Do I want chickens?

[MamaSheep]

I just learned that our city recently passed a new ordinance allowing up to 6 chickens on residential lots. We had thought a little about chickens a few years ago, but it didn't take much research to discover it wasn't legal where we live. Now it is. If you have backyard chickens, can you give me some pros and cons? Useful web sites?

[Nicole M]

My husband and son are almost finished making this chicken ark:

 

http://catawbacoops.com/

 

We had ducks for years, but now that our chicken-egg-allergic child is about to head off for college, we're ready for some hens.

 

Since we don't have the little ladies on site yet, I don't have any wisdom to offer, but wanted to share that site. Good info there, and a good lookin' ark.

[katemary63]

Well, we think chickens are a fun and interesting hobby. However, one thing is true. You will NOT save money. Keeping chickens is MORE expensive then buying your eggs at the store. You would have to sell a lot of your eggs to make up the expense. If you dont' care about this - go for it!

[Dandelion]

We have chickens (7 of them).

 

Pros:

- they're fairly easy to take care of

- the eggs are fantastic (if you get chicks or younger chickens, it can take awhile for them to start laying though)

- they're fun for the kids

 

Cons:

- depending on the climate where you live (I didn't check your location before replying), you may go several months during the winter with no eggs. Ours haven't been laying since the start of winter. I've heard that keeping their water warm can keep them laying - we don't want to put a warmer out in our coop, so we haven't tried this.

- if you have a garden, and decide to let your chickens go "free range" part of the day, be sure you have a way of keeping them out of your garden or they will tear it up (I speak from experience :glare:)

 

Can't think of anything else right now and don't have any website recommendations. My DH grew up on a farm and is the "chicken expert" here - I just enjoy the eggs. ;)

[Greeny]

I am all for it! I think it would be such a wonderful experience for your family to raise animals that will produce your food. It is all very sweet. The one con is that they are messy and smelly, but very good fertilizers.

We are planning on raising chickens next year when we are in a living situation that will allow them. I haven't done the price break down, but we spend around $20 a month for local, free range, organic eggs. I am sure that it would take awhile to "break even" from the initial investment. However, I think that taking charge of your food and allowing your children the experience is more important than the finances.

[Liz CA]

Well, we think chickens are a fun and interesting hobby. However, one thing is true. You will NOT save money. Keeping chickens is MORE expensive then buying your eggs at the store. You would have to sell a lot of your eggs to make up the expense. If you dont' care about this - go for it!

 

Ahhh...but you pay a lot more at the grocery store for the kind of eggs you will get from your own chicken. They will likely be richer in Omega 3 (if the girls can forage and eat kitchen greens) and the yolk is actually orange instead of the pale yellow of most store bought eggs. Nutritionally, those two cannot be compared in my opinion. Yeah - go for it. They are more fun to watch than any TV show.

[MamaSheep]

You're right, this would be at least as much in the interest of giving the kids (and dh and me) the experience of producing actual food. We do have some square foot garden boxes (for largely the same reasons), but there are also a number of cats roaming the neighborhood and our yard is only fenced on 2 sides, so there are a number of reasons we'd just have to have a chicken run rather than letting them roam free.

[TengoFive]

We love chickens. We have had up to 30 at a time with no odor, mess, or fly problems by using the deep litter system. The eggs are expensive compared to regular eggs at the store, but they're so much better tasting and better for you.

Everyone has their own opinions on what the best breed is, but I picked Buff Orpingtons for their docile temperament. I wanted them to be very friendly for the kids to play with. We just started up again after a move across country, and even at 7 weeks old the Buffs are much friendlier than the Barred Rocks we have. DH loves the Barred Rocks, so I always get some of those for him.

Our cats don't bother the chickens once they're grown, but as chicks we have to keep them penned up. Now that they're 7 weeks old, they're big enough that the cats aren't as interested.

If you keep them in a run, be prepared to not have any grass under the run. If you can manage a movable run, your lawn will be gorgeous and bug free! You can google "chicken tractors" for ideas.

[Amber in AUS]

We have 4 chooks and we love them! One is moulting at the moment so isn't laying but the other 3 are laying an egg a day. For us i think it is much cheaper than buying eggs. The eggs at our shops at 50c each for free range organic. My chooks cost a fraction of that. We do feed them some purchased layer pellets but mostly they have the kitchen scraps and the forage in the backyard. We have a wooden crate thing for them to lay in and roost in and they are happy campers. Every once in a while we put up a fence and contain them to an area we want really turned up and manured for new vegie planting but otherwise the free range.

[Peela]

I love them, but I love most animals. I think they are great for giving your scraps to, and wonderful to get eggs from. Even great to talk to.

 

Dh on the other hand got chikens only for me and woud be happier not to have them. He doesnt like having extra animals to care for.

 

I think they are pretty low maintenance pets.

[micandme]

I love them, but I love most animals. I think they are great for giving your scraps to, and wonderful to get eggs from. Even great to talk to.

 

Dh on the other hand got chikens only for me and woud be happier not to have them. He doesnt like having extra animals to care for.

 

I think they are pretty low maintenance pets.

 

:iagree: Same DH here too. :) He doesn't like having ANY animals to care for. :D We don't let them roam free much because DH gets so annoyed that they tear up our mulched areas. I remind him they're looking for bugs that might otherwise end up in the house, but he doesn't appreciate it. The rest of us love them.... we just got 5 chicks a few days ago, and they're so sweet.

 

I'd just recommend getting good-natured breeds. We have a few white leghorns, and they're VERY skittish. They were since they were about 2 weeks old. These, this time around, are very laid back and easy going. Buff Orpington, Wyandottes (sp?), and red stars

[MamaSheep]

This sounds encouraging. What would I need to get started? Is there a chicken bible sort of book I ought to look into getting?

 

I've been having fun playing with the breed selector tool over at the My Pet Chicken web site.

[LibraryLover]

We love our chickens. They are a lot of fun. I like that I can control the quality of their lives and the quailty of their food. Do you have room to let them eat grasses and bugs? A small moveable pen is nice. You can feed them less commmercial food if you have some bugs, worms, and dandelions etc. You do need a secure pen with a solid floor for night. I have a city friend who tried to keep her chickens in a wooden shed, and the rats chewed through the floor to get to the feed and the baby chicks. She lined the floor with heavy stone squares (not sure what...probably concrete) and that made a big diffference.

[Spy Car]

We love keeping chickens.

 

They run around in the yard all day and do no destruction. We do keep "bantams" which are much smaller than standard chickens, so that's a factor in a back-yard. The eggs are a little smaller, but relative to their size the eggs are are surpassingly large.

 

We had the Rhode Island Reds (non-production strain) bantams. They are great layers, very natural and gentle, and to my taste have an old-fashioned beautiful look.

 

Bill

[Spy Car]

This sounds encouraging. What would I need to get started? Is there a chicken bible sort of book I ought to look into getting?

 

I've been having fun playing with the breed selector tool over at the My Pet Chicken web site.

 

Strange. I did the survey. And while RIRs are winter hearty, excellent layers, about the best for non-production (read: not-stupid) breeds for egg-laying (and lay brown eggs), are docile and easy going, they didn't come up because My Pet Chicken list them as "not setters/broody." HUH?

 

May experience is limited to the "bantams" but ours always go broody, and make great mother hens. So I'd disagree with the "assessment" of steer/broody of this strain.

 

Bill (RIR bantam fan)

[Spy Car]

Strange. I did the survey. And while RIRs are winter hearty, excellent layers, about the best for non-production (read: not-stupid) breeds for egg-laying (and lay brown eggs), are docile and easy going, they didn't come up because My Pet Chicken list them as "not setters/broody." HUH?

 

May experience is limited to the "bantams" but ours always go broody, and make great mother hens. So I'd disagree with the "assessment" of steer/broody of this strain.

 

Bill (RIR bantam fan)

 

ETA: The photos of the rooster are of one who is not especially true to type, and one of the RIR hens (the light colored one)is not a Rhode Island Red at all.

[Remudamom]

If you had asked me any day but today I'd say get them. But today I cleaned out my chicken house.

 

Everytime I blow my nose black stuff comes out. Nasty birds.

[Remudamom]

Should have added- get Silkies. They are affectionate, good moms and they assure me they NEVER poop on my saddles.

 

When my big RIRs, Wyandottes and Whites die I'm sticking with the Silkies. They have better manners.

[justamouse]

I'm not understanding the expensive thing?

 

I had 14. Through the roughest days of winter I got at least 6 eggs from them. I paid 11 dollars for a 40 pound bag of food that lasted me 2 weeks (a local farmer makes all his feed and, it was magnificent.) They free ranged, and I loved them awful.

 

I pay 4 bucks for a dozen organic free range eggs now, and I miss those eggs. I couldn't stand my RIRs. Nasty birds. I loved my Delawares, though. They would let me hold them and I'd take them on walks with me. They came into the house and talked to me while I cooked. *g* and my Amazon parrot loved them, too. He would look down and say, "Hi Bird!!"

Edited May 3, 2010 by justamouse

[MamaSheep]

Well, it's good to know that the photos and info might not be 100% accurate, thanks. :)

 

The kids caught me browising chicken breeds. Ds is campaigning for a black Star hen. He likes that it says they lay about 5 eggs a week and are friendly, and (this is such an Aspie reason) a black one will not reflect sunlight into his eyes like a white chicken would (you never can tell with brown). Dd wants one that lays blue eggs, but she also likes the cochins with their feathery feet so she's torn.

 

Dd also wants to know if you can put a chicken on a leash and take it to the park (across the street). I have no idea. Can you get a chicken to wear a harness? My experience with chickens is pretty limited. When we went to visit my grandparents (a distance, so not super often) Grandma would send me out to the henhouse to collect eggs, and those chickens were MEAN. I got too scared of them and my brother got the job while I helped milk the cows instead. I see that many breeds are claimed to be more docile and friendly, though, and I keep seeing photos of people snuggling their pet chickens. Of course, the barn cats at Grandpa's were mean too though (and fun to squirt while milking), and I know that cats make perfectly good house pets, so I'm trying not to let my memories of sharp beaks and claws propelled by screaching, flapping feathers prejudice me too much. I am a grown up now. No, seriously.

 

ETA: The city ordinance specifies that only hens are allowed, no roosters. With that being the case, do I CARE if they are a broody breed?

Edited May 3, 2010 by MamaSheep

[MamaSheep]

My husband and son are almost finished making this chicken ark:

 

http://catawbacoops.com/

 

We had ducks for years, but now that our chicken-egg-allergic child is about to head off for college, we're ready for some hens.

 

Since we don't have the little ladies on site yet, I don't have any wisdom to offer, but wanted to share that site. Good info there, and a good lookin' ark.

 

Nicole, if you don't mind my asking, about how much did the building supplies cost?

[BridgeTea]

www.backyardchickens.com has tons of information and a very active forum. You can ask any old question and people will trip all over themselves trying to help you out...You know, kind of like here. :001_smile:

[HRAAB]

I love them, but I love most animals. I think they are great for giving your scraps to, and wonderful to get eggs from. Even great to talk to.

 

I'm so glad to know that we're not the only ones who talk to our chickens. My youngest goes out and will spend hours talking to the chickens. Guess she comes by it naturally since that was her dad's hobby; he still has several notebooks full of notes he kept on his chickens.

 

I'm not sure if we've broke even yet (I always bought the spendy organic brown eggs from the co-op), but we love our chickens and they are great at keeping the bug population down. Plus, they just look so pretty out there foraging around the yard.

 

Now for a goat or sheep.

[MamaSheep]

www.backyardchickens.com has tons of information and a very active forum. You can ask any old question and people will trip all over themselves trying to help you out...You know, kind of like here. :001_smile:

 

Not yet. And I was kind of hoping for some links and book suggestions to get me started. Thanks! :001_smile:

[kokotg]

Of course you want chickens ;)

 

We have 12 at the moment, though 3 of them are probably leaving soon (we ordered more chicks than we needed to meet the minimum shipment). 5 are older, and 7 are chicks (10 weeks old today). I like getting all different breeds, because 1. it's pretty 2. it's fun to pick them out and 3. you can tell them apart that way, which makes naming them easier. Picking out chicken names (and seeing what names the kids come up with) is one of my favorite parts. Right now we have:

 

Nedcy the Buff Orpington: friendly and sensible, has very distinctive egg song

Super the white leghorn: a bit neurotic but fun.

Flannery the Barred Rock: noisy and curious

Violet the New Hampshire Red: very tame

Sidekick the other NH Red: very skittish and not terribly bright

 

the new batch of chicks consists of an Australorp, a Golden Laced Wyandotte, a golden campine, a Welsummer, an Easter egger, and a Blue Andalusian. So far the Blue Andalusian (Numbers, for Lost) is my favorite of these; she's super friendly, curious, and spunky.

 

Re: broodiness: you DON'T want a broody hen unless you'd like to get some fertile eggs to stick under her (which might be fun; I'd like to try it some time). It's kind of a pain to deal with a broody hen, but it's not that big of a deal. I wouldn't avoid broody breeds, though, since they're often very nice hens. And I wouldn't put too much stock in what breeds are supposed to be broody anyway. Our broodiest hen by far is our leghorn, who apparently did not get the memo that she's supposed to have had every ounce of maternal instinct bred out of her.

 

I have or have read a few different chicken books. Keep Chickens! is a fun, easy read. Honestly, though, you can find out everything you need to know (and then some!) on the web. The free e-book on My Pet Chicken is a really good intro.

[MomLovesClassics]

Tired right now to say what I want to say. Hens make pleasant pets. We have 11 right now, our lakenvelder disappeared. We have several different breeds. Our rooster was not nice, so I gave him to my brother. My brother loves that rooster, but the rooster is mean to my sil and niece. Our buff orphington is named Butterscotch, the barred rock is named Zebra, all the girls have names. They seem to be happy girls. I just got close to 30 chicks last week. Butterscotch went broody, so we got her some eggs. Instead of sitting still, she played musical nest on us. By the time I noticed the eggs were cold. I got the chicks to share with my brother, so most likely I will give him most of them. I know I need to give my brother some of my hens, he will take good care of them, but we are so attached. The kids are able to hold the hens and pet them. Hens are great, ask my son, he loves them.

[DarlaS]

ETA: The city ordinance specifies that only hens are allowed, no roosters. With that being the case, do I CARE if they are a broody breed?

 

You do not need a broody hen.

 

Broody chickens can be rather possessive of their eggs, and it'd be a shame to have you re-living any childhood traumas over egg collecting. :D

[MamaSheep]

Of course you want chickens ;)

 

We have 12 at the moment, though 3 of them are probably leaving soon (we ordered more chicks than we needed to meet the minimum shipment). 5 are older, and 7 are chicks (10 weeks old today). I like getting all different breeds, because 1. it's pretty 2. it's fun to pick them out and 3. you can tell them apart that way, which makes naming them easier. Picking out chicken names (and seeing what names the kids come up with) is one of my favorite parts. Right now we have:

 

Nedcy the Buff Orpington: friendly and sensible, has very distinctive egg song

Super the white leghorn: a bit neurotic but fun.

Flannery the Barred Rock: noisy and curious

Violet the New Hampshire Red: very tame

Sidekick the other NH Red: very skittish and not terribly bright

 

the new batch of chicks consists of an Australorp, a Golden Laced Wyandotte, a golden campine, a Welsummer, an Easter egger, and a Blue Andalusian. So far the Blue Andalusian (Numbers, for Lost) is my favorite of these; she's super friendly, curious, and spunky.

 

Re: broodiness: you DON'T want a broody hen unless you'd like to get some fertile eggs to stick under her (which might be fun; I'd like to try it some time). It's kind of a pain to deal with a broody hen, but it's not that big of a deal. I wouldn't avoid broody breeds, though, since they're often very nice hens. And I wouldn't put too much stock in what breeds are supposed to be broody anyway. Our broodiest hen by far is our leghorn, who apparently did not get the memo that she's supposed to have had every ounce of maternal instinct bred out of her.

 

I have or have read a few different chicken books. Keep Chickens! is a fun, easy read. Honestly, though, you can find out everything you need to know (and then some!) on the web. The free e-book on My Pet Chicken is a really good intro.

 

You make it sound so fun! The kids keep telling me about all the fun and "responsible" things they could do if ONLY they had chickens, and dh has been speculating enthusiastically about various chicken coop designs since he got home from work. I may no longer have much choice in the matter..lol.

 

You do not need a broody hen.

 

Broody chickens can be rather possessive of their eggs, and it'd be a shame to have you re-living any childhood traumas over egg collecting. :D

 

This is egg-zactly what I was thinking when other posters were telling me what lovely mothers certain types make. I don't think I want a hen that's particularly possessive about her eggs if I can help it. I want to LIKE these chickens.

[MamaSheep]

OH! Here's a question dh asked me today for which I didn't have a good response. It has two parts:

 

 

A) What is a chicken's typical life-span? (Assuming they are family pets and not destined to be eaten.)

 

B) If a chicken dies, what do you do with the corpse? (I guessed bury it or wrap it up and put it in the trash.)

[kokotg]

OH! Here's a question dh asked me today for which I didn't have a good response. It has two parts:

 

 

A) What is a chicken's typical life-span? (Assuming they are family pets and not destined to be eaten.)

 

B) If a chicken dies, what do you do with the corpse? (I guessed bury it or wrap it up and put it in the trash.)

 

IME, it's pretty tough to get reliable information about how long a chicken's natural lifespan is (for obvious reasons; most chickens don't get to live out their natural lifespan). As best I can tell, 8-12 years is about what you can expect. And they slow way down laying eggs after the first few years (our oldest are 2 1/2 and haven't slowed down significantly yet; I'm not sure exactly when to expect it. Commercial layers are usually only around for 1 egg laying season, I believe).

 

We've only had one die, and we buried it. I'm not sure if that's a sustainable practice long term, though, with as many chickens as we have now.

[DarlaS]

OH! Here's a question dh asked me today for which I didn't have a good response. It has two parts:

 

 

A) What is a chicken's typical life-span? (Assuming they are family pets and not destined to be eaten.)

 

B) If a chicken dies, what do you do with the corpse? (I guessed bury it or wrap it up and put it in the trash.)

 

I think typically around 7 yrs. I believe they can live over 10 years with good care though.

 

I intend to rotate ours by introducing a few new ones every couple of years and putting the oldest ones into the freezer. I grew up with this though, and I might feel differently if they were pets. If they were pets, I'd bury them like any other pet. I think there may be laws about putting a carcass into the trash (which is dd considering people throw away bad meat).

[Spy Car]

OH! Here's a question dh asked me today for which I didn't have a good response. It has two parts:

 

 

A) What is a chicken's typical life-span? (Assuming they are family pets and not destined to be eaten.)

 

 

Everything likes to eat chicken. In many (most?) areas there is a certain amount of loss through predation if you let them run around during the day. And coops have to be rock-solid or they can be broken into at night.

 

We slowly lose ours by attrition before they reach a natural end.

 

B) If a chicken dies, what do you do with the corpse? (I guessed bury it or wrap it up and put it in the trash.)

 

Are you new here? :D

 

You make chicken mummies, silly :lol:

 

Bill

[DarlaS]

 

You make chicken mummies, silly :lol:

 

Bill

 

And then build it a little chicken pyramid out of landscape pavers. :D

[Nicole M]

Nicole, if you don't mind my asking, about how much did the building supplies cost?

 

We are using some lumber that we already had, so we've spent about a hundred dollars, plus the $20 for the plans. My husband said his table saw wouldn't rip the 2 x 6 into strips, so he bought some, which brought up the cost, and he also chose to use cedar, which is a little more pricey. The fellow who wrote the Catawba guide said you can expect to spend anywhere from $100 to $200, depending on where you get your lumber and how fancy you want to get with the hinges and handles and whatnot.

 

As an aside, when my husband mentioned to the fellow at the lumberyard what he was building, the guy said, "Oh, yeah. I pamper my chickens, too."

 

Nicole (who has lived with duct tape on the kitchen floor for ten-plus years, but whose chickens will live in style, baby)

[MamaSheep]

Everything likes to eat chicken. In many (most?) areas there is a certain amount of loss through predation if you let them run around during the day. And coops have to be rock-solid or they can be broken into at night.

 

We slowly lose ours by attrition before they reach a natural end.

 

 

Our yard is only fenced on 2 sides, so we won't be able to just let them roam, they'll have to be securely locked up. So I'm not sure how much I can count on predators to take care of business. On the other hand, we do have rather a lot of cats that roam the neighborhood, and there's often a dog or two wandering around loose. I was pondering a large chain-link dog kennel as an enclosure/chicken yard. In addition to some sort of coop, of course. I suppose it'd need to have a floor of some sort to prevent critters digging under the edge...hmm...

 

Are you new here? :D

 

You make chicken mummies, silly :lol:

 

Bill

 

And then build it a little chicken pyramid out of landscape pavers. :D

 

Of COURSE! What was I THINKING?!

 

We are using some lumber that we already had, so we've spent about a hundred dollars, plus the $20 for the plans. My husband said his table saw wouldn't rip the 2 x 6 into strips, so he bought some, which brought up the cost, and he also chose to use cedar, which is a little more pricey. The fellow who wrote the Catawba guide said you can expect to spend anywhere from $100 to $200, depending on where you get your lumber and how fancy you want to get with the hinges and handles and whatnot.

 

As an aside, when my husband mentioned to the fellow at the lumberyard what he was building, the guy said, "Oh, yeah. I pamper my chickens, too."

 

Nicole (who has lived with duct tape on the kitchen floor for ten-plus years, but whose chickens will live in style, baby)

 

Thanks. :)

 

And lol....I feel that way about electronics around here. For heaven's sake let's not fix the cracked windows in the upstairs bedroom, we NEED a bigger TV.

[Susan in KY]

I just learned that our city recently passed a new ordinance allowing up to 6 chickens on residential lots. We had thought a little about chickens a few years ago, but it didn't take much research to discover it wasn't legal where we live. Now it is. If you have backyard chickens, can you give me some pros and cons? Useful web sites?

 

Go for it!

 

Cons: more costly to get all the equipment and set up your backyard coop than you would imagine

City critters such as raccoons can do some damage to your flock

Other birds can spread diseases to your flock.

 

Pros: Better tasting, more beautiful eggs than the store

Enjoying your "girls".... Lots of different personalities!

Responsibility training for your kids

Everyone loves to be given fresh eggs.

They are pretty easy to care for.

The eggs make the most incredible meringue! :)

No worries about salmonella—go ahead and enjoy that raw cookie dough. :)

 

:D

[Susan in KY]

Grandma would send me out to the henhouse to collect eggs, and those chickens were MEAN.

 

Hens can be trained to come to you and be nice. You just have to handle them from the time they are young, give them some room to roam, and separate the bully if there's one who picks on the others. In time, you can get even a mean bird to be nice (esp. if she thinks there's food involved).

 

We have Australorps, Aracaunas (they lay the blue eggs—very pretty birds!), barred rocks, and New Hampshire Reds. The Australorps are most gentle, the Aracaunas are most beautiful, but with handling, they have all been good breeds to keep.

 

I don't know if anyone recommended McMurray's but they have some info on various breeds.

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com

Edited May 4, 2010 by Susan in KY
Added website.

[msjones]

I haven't read the whole thread, but here's my input.

 

Pros: Cute, lovable pets. Yummy eggs. Fun for the kids.

 

Con: Poop. Lots and lots of chicken poop. No one came right out and told me how much chickens poop. They poop a lot and they poop everywhere all day and all night long. So, if your plan is to have them roaming around the yard at all (even just for an hour a day), be prepared for the poop in the grass, poop on your deck, everywhere.

[msjones]

One more con: rats. If you live in a city that already has rats, those stealthy rodents will find your coop, work night after night to get into it, and feast upon your birdies' rations. (Guess how I know this...)

 

Sorry to be the naysayer, but the truth must be spoken. ;) I was not told about the rats and the poop, and wish I had been.

[Liz CA]

If you are a novice, I would recommend either "Chickens in my backyard," or

Storey's Guide To Chickens" by Gail Damerow.

Also check out http://www.backyardchickens.com

 

Enjoy!

[caitlinsmom]

We love our chickens. You can not compare fresh eggs to those in the store....not even in the same catagory.

 

Chickens are pretty low key and low maintance. They are very entertaining to watch. I would suggest picking up a few books at the library. There are some diseases baby chicks can get but those are not a problem if you know proper care (keep their coop clean and dry!!).

 

There are some awsome yahoo groups. My favorite is called backyard chickens I belive.

[MamaSheep]

Liz: Yes, I am a complete novice and appreciate any and all "how to" recommendations. Strangely enough, although we visited Grandpa's farm sometimes, and I do remember vaguely how to milk a cow, I grew up in "the wilderness". Well, not quite, but close. We lived in an employee housing area of Yellowstone Park, where my dad was a researcher for many years. I walked to the little elementary school through herds of elk and buffalo, there were ground squirrels in everyone's yard, and people had to keep their pets indoors so as not to make them lunch for a passing coyote. So that was my early experience with animals. We had a guinea pig once, and fish, but most of the animals where I grew up were very wild. Then I went away to college in Georgia, where I lived in downtown Savannah for a number of years before marrying and moving to the suburbs. I've never really lived in "the country". So I can still tell pretty well if a bull elk is putting out subtle cues to tell you he's unhappy with how close you are to his cows, but when it comes to domesticated animals I'm your basic city slicker ignoramous. They don't behave the same ways wild animals do. And I still feel a little nervous getting "too close".

 

 

MsJones: Thank you for the cons. I DO want to know both sides of this and have a realistic picture of what I'd be getting into.

 

I haven't heard anyone around here complain about rats. Or raccons either. I find it a little hard to believe there aren't ANY, but they don't seem to be much of an issue. People leave their trash bins outside all the time. The only time ours has been messed with there were dog tracks in the mud around it. Maybe the rats and raccoons would come out of the woodwork once we had chickens, though. We have had issues with mice a couple of times. When we bought this house there was still a horse pasture behind the park across the street and a big corn field over the way--kind of in the middle of the suburbs that had grown up around them in recent years. When they were dug up, displaced field mice invaded the houses all around. But we haven't even had a mouse in several years now. I've seen hawks here...the mountains aren't too far off, but there's quite a bit of well kept developed land between us and them (not to mention a river) and I haven't seen any deer or rabbits or other wild creatures roaming the streets. I dunno...it'll be interesting to see what predators do turn up. You know, IF I say yes...lol. My guess is the worst culprits will be cats and stray dogs.

 

Tell me more about the POOP. (Yuck.) How much are we talking about? What do you do with it? I mean, I would probably plan on composting at least some of it, but we have a fairly small yard and only need just so much compost. We'll have probably 4-6 birds and they'll be kept in their coop and enclosure most of the time. As in, unless closely supervised, and only if they're well behaved. Dd wants to leash train at least one. I was a little skeptical, but a search turned up a number of pictures of leashed chickens, so it must be at least possible. But they really will spend most of their time penned up. Any suggestions for coop design elements that would make clean-up easier? And I gather the run/pen would need to be raked out periodically if it's not a mobile set-up. And just how bad DOES it smell?

Edited May 4, 2010 by MamaSheep

[Spy Car]

Tell me more about the POOP. (Yuck.) How much are we talking about? What do you do with it? I mean, I would probably plan on composting at least some of it, but we have a fairly small yard and only need just so much compost. We'll have probably 4-6 birds and they'll be kept in their coop and enclosure most of the time. As in, unless closely supervised, and only if they're well behaved. Dd wants to leash train at least one. I was a little skeptical, but a search turned up a number of pictures of leashed chickens, so it must be at least possible. But they really will spend most of their time penned up. Any suggestions for coop design elements that would make clean-up easier? And I gather the run/pen would need to be raked out periodically if it's not a mobile set-up. And just how bad DOES it smell?

 

Again, my experience is limited to "bantam" sized chickens (which are about 1/4 the wight of a standard chicken, but lay eggs 2/3s as large) so that could make a difference, but we've never had a poop problem.

 

Now ours do forage during the day, but there is no evidence by either sight or smell of chicken poop about the place. For us it's a non-issue. In fact the organic gardener in me wishes for more ;) :D

 

For ones that are "cooped up" most people go with a "layering system".

 

We however, having come to chicken-raising from a position of some ignorance (but having raised small parrots) decided to treat them as if they were "overgrown" parrots.

 

So I had a coop built rather like a huge parrot cage. With a "floor" built off the ground that is made up of two panels that are wood framed with panels of stout aviary mesh. We cover the mesh panels (from bottom to top) with a plastic layer (yard-style trash bag) then newspaper, then a thick layer of shavings. The chickens will turn their poop into the shavings. And we will roll up the newspaper and shaving layers and put it in a compost bin, and then "refresh" the arrangement. Pretty easy.

 

Once in a great while we will take the panels out and and give them a good spay and scrub.

 

I like this arrangement, but it is unorthodox.

 

We also hung the nest-boxes off the coop, so you enter the boxes from inside the coop, but there is no way to roost above the nest boxes. Whatever the arrangement you don't want the chickens to be able to roost, and therefore me able to make droppings, above the next boxes where they lay eggs.

 

Also, we live in a very mild clime so our whole coop is framed with redwood and aviary mesh (only the back wall and roof are "solid") so there is lots of air-flow. My understanding is chickens thrive with fresh air, and are quite cold hearty. So consider your local climate and think about how you might make the coop have good ventilation (at least when the weather is fair).

 

Doing the chicken raising the way we have we've never had a poop (or odor) problem. but I have been in closed up coops others have kept that have made me want to pass-out, so I know it's possible to have stinky chickens (or not).

 

Bill

[ahousefullofjs]

www.backyardchickens.com has tons of information and a very active forum. You can ask any old question and people will trip all over themselves trying to help you out...You know, kind of like here. :001_smile:

 

I was going to suggest this site too. Tons of info there.

[MamaSheep]

Again, my experience is limited to "bantam" sized chickens (which are about 1/4 the wight of a standard chicken, but lay eggs 2/3s as large) so that could make a difference, but we've never had a poop problem.

 

Now ours do forage during the day, but there is no evidence by either sight or smell of chicken poop about the place. For us it's a non-issue. In fact the organic gardener in me wishes for more ;) :D

 

For ones that are "cooped up" most people go with a "layering system".

 

We however, having come to chicken-raising from a position of some ignorance (but having raised small parrots) decided to treat them as if they were "overgrown" parrots.

 

So I had a coop built rather like a huge parrot cage. With a "floor" built off the ground that is made up of two panels that are wood framed with panels of stout aviary mesh. We cover the mesh panels (from bottom to top) with a plastic layer (yard-style trash bag) then newspaper, then a thick layer of shavings. The chickens will turn their poop into the shavings. And we will roll up the newspaper and shaving layers and put it in a compost bin, and then "refresh" the arrangement. Pretty easy.

 

Once in a great while we will take the panels out and and give them a good spay and scrub.

 

I like this arrangement, but it is unorthodox.

 

We also hung the nest-boxes off the coop, so you enter the boxes from inside the coop, but there is no way to roost above the nest boxes. Whatever the arrangement you don't want the chickens to be able to roost, and therefore me able to make droppings, above the next boxes where they lay eggs.

 

Also, we live in a very mild clime so our whole coop is framed with redwood and aviary mesh (only the back wall and roof are "solid") so there is lots of air-flow. My understanding is chickens thrive with fresh air, and are quite cold hearty. So consider your local climate and think about how you might make the coop have good ventilation (at least when the weather is fair).

 

Doing the chicken raising the way we have we've never had a poop (or odor) problem. but I have been in closed up coops others have kept that have made me want to pass-out, so I know it's possible to have stinky chickens (or not).

 

Bill

 

Thanks, Bill, I'll pass this info on to my chicken coop man. We're perfectly fine with unorthodox if it makes sense. He was in another state on business last week and hung out with my brother's family, who happen to live where he was working. They had just acquired some chicks and dh helped db with converting a storage shed to a coop. My SIL had chickens growing up, so she will be a good resource for me too, but I wanted some non-biased non-family opinions before I got her all excited about us having chickens too. Anyway, they evidently have their nesting boxes on one side and roosts on the other side, with the area underneath the roosts fenced off with chicken wire to prevent the chickens messing around under there. Then there's a pull-out tray that slides in under the roosts and can be pulled out from the outside for cleaning. I gathered the theory was that they mostly poop while roosting, so that tray would catch most of the nastiness. But the more I read on web sites, the more I'm getting the idea that they aren't really picky where they poop. Also, there are evidently little doors behind each nest box so you can reach in easily for eggs without going in the coop. That sounds like a good idea.

 

Our climate here is "high desert" -- which basically means parched, scorching summers and winters with a couple of feet of snow (at least down here in the valley) and an icy wind whistling through morning and evening as the air changes temperature with the sun and slides up and down the mountain. We don't really have much in the way of spring and fall--a few weeks of sleety rain at the end of winter, during which everything greens up, and a few bleak, chilly weeks at the end of summer before the snow actually falls. So probably wire all around won't work here because they'll need a good, solid place to shelter from extremes. It might even need to be insulated, I don't know. I am thinking, though, that a small coop and large run would still be better than a large coop and small run.

 

Anyway, thanks for the ideas. The newspaper layer sounds like a good idea. How often do you change it out?

[Spy Car]

Thanks, Bill, I'll pass this info on to my chicken coop man. We're perfectly fine with unorthodox if it makes sense.

 

My reasoning was two-fold.

 

1) The chicken coop (except major cleaning) was/is intended to call to the category of one of my "wife's" jobs. So I wanted the "floor" up high so it was easy to clean, and she didn't have to bend over to clean it. It really does make a huge difference.

 

2) From my understanding most chicken problems (diseases, parasites) come from dropping getting into the soil. Concrete floors are one solution, but I like the raised "floor."

 

Anyway, they evidently have their nesting boxes on one side and roosts on the other side, with the area underneath the roosts fenced off with chicken wire to prevent the chickens messing around under there. Then there's a pull-out tray that slides in under the roosts and can be pulled out from the outside for cleaning. I gathered the theory was that they mostly poop while roosting, so that tray would catch most of the nastiness. But the more I read on web sites, the more I'm getting the idea that they aren't really picky where they poop.

 

There will be more poop where they roost. So that is not where you want to keep food or nests. Good designs help, but it's not like chickens are picky.

 

Also, there are evidently little doors behind each nest box so you can reach in easily for eggs without going in the coop. That sounds like a good idea.

 

We have that too. The nest boxes have both a lid and a hinged flap that opens up (remember the boxes are hanging off the coop). Truth told we usually reach inside to get eggs from the front of the coop. but it is nice to be able to open the nest boxes from the outside when you want to do a through cleaning.

 

Our climate here is "high desert" -- which basically means parched, scorching summers and winters with a couple of feet of snow (at least down here in the valley) and an icy wind whistling through morning and evening as the air changes temperature with the sun and slides up and down the mountain. We don't really have much in the way of spring and fall--a few weeks of sleety rain at the end of winter, during which everything greens up, and a few bleak, chilly weeks at the end of summer before the snow actually falls. So probably wire all around won't work here because they'll need a good, solid place to shelter from extremes. It might even need to be insulated, I don't know.

 

I think your chickens are going to need air. Chickens (from what I understand) will tolerate a lot of "cold" but lack of air combined with heat is not good at all.

 

Now "icy winds" might be a problem, so you might need to think about some "convertible" set-up (awning type material with snaps or something?). Maybe more than that, I'm no cold weather expert. But heat I know. And a cooped up and over-heated chicken would not be a happy chicken.

 

I am thinking, though, that a small coop and large run would still be better than a large coop and small run.

 

I tend to think the same thing. And "bantams". Seriously. Most of the best breeds have a bantam version. These make chicken rearing less like having "livestock" and more like having "pets."

 

 

Anyway, thanks for the ideas. The newspaper layer sounds like a good idea. How often do you change it out?

 

Remember they are out nearly every day, but I'd say the coop is usually cleaned out (in a minor way) every other week. Something like that. It stays pretty clean. If they were inside all the time it would be more frequent, but with our system it's "roll and go." The waste gets composted and the whole operation takes 5 minutes.

 

Bill

[MamaSheep]

I tend to think the same thing. And "bantams". Seriously. Most of the best breeds have a bantam version. These make chicken rearing less like having "livestock" and more like having "pets."

 

Is that just because of the size, or do the bantam breeds have more personality or something? I was thinking larger birds might stay warm better in the winter and we're used to large eggs around here. But maybe I should look more seriously at bantams. Or some of each if they don't beat up on each other.

 

 

Anyway, thanks for the ideas. The newspaper layer sounds like a good idea. How often do you change it out?

 

Remember they are out nearly every day, but I'd say the coop is usually cleaned out (in a minor way) every other week. Something like that. It stays pretty clean. If they were inside all the time it would be more frequent, but with our system it's "roll and go." The waste gets composted and the whole operation takes 5 minutes.

 

Bill

 

Mr. Chicken Coop Man is talking about having it raised off the ground with a wood floor that would either be removable or have a tray in the bottom that would be removable. So it sounds like we're thinking along the same lines here. I'm going to read him what you wrote when he has a few minutes.

[msjones]

SpyCar has little, petite chickens, who, I assume, have little, petite, poop.

 

Your average hens (say, a charming gaggle of rhode island red hens) will not have little poops. They will have LOTS of big poop.

 

What I hated the most was the poop on my deck furniture. I had to spray that furniture down on a regular basis (at least every other day) -- and my girls were only out for about an hour each day. They poop on-the-go, and they go anywhere you haven't fenced off.

 

If the coop isn't large enough, or doesn't have enough depth for you to do the deep litter method, you'll need to be raking out poop to keep the smell down. (I found that sand in the run eliminated lots of the smell and flies, however. Prior to getting sand in the run I could hardly believe the number of flies enjoying the poop in the run. Ick!)

 

My theory is that the folks who don't notice the smell or the amount of poop have large coops and/or must not live on a small city lot. (Correct me if I'm wrong, however! ;) I don't want to be completely negative -- just realistic.)

[Spy Car]

Is that just because of the size, or do the bantam breeds have more personality or something? I was thinking larger birds might stay warm better in the winter and we're used to large eggs around here. But maybe I should look more seriously at bantams. Or some of each if they don't beat up on each other.

 

Size. I don't know how the personalities compare. Ours are sweet, but they are chickens.

 

 

Mr. Chicken Coop Man is talking about having it raised off the ground with a wood floor that would either be removable or have a tray in the bottom that would be removable. So it sounds like we're thinking along the same lines here. I'm going to read him what you wrote when he has a few minutes.

 

Interesting that Mr Chicken Coop Man has similar ideas. It works for us.

 

Bill

[Spy Car]

SpyCar has little, petite chickens, who, I assume, have little, petite, poop.

 

Absolutely. Petite chickens. Just as fun to watch (more so?) and less hassle, and poop. The eggs are smaller, but not that much smaller

 

Your average hens (say, a charming gaggle of rhode island red hens) will not have little poops. They will have LOTS of big poop.

 

What I hated the most was the poop on my deck furniture. I had to spray that furniture down on a regular basis (at least every other day) -- and my girls were only out for about an hour each day. They poop on-the-go, and they go anywhere you haven't fenced off.

 

And our gaggle of RIR bantams present no particular poop problems. And they are out almost every day. It is just not something we give a thought to.

 

If the coop isn't large enough, or doesn't have enough depth for you to do the deep litter method, you'll need to be raking out poop to keep the smell down. (I found that sand in the run eliminated lots of the smell and flies, however. Prior to getting sand in the run I could hardly believe the number of flies enjoying the poop in the run. Ick!)

 

Again, it's why I like the raised floor and plastic/newspaper/shavings method we came up with. You roll it up every other weekend (perhaps more often if they are cooped up) and you have a nice fresh clean smelling chicken coop.

 

Nasty smelling chicken coops make me gag. I really could not handle it.

 

My theory is that the folks who don't notice the smell or the amount of poop have large coops and/or must not live on a small city lot. (Correct me if I'm wrong, however! ;) I don't want to be completely negative -- just realistic.)

 

Or they have bantams instead of standard sized chickens. It is a far better choice for a backyard IMO.

 

Bill