A Chicken ?

[scubamama]

Hi WTMers -

My family is moving into a new home this summer. We want to start a small flock (under 5) in our new tiny yard next year....Can anyone tell me how much manure 5 or less hens will make? Will it destroy the grass if we let them roam during the day and then put them in their coop at night? We had acres and acres before we moved to our current location...now it's a 1/4 acre maybe? Is that enough room for the chickens? I don't wan them to be miserable! I have fond memories of my grandparents flock in their big yard. SOmeone mentioned a chicken tractor isn;t a good idea b/c the fresh dropping will kill grass.

Ok, give me all the scoop! :bigear: :bigear: :bigear:

[angela in ohio]

I know several people who use chicken tractors, including some with small plots in the city, and it never destroyed their grass. I have never heard that before. The whole point of a chicken tractor is to move it enough that they don't ruin the grass.

 

Is the yard fenced in? They will roam an area larger than a quarter acre. If your neighbors don't mind, it will be fine. There are a lot of them around here. We have to stop to let chickens cross the road sometimes. :D The kids know where to look for the really cute ones as we drive down the country roads.

[Maddysmom26]

Keep them in a pen. My SIL had them out at their house and let me tell you they destroy everything! they poop everywhere! they ate all her plants and flowers etc.. This spring she put them in a pen and her yard looks beautiful again.. no walking in chicken poop and her flowers are pretty again.

 

I personally hate chickens they creep me out! lol

[celticmom]

We have 4 young chickens that are currently living in a pen/tractor we made using instructions from Mother Earth News http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/2007-04-01/Portable-Chicken-Mini-coop-Plan.aspx

 

I move it every day or two and the grass and weeds have not been damaged.

Therer is a more recent article in Mother Earth News about various approaches to keeping chickens and he is in favor of pasturing them rather than using a tractor or other movable pen and moving them between pastures. I do not use this approach because in our locatuiin if I did i would probably just be raising hawk food. I think that when there is significant damage form a chicken tractor it is related to the number of chickens being raised because some of the pictures in this article show significant grazing after a short time but there seem to be more chickens in the pen than most people are inclined to keep for eggs for their family.

I was going to link the article that I read but I cannot find it right now.

[myfunnybunch]

We allow our chickens to roam our fenced yard.

 

They do poop everywhere, and they will eat the plants. If you can chicken-proof your flowers and such somehow (we fenced our garden, for example, and are quite vigilant about making sure it stays chicken-proof), it's not that big a deal. We spray off the deck frequently, and the grass is nice and healthy. Usually the poop just disappears into the ground. The rest is easily taken care of by spraying with the hose. :)

 

Cat

[scubamama]

Thanks guys, it's a small city lot...we're in LA so they'd be my Hollywood Chickens :) We were renters so we couldn't have anything...now we're buying so I can have animals again...on our tiny lot. I do plan on having a garden again (i always have and not being able to in the rental was tough on me!) so maybe I'll look into a pen...we'll see. I need to pack and move first!

[lllll]

..

[myfunnybunch]

I'll take scraggly grass over bugs and ticks any day, though. :D

 

Yes!!!

 

We have to protect the garden from the chickens during the growing season, BUT I have very little slug and snail damage in the back yard garden (as long as I keep the actual garden area clear), and they will eat the grubs and other crawly things I find in the dirt so that I don't have to squash them.

 

Cat