1GirlTwinBoys Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 We're trying to decide when we move, if we want to live in a nice quiet neighborhood, or have a little acreage where we could have chickens, a couple big dogs, and some outside cats. :) I would love having my own farm fresh eggs and the freedom to do things like that, but still unsure of the country life for us. Is it easy to have chickens around or is it a lot of work? What exactly does it require? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 It has been very easy for us. It depends on how you choose to manage them. We let ours free range during the day and shut them up at night. They do require more care when young. We started with four and now have three I suspect a large number (20+)would be more work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJCMom Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 We just got some chicks a couple of weeks ago. They are still in the house in their box. Right now the only care they need is to make sure that they have food and clean water. We clean their box out and put fresh shavings in every day, but I've read in numerous places that you don't really have to do it that often. Just every couple of days or so. It's easy, though. You just take everything out of the box and dump the shavings in the yard debris bin. Then put fresh shavings in, the water, the food, and the chicks. It takes my 6 and 5 year olds, working together, about 3 minutes a day. Once they're old enough to be outside we'll let them out during the day and train them to go back to their coop when it starts to get dark. Then you just have to make sure they have enough food and clean water and muck the coop out about once a month or so. I've had dogs, cats, and a hamster before. So far, the chicks are the lowest maintenence pets we've ever had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 They are very easy if you have an area where they can securely free-range during the day and be securely cooped in at night. The "housing" and fencing (more to keep out predators out than chickens in) are the big issues. Once these needs are met, and a strong predator-proof coop is no small thing, keeping chickens is really easy. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Yes, easy. Or, I'll say easier than rabbits, but more difficult than an outdoor tom cat who you don't feed :D. Chickens are a prime food target for all kinds of animals - hawks, racoons, foxes, coyotes, etc. Make sure they have a very secure place at night. Some wild animals get very brave during the day, too, depending on how far the chickens roam from "civilization". Dogs outside can be a big help if they are trained not to bother the chickens. A rooster can complicate things if you are only wanting eggs to eat. Our town won't let us have a rooster, so that's not an issue for us. We also aren't allowed to let our chickens free-range, but they have a large "run" to play in and dig for bugs. They are 3yo now, and we've never had any problems with disease or sickness (although when a couple of them are molting, they look horrific!) They head into their coop every night at dusk, and hop out in the early morning - great creatures of habit. We give them fresh water every day - twice during the hot summer months, a scoop or two of treat (seeds or corn), and some kitchen vegetable scraps. They also have some feed in their coop that they can eat whenever they want. If you let them out into the yard, make sure that they can't get into any garden space that you want to cultivate. They will eat up anything green they can find, and that can make for a very frustrated gardener. :tongue_smilie: My 4yo loves collecting eggs, and my 6yo can fill up their waterers, and they are just fun for everyone to watch. We've enjoyed them so much. Not speaking from experience exactly, but my guess is that they would be about the easiest aspect of country living/hobby farming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Ohhhh, I just have to say, your title is prime fodder for a Channelling Doran response!!:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Ohhhh, I just have to say, your title is prime fodder for a Channelling Doran response!!:lol: My thoughts exactly! :lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 chickens are very easy and so lovely! They all have personalities, like cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herbalgirl Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 They are very easy if you have an area where they can securely free-range during the day and be securely cooped in at night. The "housing" and fencing (more to keep out predators out than chickens in) are the big issues. Once these needs are met, and a strong predator-proof coop is no small thing, keeping chickens is really easy. Bill :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessdmommy Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 What do you do when you are gone overnight/s? Can they stay in their coop all weekend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 What do you do when you are gone overnight/s?Can they stay in their coop all weekend? Mine have a coop with a fully fenced attached outside "yard" area. We purchased a used doghouse on Craigslist, put it up on legs and modeled our coop like this: The outer door stays locked, but we pretty much always leave the door to the coop (the doghouse part) open. They are fine for several days at a time provided that they have enough food and water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flobee76 Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 We live in a suburb in NorCal. We got our first set of chicks 2 years ago. They have been WONDERFUL to keep. DH built a coop with a connected chicken run, that is fenced in. We do let them out to roam in our whole backyard, but we do lock them up at night. We have racoons and sometimes even foxes that roam around the neighborhood. It would be a shame if our girls were attacked! The eggs are amazing. So, these chickens are SUPER easy to take care of. If we are leaving for a few days, we just keep them in their coop. If we are gone for more than 3 days, we have a neighbor or family member check in on them. The "sitters" can keep the eggs as "payment".;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Mine have a coop with a fully fenced attached outside "yard" area. We purchased a used doghouse on Craigslist, put it up on legs and modeled our coop like this: The outer door stays locked, but we pretty much always leave the door to the coop (the doghouse part) open. They are fine for several days at a time provided that they have enough food and water. I LOVE this! Actually, I covet this. ;) I want one, I want one! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beetkvass Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I think they are pretty easy. We've had them for many years. At this point all it requires is giving them fresh food and water and gathering the eggs. It was a lot more work at first building a coop and fencing in a run. We've also built several chicken tractors that we use to separate chickens. The real danger is usually in our hawks, raccoons and fox. It's why we get them pinned up pretty much exclusively. They've got to be really fast and smart to survive long outside at night. We have one that does that now. No matter how much we put her up she gets out. She just lays in a nest she's made on the side of our house. We've got about 2.5 dozen young chicks in our basement right now waiting to get big enough to be outside and then moved to the big coop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 We live in suburbia and have 7 chickens- its very easy. About 5 minutes work a day, really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I think it's easy when you are a chicken. For you, I think it could be slightly problematic, as you are a live bearer and chickens lay eggs. :D OK, I couldn't resist. I have no idea what keeping chickens is like, except that our neighborhood chicken where we used to live was a lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Find out any neighborhood rules before you move. Research lots before you do it. Although, even in the city limits in some areas you can begin raising chickens. We have friends that have 20 in the city limits on a small lot. No rooster though, and neighbors have not complained. We let our son order 25 chicks thru 4H that will be here in 2 weeks. After we ordered that many we discovered by reading www.backyardchickens.com that in most areas chickens need 4 sq ft per bird to encourage happiness and health in the coop. That means our coop will most likely need to be about 100 sq ft. That means a shed that is 8x12 or 10x10. Since we don't want to bring down the property values in our neighborhood or draw attention with a tacky building, we are trying to make a nice one. Our investment is going to be near $1000, even with some lumber donated and with our doing most of the work ourselves . That means it will be some time before we recover, even selling eggs after the chicks are old enough. If I had realized the cost before, we would have started much smaller. We have hawks, coons, and foxes that we will have to build our run secure enough to protect the chickens. Our neighbor has several chickens now and uses an old dog kennel for his with more kennel walls on top to protect them. I have been reading like crazy at backyardchickens.com and every book I can get at the library. Once the initial investment is over, it seems very easy and fulfilling. We are actually looking forward to ours. If you move out and it doesn't matter what your coop looks like, do a search at backyardchickens for their tacky coop contest. Some are so bad they are hysterical! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Mine have a coop with a fully fenced attached outside "yard" area. We purchased a used doghouse on Craigslist, put it up on legs and modeled our coop like this: The outer door stays locked, but we pretty much always leave the door to the coop (the doghouse part) open. They are fine for several days at a time provided that they have enough food and water. This looks beautiful. I wish I were one of them in there! You sure take good care of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 What do you do when you are gone overnight/s?Can they stay in their coop all weekend? We pay a neighbor kid to take care of them. They'll be happy enough with a wired-in run as long as there is water and food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arliemaria Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I've heard ducks are easier, produce large eggs, and year round. Of course you do need a water source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 That is awesome. Wow, very cool! And most people could probably do that, too. Love the idea of remodeling the doghouse! 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.