They can really do a number on each other. Make sure to separate out any bird that gets injured, 'cause the others will kill it if you don't (survival of the fittest and all that). Chickens rock! Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 You've gotten a lot of great advice! We've had chickens for years and have never regretted it! They are so fun to watch and like many other posters said-they are very easy to care for. Have fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 We are getting a new clutch of chicks tomorrow. Yippee! We love our Rhode Island Red bantams. The RIR bantams lay very well, and despite being drastically smaller birds (and so easier on everything) the eggs are barely smaller than "standard" chicken eggs. So I heartily recommend bantams. And don't listen to Georgia in NC :D Actually, I'm surprised to hear someone not like RIRs. We have gone out of our way to get classic/show strains (as opposed to "production strains" of RIRs that have been outbred) because these are very friendly and "natural" birds. Very happy to sit on eggs. Good mother hens. Friendly with people. Good foragers. Beautiful and fun to watch frolic. I can't imagine a more perfect chicken. And RIR bantams are about the best layers (certainly the best "brown egg" layer). And to do much better laying-wise you need to go with a "production" bird like a white-leghorn, and these chickens are koo-koo-loo-loo. All the sense bread out of them, so producers could stuff them in a tiny cage. *Shiver* Best news, the only neighbor who didn't like us having a rooster (we kept our city-rooster in a "black-out cage" until 9 am so no one got their sleep disturbed) just moved away. So we should be back in a cycle where we can keep our flock going ourselves. Double Yippee!! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katemary63 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 We just got 5 Maran chicks, a box full of different bantams, (including RIRs) and 5 Seramas, the smallest chicken in the world! I can't wait to see how they all turn out! Besides the chicks, we have 6 year old hens that lay almost 6 eggs a day - at least 5 everyday. They are 3 white leghorns and 3 Americanas that lay green/ blue eggs. We also have a pen full of ducks that lay at least 6-8 eggs / day. We eat a lot of eggsalad! We keep our 6 hens and 1 rooster in a large dog kennel that is half under the eve of our barn. they have some sun and some shade. We made a roost our of old boards and leaned it up against the end. They don't have a "coop" and seem fine with it. There are 2 wooden boxes on the floor that they lay their eggs in. We used to let them free range during the day, but they would not go into their pen at night and kept roosting in my barn rafters and pooping on everything. (That's why I like ducks better - poop stays on the ground!) Anyway, they've been locked up for months now and I am going to give them a test "run" in a couple of days and see if they go into the pen at night now.....wish them luck! LOL Chickens are fun. Ducks are funner! IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 Best news, the only neighbor who didn't like us having a rooster (we kept our city-rooster in a "black-out cage" until 9 am so no one got their sleep disturbed) just moved away. Bill Oh Bill, what a great idea!! We're not allowed to have a Rooster, but how I'd love to have maybe fertilized eggs...-v- not..... Alas, we have kinda nasty neighbors, so it won't happen. They're too much into smokin' out and sleepin' in to be nice....(isn't that stuff suppose to make you NICER??? Someone forgot to tell them!!) I had joked about having a rooster "decrowed"...didn't think about the black-out thing.... (Now, don't shoot me...I was just kidding!) Carrie:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 If only those hens would eat dandelions..... It sounds like you now need a goat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 We're another family that loves our chickens and free range, fresh eggs! Our breed of preference is the Buff Orpington. Actually, Orpington is the breed, buff is the color we like. They are an excellent dual use chicken - really good brown egg layers and not so bad in the roaster (for our extra males). Some of the hens naturally go broody - for those of us that can raise our own chicks - and others don't (keeping us in eggs). From our younger hens I get 2 eggs every 3 days on average. Older hens can drop to 1 egg every other day. Ours free range during the day - helping keep our farm tick free with lower bugs in general. We don't give them any chicken feed in the summer, but they do get vegetable food scraps from our garden and my kitchen. I consider them my composters... In the winter we buy basic scratch grains for them since that can't naturally find as much themselves. I'm not into commercial chicken feeds personally... though they do clean up after our ponies in the barn, so they eat some commercial equine feed. I like my "maids" too much to care about it. They naturally return to their coop at night and we close them in to avoid confrontations with the local foxes. During the day we sometimes need to watch for hawks too... but lately I haven't seen any. I suspect some of our neighbors might not like hawks, but I don't ask questions. I just count my blessings that there are fewer around. It might also be that we have a nesting pair of Bald Eagles right next door. I've heard they don't care for hawks (hearsay). If so, great! I've never seen an Eagle take one of my chickens - and they can't be prosecuted if they harass the hawks into leaving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Oh Bill, what a great idea!! We're not allowed to have a Rooster, but how I'd love to have maybe fertilized eggs...-v- not..... Alas, we have kinda nasty neighbors, so it won't happen. They're too much into smokin' out and sleepin' in to be nice....(isn't that stuff suppose to make you NICER??? Someone forgot to tell them!!) I had joked about having a rooster "decrowed"...didn't think about the black-out thing.... (Now, don't shoot me...I was just kidding!) Carrie:-) The blackout cage actually worked. It is a rabbit hutch we but in the garage (already "dark") and (at various times draped with black cloth or black plastic. CAUTION: Chickens do need air flow so you don't want things closed up tight. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 How much room do you need to make your chickies happy? Can you tell me how much it costs to feed 1 chicken? (So I can figure out how much I would need to the chickens I get??) We have 5 (in spring/summer we get 3 to 5 eggs a day; fewer in winter). They have a 6 by 10 dog pen with a hutch inside that they stay in at night and until we get around to letting them out in the morning. They free range in our fenced yard during the day (it's maybe 1/3 of an acre? maybe a bit less. we have an acre total, but they don't go outside the fence). We pay $12 for a 50 pound bag of food; it usually lasts ??? 1 to 2 months? It varies a lot depending on the season (how much food they can find on their own plus I think they just eat more in winter) and how many scraps we have for them. What kinds of chickens do you like best?? I like having variety so that we can tell them all apart (which is helpful since naming chickens is fun) and so that the flock looks pretty :). We have a Buff Orpington (very friendly, gentle, lays HUGE eggs), a white leghorn (she's, uhh, very quirky. She has the most personality of any of them, but sometimes she can be a pain. She's also, oddly, the only one who goes broody. When she's not broody, though, she goes months without taking a day off from egg-laying), a Barred Rock (very talkative and curious), and two New Hampshire Reds (we got these when they were about 3 months old, so they hadn't been handled as tiny chicks. One is still very skittish and standoffish, the other got used to us and is super friendly now). We used to have a Silver Laced Wyandotte, but she died mysteriously a few weeks ago :(. She was really pretty and friendly enough. Any opinions on if this is harder than you thought?? Getting the pen set up was kind of a pain and they need a lot of care when they're tiny (well, not so much a lot of care as frequent care; you have to check in on them every few hours at first), but overall it's been about what I expected, which is to say it's been a lot easier than my husband expected. As far as either pets or livestock go, chickens are about as low maintenance as it gets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candleinaustin Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Oh My! Chicken diapers! Who knew? I am so getting these for my bantam frizzles! Thanks a lot for posting the link. And, yes, chickens are the best pets. We've been keeping chickens since Jan. of this year. We're only on a city lot, but a large one and we're getting away with it. We're down to 7 birds now consisting of 3 buff orpingtons that we hatched out Easter week, 3 bantam frizzles which are the most loving adorable funny and smart birds I've ever seen, a beautiful barred rock pullet that is laying 1x a day now for a month. Good luck! It's addictive. And, I 2nd the backyardchickens.com site. Met some really nice folks on there and they have a great board. I see this catching on, chickens are sooo much more fun and productive (considering they feed ya) than any other bird I've kept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 *sniff* Y'all are making me miss our chickens! Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Here's a neat idea I read about a few years back and wanted to pass along. If you have a raised roosting area, one of the easiest ways to clean under it is to take one of the cheap plastic children's sleds (the rectangular one) and place it under your roost. When it is heaped with manure, drag it out to the desired spot--perhaps a garden area or compost pile--and hose it off with a garden hose. No fuss, no muss, no bother:D! If you do this fairly often, even a child can drag the light sled. I am currently trying to train one of our hens to lay an egg directly into an old skillet I have on our porch. The chickens will not stay off the porch, in spite of my best efforts. And at least one of them persists in laying in either my flower basket on the railing or inside our kitty carrier (which dd keeps out there for her two new kittens). So I think it would be funny to see if I can get her to lay directly into my skillet:lol:. (You can tell we don't get out much!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msjones Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Great thread. We're about to get our coop and chickens (we can only have 3 hen here in the city), but my neighbors are makin' me nervous. Can someone tell me the truth: how stinky are they? How often do you clean the coop, and how bad is it if you miss a cleaning? My neighbor is (fairly, I think) concerned about the smell. We are packed in here pretty closely, and I do want to be a good neighbor. (Although, I have to say, she has one of the most obnoxious, noisy, irritating little dogs on the planet...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.