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Raising chickens in the backyard of urban or suburban properties has increased in popularity over the past several years. Many municipalities have relaxed their ordinances to allow this activity-- often they'll allow 4 or fewer hens (no roosters- too noisy).
Chickens are easy to keep: ~ 4 sq ft per bird is enough, although 2 sq ft in a coop and more in a run-- cage enclosed or free range is preferable. They come in by themselves at dusk and can be fed table scraps, sunflower seeds &/or commercial chickenfeed. They're great at eating bugs & such, but can scratch the heck out of your seedlings or smaller garden plants.
Hens will give you ~ 2 eggs each, every three days. Those fresh eggs are much more intensely tasty than bland store-bought eggs. ( I always wondered why, in Italian, they refer to "the red" of the egg rather than "the yellow"-- until I started raising free range chickens.) Winter production can be maintained by keeping a light on a timer in their coop to extend "daylight hours" and the incandescent bulb also provides some heat-- although hens do well in harsh winter temps & snow.
Anybody else raising a small flock for their organic eggs?
Not me, but my son and his wife are. They only wanted a couple of chickens, but the minimum was 6, and you got 2 more free. One of the free ones turned out to be a rooster, so he might need to take a trip to the woods if he bothers the neighbors too much, and the constant raping of the hens is kind of upsetting. One of the hens got munched by their dog. Eventually, I expect they’ll settle in at 6, that is a comfortable number.
Anyway, they built a lovely coop (DIL’s an architect). They let the chickens out every afternoon, and they put themselves back in at dusk. There is something very soothing about having chickens clucking around the yard.
Last edited by gentlearts; 12-24-2020 at 07:08 AM..
I wish we could where I live. The stupid thing is I live in a semi-rural area (there is a 100 acre farm not 2 miles from my house) and we're not allowed to have chickens, yet the nearest city allows them even in the downtown historic area. Of course, we do have coyotes out here, but in raising chickens one would presumably take precautions for their safety. It makes absolutely no sense to me.
I wish we could where I live. The stupid thing is I live in a semi-rural area (there is a 100 acre farm not 2 miles from my house) and we're not allowed to have chickens, yet the nearest city allows them even in the downtown historic area. Of course, we do have coyotes out here, but in raising chickens one would presumably take precautions for their safety. It makes absolutely no sense to me.
Will your neighbors bust you? As long as you don’t have a noisy rooster, maybe nobody will care? Here in Savannah, some folks got together and got the ordinances changed. Paula Deen was one of them. She had 5 rescued chickens and a large property, so they weren’t bothering anyone, so the law was ridiculous in the first place.
Cities are re-examining their laws regarding both chickens and bee hives, as there is more demand for self sufficiency, clean foods, and how important bees are to our ecosystem.
My aforementioned kids with chickens are breaking the ordinance with their rooster, but will try to keep him as long as they can, since it’s not his fault he was born a male, and it’s nearly impossible to tell the sex of a chick, without hurting the chick.
we have had chickens on and off for several years. some of them are really awesome. Banthams seem to have the best personality (and coloring), but their eggs are tiny.
You can get easter Egger Chickens that lay Blue, green or pink egs.. the egg itself is exactly the same. Certain breeds lay a lot more than others.
the biggest problem with chickens i sying. First get about 1/3 more chicks than you want chickens. Some usually will not make it. Some will turn out to be roosters and you will want to get rid of them we just take them to the local tractor supply store and they give them away - probably to be eaten, you do not know what happens to them, but you do nto want more than one rooster, and as mentioned, many municipalities do not allow any. Then critters also kill them, raccoons are the worst they kill them just for fun. However lots of things will eat them, foxes, eagles, hawks, owls, coyotes, dogs, cats, , . . Cold can also kill them, so the coop needs insulation and a heat source if you live in a cold place. A lamp makes a good heat source, but make certain they cannot get right against the light bulb or they will set themselves on fire.
Your coop and run have to be built like fort knox and if they free range, you will lose some or all of them once in a while.
IN addition to providing eggs, they keep bugs down wonderfully, especially ants. They are also fun, and some of them develop strong relationships with people or dogs.
We had some awesome roosters that no only protected the flock, but our giant dogs too. We also had an awful rooster that crowed every fifteen minutes 24/7. We have had some incredibly gorgeous roosters too, they are easier to re-home The scruffy looking ones are not wanted. It is funny I see ads where people are trying to sell unwanted roosters regularly - sorry folks they are basically toxic waste, no one is going to give you money for them. If you have more than one, they will often fight - to the death. Also sometimes you get roosters that constantly rape the hens and hurt them. We had one like that, we left him out for the coons and coyotes to just eat, instead he moved onto the front porch and made best friends with one of our dogs. We finally took him to a public farm at a park and they accepted him, most will not.
I know a family with a lot of acreage who just kept the roosters outside the coop all the time. Most of them made it through several years outside in the woods.
I told my kids they should take theirs to a nice patch of woods on Ft Bragg and he might be fine for a good while. Certainly better than dispatching him to the freezer. Their rooster is mean
Chickens have OWNED the island of Kauai for 20 years and more. They don't search for food anymore though. Instead, they lurk in the underbrush and wait for tourists.
I don’t know what kind my neighbor had, but they had a couple of roosters and their crowing was soft. Coolest thing ever. The clucking and soft crowing, so soothing ...but they were purchased for a specific event...and dispatched for it.
Yeah those 40-50 year old women are everywhere down there. The city really needs to do something about it.
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