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Old 08-12-2008, 12:42 AM
 
5,652 posts, read 19,292,737 times
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Yeah, the roosters crow ALL day long too. Not just in the morning. That is a fallacy. They start anywhere from 3:30-5:30 am til after sundown and sometimes after that. NOT a pet/hobby for those with close neighbors.
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Old 08-15-2008, 08:23 AM
 
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I think you might have had some negative experiences with chickens.

I have chickens, they're great, loads of fun. Rooster's are loud, yes. They do crow all day. However chickens properly cared for don't smell at all. The hens can make some noise occaisionally, but I'd say you could easily do 3-4 on a small 1/4 acre and not produce much if any bother to your neighbors.
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Old 08-16-2008, 12:50 PM
 
Location: Mountains of middle TN
5,245 posts, read 16,363,462 times
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The only problem I've encountered: no grass wherever they live. They totally killed the grass and bushes in the backyard where I have them. I tried to put down some top soil and seed, but they ate the seed too. I guess I need to rotate them in pastures like a horse!! LOL!
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Old 08-30-2008, 09:05 AM
 
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More space. I actually have fresh grass growing in the chicken run right now. I didn't even seed. The chickens seems to like weeds more so they tore up the weeds and left the grass, now fresh grass is growing.

Each chicken needs around 400sq ft of outdoor space in order to not turn it to dust. You can give them more space or accept the reality of no grass
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Old 09-07-2008, 09:26 AM
 
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AliceT had some good info, especially if your in an area with potential predators.
However most places DO have ordinances that will keep you from having chickens.
Even in townships (i.e. outside an incorporated town or city) where I live in Ohio it can get iffy. Ohio law has a 5 acre rule, 5 acres you can have livestock. Anything under 5 and the township will have its own rules. Some around here, 1 acre is a magic number (I'm talking townships, not towns, forget towns) and you might be able to a have a few chickens - it depends!
But essentially chickens are considered livestock and you have to read the ordinances on livestock. I suppose some places might have ordinances where say, 5 chickens or less would be considered pets but I've never run into that. BTW here, horses are considered PETS. So when I've been looking for a place to buy it can be 3 acres with horses allowed - but no livestock = NO CHICKENS. (which seems ridiculous to me but I've talked to several different township zoning guys and it is what it is)
There are properties were no one would know, or perhaps areas where no one would care, that's different.
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Old 09-07-2008, 09:12 PM
 
Location: Eastern Long Island
1,280 posts, read 4,917,036 times
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I didn't read all of the replies but I live in a suburban area on a 1/4 acre & I have a flock of seven laying hens. I got them from Mc Murray when they were three days old in March 2006. I had 8 one passed away. I ordered 25 & split the order with other people.
My chicken run is a unique set up, it goes 100 ft x 4ft at the back of my property & at each end there is a large area about 12 ft X12ft, both ends have gates, one end is always shady & sheltered from the wind, the other side has their coop, waters & feeders. My chicken run & coop don't smell. I cleaned both today in less than 20 minutes. We let our girls free range our backyard for at least two hours a day, sometimes all day. My veggie garden is always fenced off. They are great bug eaters, compost pile tossers & my girls are lap chickens. They are friendly, most know their names, they do tricks for treats, they lay delicious eggs & they are wonderful, interesting pets.
An uncleaned dog run will stink to the high heavens too, when we take on the responsibilty of an animal we must take on the resposibilty of cleaning their waste.
My DH is a carpenter so my coop is a little elaborate but I've seen excellent conversions of small kids playhouses & other little buildings. Our run is made from green steel landscape posts & green landscape wire fence, its not designed to be predator proof, just to keep the chickens in.
I have
2 buff orpingtons ( I highly recommend)
1 Red Star-amazing layer
2 Easter Eggers-the green/blue eggs are awesome
1 Black Australorp, beautiful & friendly
1 Barred Rock-mine is very shy but I've heard they are usually friendly
1 Silver Laced Wyandotte-mine died suddenly at just over a year old, she was lovely.

I don't feel the need for a rooster, they do crow all day & I'm not planning on breeding my girls.
They like to have their pics taken for Easter

some people take their dogs to have pictures with Santa, I take Daphne the chicken, in her Christmas dress

They go great with kids & bunnies


If you have more questions please ask!!
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Old 09-10-2008, 07:37 AM
 
1,048 posts, read 1,260,874 times
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The last few years we have been getting our chickens from a commercial chicken farm. I have rescued many different animals but these chickens seem to know they were saved. I have never had friendlier,personable chickens. It takes a few weeks to get them adjusted to their new life and get their strength back. I may loose 2 out of 10 of them for different reasons. Some can't eat correctly because they were debeaked wrong or they were sick before I bought them. It is worth the $2.00 a chick I pay for them. I have fresh eggs all winter and the eggs are huge.
My chicken coop never smelled. I try my best to keep it clean. Do check your zoning laws for the amount of chickens you can keep on your property and if roosters are allowed. I let my chickens free range. They go back to the chicken coop at night and I close the door. I have had some problems, mostly with fox. I have guinea fowl that let me know immediately if something is on property. They are very noisy.
Good luck with your chicks!
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Old 09-12-2008, 02:02 PM
 
216 posts, read 680,141 times
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To Mrs. 1885...love the pictures. I am guessing you may have some sex-links there. Some of the black ones, definitely. They are cross bred chickens that are excellent layers, and you can tell the pullets from the cockerals upon hatching, because the chicks are different colors. The reddish ones could be RIR, or sex links, also, I can't tell.

Sex links are good for people living in urban areas, because you are pretty much assured you are getting hens; the hatcheries accuracy rate in pure bred sexed birds is about 90%, so you actually have a one in ten chance of getting a rooster!

Anyway, great thread...I would love to get some chickens, I just have to figure out how to house them properly.
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Old 09-12-2008, 05:32 PM
 
Location: Nova, D.C.,
1,222 posts, read 3,819,568 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mullenite View Post
We are trying to prepare the space for some layers and probably a rooster. We have the coop ready other than the nesting boxes, but we're trying to come up with an inexpensive way to make a chicken run that won't look trashy. I saw some cute chicken runs that were basically some wood posts made into frames with chicken wire stretched tight in the frames, and so far this is the cheapest way we've found that still looks attractive. How did you make your runs?

Also, what have been your favorite breeds? We are probably going to get some Rhode Island Reds, but might mix it up a little. Murray McMurray has some nice looking pictures of the different breeds on their website, but if you order from them you have to get at least 25 and we don't want that many.
I noticed that my neighbors down the street have two white chicken and a red rooster. They have a pen and a little pool. I see a lot of that down here. Is that common in Tampa? I think they are cute and I always go visit them.
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Old 09-19-2008, 09:34 PM
 
Location: North Dakota
71 posts, read 205,898 times
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As soon as I am out of college and and in a house, I will be getting some chickens.
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