People who have their own chickens
(24 posts) (13 voices)-
hannahc
MemberTechnically, you would only need 2 hens that lay once per day. That would give you 14 eggs per week if they both layed every day. But they have to be a bit more mature (maybe 10 months to a year?) to start laying every day I think. We have 7 chickens, but they're only 8 weeks old so they still live in the basement and don't lay yet. We might have to give away a lot of eggs :)
Posted 1 week ago # -
Are there bi-laws that prevent people from keeping them in their home or do you live in the country somewhere?
Posted 1 week ago # -
Apparently the laws are getting relaxed a lot. It's becoming a big thing to raise them in the suburbs. We just got 3 hens last weekend--they are a cross between Rhode Island Reds and a red sex-linked chicken (so you can tell what you're getting--apparently only one rooster survives in a flock, so everyone wants hens).
We wanted this kind because they have a reputation for being gentle, and they are supposed to lay about an egg a day. The woman from whom we got them said her kids can take the eggs right out from under them.
My kids are thrilled--they are like pets to them. If this experiment works, we'll be getting more. I'm hoping they can eat all of the ticks out of our yard.
Posted 1 week ago # -
The lady I currently buy from has 45! So I would imagine that she lives in the country.
I'd love to get my own but the cold Canadian winters up in northern Ontario I'm not sure about.
Posted 1 week ago # -
lbd
MemberI have two hens at the moment with two younger birds (probably hens - in adolescence, it is hard to tell with Buff Orpingtons). Hens will lay in warmer weather usually once per day. They may slow down a bit in winter months - mine still lay every other day at least. I could use 4-5 hens, so I am hoping the younger two are both hens and will start laying soon - they are about 4 months old now. Some hens will go broody and sit on their eggs to hatch them (I also have a rooster) and that is how I got the two younger ones :)
My rooster now is very friendly. Buffs are known for their good nature. I once had a brown leghorn that would come running to attack you if he heard the house door open. We gave him to a nearby farmer and the rooster ended up in a stew pot one day when he attacked the guy's legs. Too bad - he was a beautiful thing, but nasty as the devil.
My chickens have a nice coop with nesting boxes for that seals up tight for night time. They free-roam during the day. I live in the country with lots of room, but foxes can be a problem if you don't have a safe place for them to roost at night.
Posted 1 week ago # -
So nice, but so expensive! We bought pretty good chicken coop plans off the internet, and built it in a day. Their needs are simple, a roost, a nesting box (several hens can share one), and a run. It should be movable so they can keep working on a different piece of grass.
We just got a playset and it looks like if it were portable it could make a perfect coop for 1-2 dozen chickens--just wrap it in chicken wire and provide some kind of run. I may try to find a free one on Craigslist when we get more hens.
Posted 1 week ago # -
Depends on the season. I have 10 hens and get 6-8 eggs per day in summer, but only 1-3 eggs per day in winter.
It also depends on breed. I prefer heirloom breeds that are smart enough to take a winter break. However, but some of the modern breeds can be induced by artificial lighting to lay year-round.
Posted 1 week ago # -
maba
MemberIs it a lot of work to raise chickens in your yard? I have a decent sized yard but both of us work close to 10 hours everyday and are hardly at home during the week. I'm not sure if I can do all the work required but the idea of having your own egg-laying chickens sounds awesome. We use organic fertilizers for our yard and have plenty of slugs and other such bugs that the hens can feast on.
Posted 1 week ago # -
In warm weather, chickens take almost no daily work at all. Here in Vermont, winters are tough; keeping a path to the chicken house shoveled, keeping the chickens' water liquid, and gathering the eggs before they froze and cracked was enough of a challenge that we eventually gave up on having chickens. I miss them.
Posted 1 week ago # -
Sharonll
MemberWe live in Seattle, in a typical city neighborhood with lot sizes around 5,000 square feet. I built a cozy little house with cedar shavings about 6" deep. It has a ramp that goes up to it from a small pen about 4'x12'. The pen is tightly fenced, including the roof, as there are a lot of hungry raccoons in our neighborhood.
We started off with ducks, as they are well adapted to the rainy winters here, but a family member was extremely allergic to the duck eggs, so we found a home for the ducks and switched to chickens.
We now have 3 Ameraucanas, wild-looking little chickens with fluffy cheeks and small beaks. They're only about 3.5 months old, so haven't started laying yet, and may not until spring as we're not providing artificial light. When they start laying, we expect an egg a day from each of them during the spring, summer, and fall, and maybe none in the winter.
The chickens are extremely easy to care for in our temperate climate. We have a suspended feeder in an area of their pen that is protected by an overhead tarp, the floor of the pen is covered by about 6" of cedar shavings that absorb moisture well. On dry days, I rake the shavings and turn them. They have a 5 gallon automatic waterer, so some days, when it's very rainy, they simply take care of themselves, spending most of the day in their dry house. On weekends, when I can watch over them, I let them out into the full backyard, where they scratch contentedly. On days when they can't go outside, I give them a bowlful of greens like chopped lettuce, kale, or even grass clippings.
Posted 1 week ago # -
Maleficarum
Membergrrr... someday... when my family gets out of the cycle of apartment living we will have chickens. We already ate a lot of eggs prior to making a low carb / paleo / primal shift.
My wife used to have a pet rooster. He was very affectionate and was smarter than most dogs.
Posted 1 week ago # -
hannahc
MemberOh mine are only in the basement until they are old enough to go outside and until the hubs finishes the coop. He's almost done, but he's so particular when he builds things that he tends to take longer than usual. At least I know it will be a good hen house when he's done :) We live in the middle of Cincinnati, and have a decent sized back yard. There are no ordinances against "farm animals" here, only against nuisances. That basically boils down to not having a rooster, since the hens don't make trouble, it's the roosters that make most of the noise and ruckus :)
We have 7 Golden Comets right now, apparently they should lay every day starting pretty young, and are pretty calm. They're already good about letting us pick them up and whatnot. We really wanted Orpingtons and Aracaunas though. Mostly for the big eggs and the blue eggs respectively! One day maybe.
And I want ducks too! Does anyone have both together? Do they get along? I want to try duck eggs. And if nothing else, I sure love to eat duck...
Posted 1 week ago # -
If people don't mind me asking...what does a Hen go for in terms of $$$?
Posted 1 week ago # -
That's it? WOW...and here I was thinking they'd cost like 50 bucks or something. Geeze...that's pretty minimal.
Do they thrive in the winter outside? It gets to be about -30C here sometimes.
Posted 1 week ago # -
worthc
MemberWe've had 4 hens for about 2 years now. We live in NC, in the city and they are great pets and egg producers. We have a dog, cat, fish and chickens, and the chickens are the easiest pet to care for. We let them out in the evenings, they scratch around the yard and put themselves to bed. Get a large feeder and waterer and you can leave them alone for a week or more. We generally get about 12+ eggs a week year around. The neighbors love them, especailly when we give them eggs. They don't stink if you do it right. Mine seem to have a more difficult time in the summer than the winter. Go to http://www.backyardchickens.com for your research. It is a great site and you are garuanteed to find an answer to any question you have.
Do yourself a favor if you can and get some hens!! The eggs are awesome!!!Posted 1 week ago # -
LTC,I had chicken for years in Vermont, where it gets much colder than -30 C (more like -30 F!). Chickens will need a draft-proof chickenhouse, hopefully insulated, although mine was not and I always felt guilty about it. My chickens would never want to walk in the snow, so they stayed inside all winter. In general, heavy breeds which lay brown eggs do better in cold temperatures. They would need a light on a timer to artificially extend the daylight hours, or their laying will slow way down. Keeping their water from freezing was always an issue for us, but if you have an insulated coop it wouldn't be as much of a problem.
Posted 1 week ago # -
suzyschnitz
MemberI went to our local slow food movement meeting last week and they showed a movie called "Mad City Chicks", I believe it was called, about the movement in Madison, WI to get an allowance for chickens in the city. It was an entertaining documentary. There was also a panel of chicken owners to answer questions afterwards. I won't be getting any, but friends are. They will have enough chickens to provide eggs for several of us.
I did have four ducklings in my apartment ~3.5 years ago for a short while until they could go to their permanent home. Fun times.
Posted 1 week ago # -
Sharonll
MemberBonesheal: With only 3 ducks, our yard was plenty big enough for them, but I will definitely say they were more work than chickens, at least for urban living. If you have an acreage, and a secure place to let them roam, the ducks will be very happy. Unlike chickens, ducks need a constant water supply in order to eat, as they wash every mouthful down with water. If they don't have access to water, they can suffocate if food clogs up their nostrils. As a result, they're pretty messy. Their water stays clean for less than a minute! I don't think chickens would appreciate having to share their water supply with ducks.
We also found that the ducks, while wonderfully amusing, were far noisier than our 3 little chickens, who barely make a sound. The ducks, at 5:30 am, dark or not, would set up such a loud quacking there was no way you could ignore them. So, even on weekends, when we wanted to sleep a little later, we had to go let them out of their pen, and set tubs of water around the yard for them. Their poop is big, frequent, and wet, so there's a lot of cleanup, too.
I blogged quite often about my ducks if you're interested: http://www.ducksinseattle.com. The eggs were delicious, and the ducks often laid more than one a day. Rich, dark yolks, often double yolks. I miss the ducks, but I think I've decided that chickens are far more practical for urban farmers.
Posted 1 week ago #
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