ScoutTN Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 (edited) My kids want chickens! Not sure I do?! Tell me what to read to figure out if this would be crazy for us or a good adventure. All advice welcome. eta: How much yard do I need? Edited August 30, 2018 by ScoutTN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 We really love our chickens. I recommend them. I am only surprised at how easy they are. Speaking of which I need to shut them up, BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 I love them. People say looking at fish reduces stress, for me it’s looking at my chickens. We free range and they’re easy easy. We do lose some (bc free range). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 I don't have chickens now, but grew up with them. It was my job to take care of them as a kid. My one piece of advice is do not under any circumstances get a rooster! I still have mental and physical scars from the mean roosters of my childhood, lol!? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 A few things I'd recommend. 1) Chicken Water Nipples: Chickens seem to revel in pooping in their water. They work hard at it. Instead they peck at the end of a ball valve hanging down and get fresh water whenever they want. 2) Feeder = Square sided bucket with PVC elbows. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted August 30, 2018 Author Share Posted August 30, 2018 15 minutes ago, Selkie said: I don't have chickens now, but grew up with them. It was my job to take care of them as a kid. My one piece of advice is do not under any circumstances get a rooster! I still have mental and physical scars from the mean roosters of my childhood, lol!? Ha! My mom has mean rooster stories from when she was a girl too. No possibility of a rooster here bc they are illegal in our county/within the city limits. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted August 30, 2018 Author Share Posted August 30, 2018 8 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said: A few things I'd recommend. 1) Chicken Water Nipples: Chickens seem to revel in pooping in their water. They work hard at it. Instead they peck at the end of a ball valve hanging down and get fresh water whenever they want. 2) Feeder = Square sided bucket with PVC elbows. Ok, #1 is a larger version of the kind used for a gerbil, right? I need a picture of #2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 (edited) There must be something in the air! Just the other day I was wondering how insane it would be for us to get chickens?! I have not actually made any progress on my own thought process so have nothing useful to add, but I am constantly amazed about how many of my neighbors have chickens. Edited August 30, 2018 by JennyD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 (edited) Long time chicken keeper here, however not since we moved. I have considered getting some again. Chicken need an indoor area and an outdoor area where the can fluff up their feathers, dust bathe and waddle around and peck. They love to sleep (roost) on poles (we went to Lowe's and used wooden curtain rods, very plain, very inexpensive). You can let your girls out when you are home so they can feed on fresh grass, eat worms, etc. They will usually return to the coop in the evening by themselves, hence the saying "coming home to roost." You should have more than one chicken. I started with three and then we added a few and a few more. :) You will get eggs without a rooster. Roosters guard the flock from predators and want to make chicks. Roosters can be mean but not all are (see Selkie's post). We had a mean one (we did not raise him) and after that several hatched but none were mean like the one that came with the hens as a package deal. Our coop was large enough to walk inside but you can have a smaller coop with removable laying boxes. I would have the outdoor area completely fenced in including a "roof" since flying predators can snatch them as well depending where you live. Dig the fencing material a few feet into the ground to make tunneling in more difficult for foxes, dogs etc. If you have snakes in your area, I hear that a few like eggs and are attracted by a flock. I did not experience this personally (Thank God!) but others have mentioned this. Finally, I recommend the book "Storey's Guide to Raising Chicken" by Gail Damerow. Don't let the scope of the book overwhelm you. She covers EVERYTHING. I would read pertinent chapters and skip over lots of other stuff. There is also a book called "Chicken in your Backyard" and a website by the same name (I think?). When / If you get chicks, and you know you do not want a rooster, ask for sexed pullets only. This means you should only get females. Straight run = you get whatever without prior sexing - this can be a way to get more than one rooster. Ask me how I know... I would go to a reputable feed store for your first chicken adventure. In my area, feed stores that sell sexed pullets will take them back if someone made a mistake and you accidentally got a rooster in the mix - they will replace the rooster with a pullet. Another way is to get older hens (about 6 months) so you can tell what is what. When hens get to be about 5-7 months, they will start laying eggs and the fun begins. I love chicken watching. Like madteaparty said, they have a calming effect and their antics beat TV watching most evenings! Edited August 30, 2018 by Liz CA 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymama7 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 We have had our chickens since last October. I LOVE them. Not much work. Some stink. My husband is more offended by the smell then I am and therefore more annoyed by my hair brained idea. We got six supposedly sexed hens. One ended up a rooster but we found a home for him. Two died this summer due to the darn heat (southern Nevada). Caring for the chicks is crazy fun but does take daily work for 4-6 weeks so you can't leave town or even day trip really during that time. We loved it though and want to get more. Next summer we will install a mister system to keep them cooler. The eggs are fun. I wish i lived on a farm so this helps fill that desire for me. I love going out to tend to them and taking them kitchen scraps etc. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Lots of people have happy stories. Here are concerns I've heard from my friends with chickens: Most really wish they'd known in advance how much chickens will peck each other, sometimes to the point of serious injury or death. Several of my friends whose chickens seriously injured each other were not emotionally or practically equipped to deal with the enormity of that situation, nor were their dc. Can you and your dc handle the sight of blood or torn/missing flesh? Do you know how to do basic first aid on animals? Do you have a vet that will treat chickens or put them down, if necessary, or would you have to take care of that yourself? Sometimes chickens are taken and eaten by other animals, despite efforts to protect them. It's not always a clean process. Could you/your dc handle that? If you live in a cold climate, they can get frostbite on their feet if the conditions in the coop aren't dry enough, if they roost on too narrow of a dowel (they need to be able to spread their feet flat so their bodies cover them completely, so a small branch may be better), and even sometimes if the coop floor is set directly on the ground. Do your research. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted August 30, 2018 Author Share Posted August 30, 2018 Moderate four season climate here. My kids and I are ok with animal first aid. We have done some chx-sitting for neighbors and are aware of predator issues. A huge red-tailed hawk got one of the neighbors' chxs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 (edited) After a long break from chickens, we got chicks again in the spring. I only have a few that can have eggs in the house, but the kids plan to have a little business selling the surplus. Ours should start laying the middle of next month or so! A few thoughts: Having chickens and collecting eggs is kind of like Easter everyday for kids. I mostly got the chickens to delight my children and give them time with nature rather than electronics, although I def. enjoy them too. ? Where do you live? We live in the city and are only allowed 4 hens, no rooster. It's good to find out if there are any zoning limits. Because we could only have four, I made sure to get breeds that have reps for excellent egg production,while still giving us an array of colors. Out of the better layers, the kids picked a barred rock, California white (fabulous layers, if I just cared about an abundance of eggs, I would only have these), australorp, and an Easter egger (not the most prolific breed, must the best of the breeds that lay blue/green eggs.) We got 2 extra in case we get a rooster or one chicken didn't make it. I'm not sure that was a good idea because we're going to have a tough time saying goodbye and selling them. Argh! Moral dilemma now because we want to keep them! Get the friendly breeds! Rhode Island Reds, reg Leghorns, and others are the best layers but are awfully brutal to each other. There are ways to raise the friendly breeds to help make them even more friendly. Edited August 30, 2018 by IfIOnly 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 We've had three chickens at a time, but only for about 8 months each time, from spring to early winter. (Then we'd give them to friends who live in the country.) We've always enjoyed them so much! They're very easy to take care of. We let them have the run of our fenced-in yard (small) during the day, and at the end of the day they went back into the garage (connected to the yard) to their night-pen by themselves. We had a lamp on them as nights grew cooler. In the mornings, they'd come up to our back door and seem excited to see us, just like dogs. That was a surprise! When we went outside, they'd come to see us, and would often follow us around. We had a dog who shared the backyard with them and they all got along. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 (edited) Just adding to IfOnly's list of possible breeds: Rhode Island Reds (easy to keep and good layers), Buff Orpington (larger but also good layers, calm), Barred Plymouth Rock, Wyandotte, Ameraucanas and Aracaunas lay bluish/green eggs (what fun we had when we found one of those for the first time!) All of these breeds lay brown eggs, if that matters to you - except the Amera- and Aracaunas. People have mentioned pecking each other. There is some of that and it's normal. It never got very serious at our house because there was room to spread out. Too many chicken in a little space is a recipe for disaster. https://www.mypetchicken.com/default.aspx?f=menu Edited August 30, 2018 by Liz CA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 For a backyard I’d strongly recommend bantam chickens over standard sized chickens. Bantams are much smaller, feel less like having livestock, and—being social creatures—you can happily keep more bantams in the same space. We’ve kept Rhode Island Red bantams and have found them to be very friendly and good layers. Predation is always a problem. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAJinBE Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 We have chickens and they are nice but there is some some work and stress involved if you have predators in the area. We started by getting eggs from a local farmer for a middle school science project. We hatched them and raised them. Watching them hatch was super exciting for everyone. We had to get an incubator. The farmer also threw in a hen and her eggs so we also got to watch her hatch and raise her own (much easier). Fast forward about six years and we have had a chicken population that has ranged from about six to about 25 chickens. I did not want to keep any roosters but the kids were attached to them almost immediately. My dh liked them too so here we are. Now we gather the eggs daily but since we allow them to free range and our yard is large sometimes a hen will disappear to raise a brood and suddenly reappear with chicks in tow. So giving away chickens has become a yearly ritual. We are now down to one rooster (my dh's favorite). He is quite beautiful and getting old. The eggs in the summer are plentiful but scarce in the winter. We feed them chicken feed and scraps, but still in the winter I feel like they are the most expensive eggs in the world. That's not counting the truck my dh "needed" to buy feed and supplies for them. :) I agree that the roosters can be quite aggressive and have scared away a pet sitter in the past. There are good books and websites on raising backyard chickens. If you travel you will need a pet sitter for them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 We've used a light with a timer in the winter and had eggs all winter long, just a bit less. We've had good production many winters with this method! We just followed the how-to in Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 10 hours ago, shawthorne44 said: A few things I'd recommend. 1) Chicken Water Nipples: Chickens seem to revel in pooping in their water. They work hard at it. Instead they peck at the end of a ball valve hanging down and get fresh water whenever they want. 2) Feeder = Square sided bucket with PVC elbows. Send me pics of this feeder you speak of! I need to get my chicks on something that’ll keep them from scratching feed all over the place and making it fall through the bottom of the brooder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 I was interrupted last night. I mentioned a 'few' things and then barely mentioned two. 1) Nipple water - I don't think that it is the same thing as with gerbils, but I could be wrong. My only experience with the gerbil version was when feeding a friends. Here is the direction to a DIY version. There are mini diary goats in our future, and there is a big metal version that works for goats and dogs (and some other animals)https://www.peakprosperity.com/wsidblog/79313/diy-simple-chicken-waterer You can also spend money and get one that attaches to your water supply. But, they can be expensive because the pressure has to be lowered quite a bit. We went that route because we live in Texas and therefore endless water is especially important. 2) Chicken Feeder - Bucket and Elbows: We used a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket. But, a better plan would have been a square-sided tote that you can slightly see into. DH had to use lots of glue to get the straight side of the elbow to seal to the round side of the bucket. You see in the photos below that they added a see-through strip. When the chickens run out of food they TELL me about it, and not just by knocking the bucket over. It would be nice to be able to see when it is low, though. We have 14 chickens feeding on a bucket with 4 elbows. They eat as they wake up. https://diyprojects.ideas2live4.com/how-to-build-a-mess-free-chicken-feeder/ I think the chickens realize that there is an endless supply of food and I think that keeps them from getting possessive about the food. 3) Mama Heating Pad for chicks - We didn't do this, but it is brilliant and I sooooo wish we had. They need to be kept warm as baby chicks so new chicken owners generally keep them inside until they are old enough and have enough feathers to stay outside. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/ It seems to be almost universal that people get more chickens than they planned on. Chicken math is why. Perfect explanation of Chicken Math:https://blog.mypetchicken.com/2014/07/25/chicken-math/ Breeds: I have an extremely low tolerance for mean. There are several popular TV shows that I won't watch because the people are mean to each other. I've banned SpongeBob from our house for that reason. So, I knew I'd flip a lid if the chickens were mean to each other. So, when I read that Australorps got along well with other chickens and people and laid lots of eggs, I said "Sold". Also, chickens are prejudiced shitheads. If you get a lone chicken of one breed, and the rest of another breed, the lone chicken will be depressed and ostracized and likely pecked. If you get chickens that are half one breed and half another, then you are likely to have two distinct flocks. "Birds of a feather flock together". I knew I couldn't handle that either so I stuck with one breed. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 I’ve had chickens for most of the last 20 years (we’ve gone through a few years here and there where we couldn’t because of certain dogs living here that thought they, well, tasted like chicken). I JUST got a new batch of chicks about 2 weeks ago because my daughter with some of the evil chicken-chasers is moving in a month, and these will be in the brooder a good bit past that time. I LOVE having chickens. We have a really nice AKC dog run my husband modified for our chickens. He put a roof on it, put some mesh screen on one section to filter the sun, built nest boxes in it, and put it on giant skids so he can pull it with his big mower. We move it every few days to a clean spot. Our chickens free range from morning til dusk, and then get locked in the pen for the night. We actually enjoy keeping a rooster, as they tend to herd the flock and keep them together. Yes they can be mean for sure, but if they have plenty of hens to keep them busy, they’re usually okay. I just don’t ever turn my back on them. ? Right now I have 18 chicks, but only because my brooder isn’t really big enough for more as they grow. I plan to buy another 18 or so in the spring. We have 5 acres, and there’s a nice wooded area that runs around our pasture where our chickens tend to hang out and forage. We do lose them here and there to flying predators, but I’m willing to take that risk for them to be able to be free ranging. I have considered having dh build some type of covered, movable run that we could attach to their pen and just move that with them every couple days, but I really enjoy watching them scurrying all over the place. Right now I have Black Australorps and Dominiques. My original plan was to get Australorps, White Orpingtons and silver-laced Wyandottes because I LOVE when they all color-coordinate. (I’m weird like that) Our feed store didn’t have exactly what I wanted, and I really had waited too late to order any, so I bought what I could. Australorps are my favorite overall if I could only pick a single breed for laying. Buff orpingtons are probably my favorite overall for disposition (I’m hoping the whites will be similar because buffs just won’t fit my color scheme). ? So I’ll quit rambling I guess, and just add that I think they are easy to keep fun to own, and occasionally you’ll have to deal with some heartbreak, but that’s the case with any living being. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 14 minutes ago, StaceyinLA said: Send me pics of this feeder you speak of! I need to get my chicks on something that’ll keep them from scratching feed all over the place and making it fall through the bottom of the brooder. We are on about year 5 of chicken ownership and dh just made this kind of feeder about a month ago. It took him about an hour and works great. We can store several bags of feed in it, which is awesome. He used a medium sized trashcan with a lid instead of a tote. His is similar to this one except we didn't put the little half-cover on the front. We've had almost no spillage. https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.wikihow.com/Make-an-Automatic-Chicken-Feeder%3Famp%3D1?source=images 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 We have had backyard chickens for several years now, and we're on our second batch. I agree that they are easy and great fun. Having a fresh supply of eggs is also wonderful, and it is fun to share them with friends. At the same time, I want to throw out that chickens are dirty little creatures. After we got our first batch from our local Tractor Supply Co., and after they were old enough to be outside in their coop, we let them free range. They all eventually ended up on my porch. This is a nice porch with outdoor furniture, and they pooped all over everything! I was horrified. We tried to train them to stay away from this area, but you can't train chickens. Eventually, this really got next to me, and we keep them in their coop most of the time now. This isn't a bad thing really. It is a very large area- about 20' x 30' with a 4'x8' lockable shed where they roost at night and have laying boxes. We're in a wooded area as well, and tree cover plus fencing keep predators out. At the top of our fencing is additional fencing that angles in which also helps with protection. It's a great set-up. One more thing... Because they are dirty little creatures, if you are planning a coop area, think hard about how to organize it. You will want to be able to get in and out to collect eggs and to clean the coop easily. We still need to improve in this way. Because our coop is so well shaded, no grass grows in it. We've tried to beautify with rosemary plants, but they died. I would like to make a concrete step path to the coop shed one day. For now, the ground cover is dirt. Dirt and chicken poop is not so bad in dry conditions, but when it rains, it is just gross. It's not like you can keep a chicken area clean either. If you got chickens because they are cute and fun to watch, you might be totally disgusted at the filth they can create if you were not aware of this truth ahead of time. This is not meant to persuade you not to get chickens. It's just meant to lay the good and the bad on the table. Oh, one more thing... We live in Alabama, and the winters can be cold. During our first winter with the first batch of chickens, we felt like they needed a heat lamp to keep them warm at night. We used the same one that they had as baby chicks when they lived in our house (in a big box.) Well, they began fighting! Long story short... The bulb in that light was red, and that color makes chickens crazy. They will fight each other at the sight of blood too. We simply took the lamp out. They were fine. Lesson learned. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 5 hours ago, StaceyinLA said: ...Dominiques... I think they are by far the most attractive breed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted August 31, 2018 Author Share Posted August 31, 2018 Thanks! I appreciate hearing the good and the ugly sides of chx keeping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 On 8/29/2018 at 7:08 PM, ScoutTN said: eta: How much yard do I need? We have a small yard. Dh says about 600 or 700 sf. Five chickens, a coop, a tiny garden that is FENCED OFF because the chickens eat any green thing that they can reach. Including all the grass that used to be in the yard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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