Ticks!

[jmarquise]

the lone star tick is a major carrier of rocky mountain spotted fever. I looked them up, and I recognize them. they are very similar looking to the wood tick. I guess the pattern on the back of the wood ticks back is more of a tan color. look at both to be sure you know what you are seeing!

[MaggieDog]

Ok so what kind of tick are the all brown ones that are way smaller than the "regular" ticks?

And an fyi for those of you with dogs on Frontline - you may still occasionally see a tick moving around on your dog, but be aware that this is ok , the Frontline is still working. Frontline kills ticks, but does not repel them.

[YellowHorse]

Originally Posted by CoffeeAddict

Really? I've always wanted chickens! I'm not sure if I'd be allowed to keep them though. I'm not on rual property, I'm only about five minutes from downtown Greenville. I do have a big enough yard for them though, and my neighbor behind me has a Rooster (I've never seen there house though, just heard him crowing, so I don't know their set up, they could have a full fledged farm for all I know)

Do I just check with the township offices to see if I'm allowed? Do I have to worry about the chickens becoming infested with ticks?

If your neighbor has a rooster, then there should be no problem at all with you getting a few hens. You can still check with the township if you want, if you want to know the limit you can have.

You don't need to worry about the chickens getting ticks, I've never seen them get them and if they do, they probibly pick them off each other before I see it.

[CoffeeAddict]

I checked with the township and I'm not allowed to have any. They said that the neighbor has a rooster because no one complained about it and they did not know.

I'm pretty upset. I was looking forward to having two or three chickens.

[kayaklin]

If you think your yard might be infested with ticks, take a square of flannel material and tug it around on a piece of string. The ticks (and fleas) will jump on to it. Turn the material over to see how many you "caught." Kill ticks in your lawn with powdered sulfur. And be sure to keep your grass cut. Also, a lint roller for clothes is a great way to pick up ticks that haven't latched on yet. You can even roll over your pets before they come inside.

[YellowHorse]

Originally Posted by CoffeeAddict

I checked with the township and I'm not allowed to have any. They said that the neighbor has a rooster because no one complained about it and they did not know.

I'm pretty upset. I was looking forward to having two or three chickens.

Do you know how your township works? I mean, do they need a complaint in order to do something about it, or do they just need to know about it?
I hope we didn't just rat out your neighbor

Everywhere I have lived all "violations" needed to be complained about, in writing no less, before they will visit you, and as far as I know from chatting on public forums, all townships opperate that way.

I and many aquaintences have kept hens in places we were "not suposed to." All those ordances are put into effect for is to prevent unsanitary conditions and not annoy the neighbors. If your neighbors have not complained about a rooster all this time and no one cares about it, then you can keep a few hens, just keep everything tidy and a few hens will not be unsanitary.

That's easy to do by building your coop a few feet off the ground and having a wire mesh bottom. You just rake up the droppings that collects underneath, sweep off the walkways and you don't have to worry about the droppings in the lawn/landscaping, it's good fertalizer and breaks down fast into the soil.

Funny thing is, the only place that I have lived that someone actually took the time to put in a written complaint, is out in the country where I can have unlimited poultry, roosters and all.

The inspector came out, told me he's only out there because he has to visit the place that was complained about. He knew the codes were not violated, but he still had to make contact with me. He said I was fine and the guy shouldn't have moved out to a farming/ranching area if he didn't want to hear roosters, lol.

[YellowHorse]

I forgot to add...
If you do get a few hens, be sure to keep them confined to the coop for 3 weeks before you let them free range your yard, otherwise you'll be hunting for the eggs. By confining them to their coop for the first three weeks they will get in the habit of laying the eggs in the coop and you won't have to hunt for them. Plus, they will go back into the coop each night on their own to roost, instead of hiding everywhere else....

Or, if you get young chicks, keep them in the coop until they start laying eggs regularly (about 5-6 months old). By regularly I mean 1 egg every 1-2 days per chicken, so if you have three hens you would be getting 1-3 eggs per day (when they first start laying eggs, they are small and only lay every 3-4 days).
The reason is when they are young, they can fly pretty well and can get over fences. Once they mature (are laying eggs regularly) they have "grown into their wings" and can't get over fences that are 5+ ft.

If your fences are shorter than 5 ft, then it would be best to stick with "heavy" breeds, like brahmas, cochins, giants, and australorps (brahmas are my favorites; large, stately, and gentle, and quite unique with their "pea combs" and feathered feet). I've kept brahmas contained behind 3 1/2 foot fences.

[Frankie117]

I would check with the HOA, or other regulations before getting chickens if you live in a suburban area. You'd be surprised who would report you out of the blue for just having chickens.