Chickens
 

We are going to be moving to a new home in about a year, and I'm seriously thinking about raising a few chickens for eggs. We'll be in the county, so they'll be permissible. Has anyone done this, and other than having fresh eggs (bonus) is it worth the time/expense? Other than knowing about a few different breeds, I know nothing about the care and upkeep of said hens! When I was a kid, my grandparents had a neighbor whose chicken laid multi-colored eggs - the Aracauna (sp?)or Americana. Thanks for any personal input!

I don't know that it is cost effective to have several chickens for the fresh eggs but it probably would be fun (and a lot of work)

Not sure about how hard it is..mom had chickens and enjoyed the eggs and such. But it has to have heat and don't forget time away from home is limited unless you have very good friends.

Yes to both posts above. That said having chickens is way easier then having milk goats, which we do. Another point is chickens seem to bring a lot of flies and their poo is mushy. They will also get at everything in your yard. You also do not need a rooster in order for them to lay eggs. This is nice to know because rooters can be mean and loud. I really like keeping chickens, both for eggs and meat.

If you're going to have a few chickens, it's really not that cost effective unless you plan to sell the eggs, so you would need more than a few chickens. Each chicken will lay an egg a day (depends on age and type of chicken though) and not all year round. Our chickens (ISA browns) laid in the spring through the fall and only after their first year. They are fun to raise and not all that hard. Get a good coop and, preferably, a fenced in area for 'free-ranging' and you're good to go. There are other issues involved, but it's really not bad at all. Ours were hand raised, so they were comfortable with us and when we sat outside or walked around, they would follow us around. I'm using past tense because a fox (or something) got into our coop a few months back...sad time. My daughter still isn't over it. But we plan on starting again in the spring.

My DD decided to raise chickens. Started out for food. One batch of 40, then a second batch was joined by 6 hens. Which turned out to be 5 hens and a rooster. LOL The meat is delicious, and after 6 months they are getting eggs. They free range through the day, then go in the pens at night. When they started laying, they were all over the place, so DSIL built boxes for them in the hen house. The kids love them, and DD and SIL do, too. They did get into the garden and ate 2 cabbage plants, and one day DD was looking for a rouge bird when SIL pointed above her head. The Chicken was sitting on the top of the door she was standing in!! All she thought was, "thank goodness it didn't poop". I was talking to her on the phone the other day. She was sitting on the steps in the garage, and one of her chickens came up and sat on her shoulder. I was amazed they would get that friendly! Dirty little creatures they are! We raised them one time and had one that just wouldn't be caught. I am sure he knew what was in store for him. He would corner me in the house and not let me out. Mean little thing pecked at your legs. I called a neighbor and asked him to come kill it for me. He wouldn't do it, but DH finally did after he chased our daughter all the way to the neighbors pecking at the back of her legs. Have fun. Do it cause you want to, I don't think you will find it cost effective. They eat more than you might think.

I like having a few chickens around..3or 4. You will need a fenced in,over-the- top wired outside pen...preferably with 18. Inches of chicken wire flat on the ground,outside the edge of the pen..to prevent varments from digging in. The wire over the top should keep the hawks and raccoons out. You will need a home for the chickens with nesting boxes and a roost inside. You can't beat the flavor of really fresh eggs. In the country,you'll likely have a septic tank. My chickens eat all the fruit or vegetable scraps( they don't like orange peels). They eat all my weeds a,corn cobs etc.
I put straw under neath the roosts where most of the poop lands...then have some kid clean the chicken house 2 wice a year,putting all the stuff in a pile to compost. I pay a kid $ 100 an hour...it takes 20 minutes! The roosters are abusive,so I eat them. The hens are very fun to have as farm pets. PM me more more info

I love my hens! No, probably not cost effective but those eggs with the deep yellow yolks - soooo good! Not very expensive really. I have between 2 and 4 at any given time and a bag of layer feed lasts me more than a month. Mine have the run of the backyard during the day so get to eat lots of weeds, bugs, worms and what-have-you. Flies are NOT a problem even tho I live on a horse farm. I love the look of the brown eggs and wouldn't want to be without my chooks.

We have coyotes and hawks around but even tho my wire is only 36" tall and not buried in the ground I've had no losses. Probably just lucky. Neighbors do cover their pens.

Hi, dh has chickens. I've heard about others who have them too. They can be as time consuming as you let them be. Dh spends a lot of time and money on his birds. He's built two mobile coops; one on running gear and the other on a trailer. Both can be hooked up to the hitch and moved with the van. The running gear one can be moved by 2 strong people if desired. That way the hens get fresh green grassy area every week. If you want to pick his brain, pm me and I'll get you in touch with him. Good luck!

We'd raise them from a mixed batch of chicks and as soon as one started crowing he became dinner.

OH my gosh are you lucky!!! I lived outside of the city for 13 years and we had chickens and I love, love, love fresh eggs. They're soooo much better. But, just be sure to candle each egg before cracking em in a dish. One time, it was a chicken that wasn't quite ready to hatch and that was yucky!! (You'll only do that once, and then you will candle every single egg...unless you have no roosters). Also, don't expect white eggs. They'll be brown, green, blue, speckled...but white eggs come from chickens that are given hormones...at least that's what I was told.

Have fun!!! and baby chicks really are cute at Easter time....

I was surprised to see this topic when I logged on. My husband recently decided he'd like a few chickens again so he could have fresh eggs. He takes care of them and although it isn't very time consuming, it would definitely be cheaper to buy eggs. Having said that though, if you read, the very fresh eggs are far more nutritious than those from the store.

If you go to the McMurray website, and maybe even request a catalog, you can read all about the various types of chickens so you can get the one suited for you. We got ones that do well in cold climates since we have very cold winters. He also bought the book, Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, which is said is excellent and supposed to be the best book on the subject.

We got our chickens through the mail from McMurray. We got the minimum order of 15 and all arrived safe and well. Good luck!

One of our neighbors is raising chickens. Their coop is located less than 60 feet from my bedroom window....let's just say that I know when one of them is laying an egg, because the hen announces it LOUDLY. This usually happens at around 5:30 to 6:30 am.
I like these neighbors and don't want to cause problems...but I'm not sure it is legal for these chicken in the city. It isn't the nicest way to wake up in the morning...but, I've had worse.

Raising some chickens for eggs is not the only benefit from them. They are very peaceful and calming. Keep them clean and flies should be little problem. A good sturdy coop for their protection, including a covered top (hawks). They also like shade. They will keep bugs and weed seeds low in your garden if you keep one.

They are a most pleasant and agreeable creature to have around the house.

Create little covered areas around the yard so they have nearby cover to run to in case any overhead threats come looking for lunch. That's what I did. Even after the girls got to old to lay they remained an integral part of our landscape. Well worth a few handfuls of corn.
Have fun, do some research and most of all enjoy them.
peace

EDIT: I forgot to say, if you have never eaten a fresh laid or one that is organic, you will never forget how good they are. They don't come close to anything you buy in the stores today which can hardly be called eggs anymore.

MM MMM good!

White eggs come from a specific variety of hen,,,,nothing to do with potions given the chickens.

Fresh eggs are wonderful. Chicken poo on the porch isn't. Fresh, organic chicken meat is wonderful. Wringing necks isn't. It's a trade off. Lucky for me my neighbor has more eggs than she can use and gives them to me!

We have chickens just because we wanted to have them and also for the eggs. I used to raise chickens in my former life (about 20 yrs ago) so I knew what we were getting into. DH's mom always had chickens when he was little.

The fresh eggs are much better than store bought eggs. We rarely sell them-only when we get a lot. We give them away to family and we use them ourselves.

Our chickens are in a coop and enclosed pen, and we just feed them once a week or so (the feeder holds a lot) and make sure they have water every day. Collect the eggs daily and every day I throw them some grass or marked down produce or peels from when we use produce. Tomatoes from the garden that get half eaten by bugs go to the chickens. Also, during and after harvest, we throw corn that spilled when dh was filling the grain bins, and in the summer he saves the wheat that gathers in the bottom of the grain trailer.

I have a blog about them-I don't blog about them anymore (they haven't really changed at all since the last time I took pictures) but it shows our chicken coop that dh and I built, and the chickens. We've lost 2 hens since the start so we now have 9 hens and 1 rooster.

http://lookslikechickenscratch.blogspot.com

We had 18 chickens and a rooster, we gave them to a man down the road.Just to expensive to feed and alot of work.Kept us close to home also. We raised them from chicks. We found that by keeping a single light bulb burning in the hen house, they layed year round. Loved the big brown eggs tho, and had lots of double yolks. I do miss all those fresh eggs!

FYI, Chickens carry over 60 different diseases, some of which can be deadly. I'd think twice about getting chickens If I were you. Find a farmer friend to get your eggs from.

We have raised bantam chickens and guinea hens for about 10 years. I have 10 - 15 hens and 3 roosters (all hatched here) and1 guinea hen. We got the guineas because they eat ticks and there was a big Lyme disease scare, but I think that chickens do just as good a job on the ticks. I actually love guinea hens, even the noise that they make. The feathers are beautiful and the eggs are small but really good with very hard shells. Baby guineas are beautiful.

Keeping a few chickens for eggs is not cost effective especially when you give away the eggs instead of selling them like I do. They are so small that we don't eat the meat. They are nice though, and they all have their little personalities. I have one that likes to sit on my foot.

I don't have any trouble with flies but I have seen a rat, unfortunately. They must be attracted to the food.

I he we haven't all put you off. If you are interested. There is a website community called BackyardChickens.com. They have loads of Information, an active message board and classified ads, I got a lot of my chickens from the ads.

Do get chickens, they are relatively easy to raise and so much fun, they each have their own personalities. I had the most beautiful rooster, Robbie, and 13 hens, all named of course, but had to give them to a friend after my husbands's heart transplant, with his compromised immune system he would be very susceptible to the viruses in bird feces. I would let my birds free range during the day so the eggs were so rich the yellows were orange and the taste magnificent. The birds picked in the horse paddock so we had very few flies. We had to put a light bulb with a reflective shied in the coop during the winter to keep them from freezing, their combs would get a little frost bite but that grows out. I spoiled ours, I would buy them a slice of watermelon as a treat and a large can of Friskies wet cat food once or twice a week. They loved both and the protein in the cat food made their eggs huge and the shells hard. We would love to have chickens again but DH doc says it isn't worth the risk. Good luck, have fun!

I used to raise chickens and sell the eggs. I also raised roosters and sold them as butchered fryers. I also milked cows and sold the cream. As long as you keep the pens cleans and put straw or some other type of bedding in there it doesn't stink, no flies unless you never clean it. I live on a farm and always kept the chickens in the pen, so no poo at the house or in the yard. Those eggs had the light yellow yolk which all my customers wanted because they didn't like the taste of eggs from chickens that ate mustard and a few other choice weeds which went to the egg yolk. I sold many dozens per week, had them yr round --no heat in bldg-they got hot water to drink and mash to eat. There were enough chickens in the bldg that they made their own heat. Just had to pick the eggs more often in the winter so they didn't freeze. Had an egg washer, never candled an egg because I never had roosters with them. I always sold my yr and half old hens to a neighbor and she kept the last ones for about 6 yrs til they died. She got eggs everyday from them yr round.

We have 2 chickens and call them the girls, Charlotte and Minnie. They range the yard and surrounding areas during the day and at night go in their house. Yes I love their eggs they are the best and provide us with what we need. I send the grandkids out egg hunting when they are over and they have fun hunting where the girls have decided to lay most times in the coop but sometimes in the yard. Don't bother with roosters as they are MEAN that's why they are such good eating! Our girls seem to do just fine in the neighborhood that is full of cats and stray dogs, but we do not clip their wings. That is so they can get away. Get some chickens and enjoy.

I have had chickens most of my life. Even growing up in san francisco we had a few. For the last 30+ yrs I have had dozen or so at a time. I get plenty of eggs spring-fall for myself and a few other families.Most lay every other day.sometimes more.I sell fresh eggs when I have extra for $1 a dozen.This helps with feed costs.Since I have a 65 acre farm I let them run free.They keep the bugs down and even eat ticks.They scratch the leaves looking for bugs so that helps keep them fluffed so they are easier to burn in the fall(the leaves)lol.I love watching them. Some people have fish to watch.I have chickens.We have a walk in chicken house and a large pen attached to it. On snowy days or muddy days we just leave them penned up.Otherwise we feed and let them out in the morning. 5 minutes work at the evening just before dark we collect eggs and close them up,another 5 minutes. Not that much work. having a large house and pen makes for alot less cleaning up. I hope you enjoy your chickens and eggs. Mary

I have been sitting here reading all the information with a BIG grin on my face! I will take everyone's information, play around with it, and do lots of research before beginning this latest venture. I have time to do some investigating, and to pick out the girls' names! So far, Penelope and Ruthee (the latter for my late mother-in-law whom I loved dearly). Thanks to everyone for your input. I am going to copy these replies and refer back to them..

This is why we're not in a hurry to get more chickens. Not many (any?) chicken boarding businesses around. We had a tough time going on family vacations.

The flavor of the eggs is soooooooooo much better and so is the meat. I cannot butcher and eat Chicken on the same day, as there is something about the smell that remains on my hands, But boy, do I love those rich dark orange yolked eggs. Go for it, have fun, and let the kids learn something new

1. In NC you will not need to worry about heating the coop in the winter. We are in north central indiana and we do not heat ours. We gather eggs more often during the winter, so they don't freeze, but the chickens need to acclimate to the cold naturally. If you put heat in a coop, and the power goes out on a cold night, the chickens are at risk because they haven't developed the fat/down layers necessary to withstand the cold. I know of people in Alaska that do not heat their coops. You do, however, need to have a way to keep water from freezing in the winter. We use a plug-in dog bowl from Walmart that cost us about $15.

2. If you cannot free range, you should give them a good variety including grass, weeds, leafy veggies, etc. We can't free range since we have too many predators even during the day (stray dogs, coyotes, raccoons, etc). So I pick grass and weeds and we buy the marked down produce at the grocery store.

3. All roosters are not mean. Some are and you never know if they will be or not but our roo is not mean at all. However, they are loud. All day-not just in the morning. In fact, our Cosmo crows all during the night as well. Some townships don't allow roosters. If you free range, a rooster is a nice thing to have as they will warn the hens of impending danger and some will even protect them physically. If you don't free range you don't really need a rooster.

4. Wash your hands after handling chickens or any of their stuff (feeders, waterers, eggs, etc) and you should be fine with the diseases. I'm a full blown germophobe and I only get a little anxious about that (I do use plastic gloves a lot and keep some hand sanitizer at the coop). We have cattle (one that is a pet) and hogs as well and they also carry diseases. We wash our hands after petting them too.

5. We use the deep litter method where you just add litter periodically along with some kind of powder (ours is called Sweet PDZ and some use Diatomaceous Earth). We clean out the coop once or twice a year and it doesn't stink other than on rainy days when everything around here stinks. I use nest pads in the nest boxes and we change those out as needed. Our coop is situated so that I can gather eggs and open/close the sliding chicken door without going into the coop. We keep the feed and water just inside the walk door so we can feed and water without going in.

6. I do not wash eggs unless they are visibly dirty. I do make sure I wash my hands after handling eggs (outside and in the kitchen) and cook them thoroughly. I keep our eggs on the counter. When we get enough for a dozen, I will put them in a carton and in the fridge and they are given away. Everyone we give eggs to knows that I don't wash them. I use the eggs off the counter since they're better used at room temperature. If I wash eggs, they go directly into the fridge since washing it removes the protective bloom. I use paper towels and hot water to wash any dirty spots off of them.

7. It is possible to hard boil fresh eggs. I steam them for about 15 minutes (depends on the size-I weigh mine and use all the same-size eggs for hard cooking) and then immediately plunge them into ice water (with actual ice in it) for 5 minutes. They peel as easily as aged store bought eggs about 99% of the time. Once in a while we get a stubborn one.

8. If you buy chicks from a hatchery, they are not Ameraucaunas OR Auraucanas. They are a mixed breed called Easter Eggers and still excellent chickens and layers. True Ameraucanas and Auraucanas are only sold by breeders. We have two Easter Eggers and they were great layers the first year (better than our heavy layers) but have slowed way down this year (2nd summer). I would get them again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Egger

I feel this is great. However, you will not only need the chickens, you need a fenced in area around and overhead as well to keep out possum, fox, owl, hawk, eagles, etc. Watch your hands when you put your hands in the nest to get the egg that you don't get hold of a snake. Then when you keep the chickens penned up you have to buy feed and minerals in order that they lay the eggs. You have to keep water to them. It is work, but it can be a pleasure as well.

Life is full of disease. More chance from factory farms than home grown, cared for and enjoyed just for being chickens.

I had chickens before, hubby did not, but he agreed to get them. We built a large box in an enclosed (wire under the ground and on top) small yard. Was good for years. Last year a bear got into the pen and killed the whole group except for two. DH voluntarily gave up his workshop and goes out every night to tuck them in. H​e talks to them and gives them treats. I think having them has all kinds of good benefits.

Yes, we have chickens in North Central Missouri because we were both raised on a farm in Southern Iowa. We lived most of our working years in cities in the USA and could not have them then. Since retirement, we have chickens, guineas, and ducks. They are my dh pets. I love Rhode Island Reds and New Hampshire laying hens the best...dh wanted Dark Cornish, so we got a few. They will be the first in the pot as we eat the oldest first. If dh agrees, he loves every hen, rooster, guinea, and duck as his personal pet. Its all my fault because I ordered them, that the feed bill is sooo high.

Sitting hens are great to hatch out eggs; hatched out 12 guineas this summer. Every bird has its own personality and are fun to watch...right now we have gone from no rooster to too many roosters. Cost affective?????? No way. Have 19 older hens, 7 juveniles and 9 younger chicks. Six older ducks, nine younger brown Campbell ducks. Dh built a couple of A-frame chicken tractors from the million choices on internet. Straw got up against the heat lamp in the shed and it started a fire that entertained our small village for an afternoon., burning up one A frame but did not kill any of the chickens. Orscheln's now has 'hen pens' for a few hens that you can purchase commercially. I bought the small one this spring, and its a transitional lodging for young fowl, until they get big enough to join the main group.

If you have questions, please BM me. We still have a farmer's heart even in our early 70s, raising garden, orchard and fowl critters.

I had chickens some years back and they were fun to have. We let them free range because the eggs are better. One thing for sure the eggs you get will be healthier to eat if you feed them good stuff and let them roam the yard.

I forgot to say that my bantams kill snakes! (I wish they wouldn't). We had problems with predators like raccoons, mink, fisher etc. I don't think that coyotes would bother with them, there is so much wild game for them around here. They live in my garage, DH put up some roosts for them and of course we don't use the garage for cars! I leave a night light on and the door open just enough for them to go in and out, when I know I am going to get home after dark. They are also good little compostersln, I give them leftover vegetables, rice etc. and they love to pick at corn cobs and they also like to peck at rinds or slices of watermelon and cantaloupe. They clean them right down to the dry cob or skin!

And of course, there are not many things cuter than baby chicks and (especially) baby guineas! I love to watch the mothers and babies together. Sometimes you get two mothers taking care of one baby and they work really well together. This year, one of my mother hens had two chicks, but then she took someone else's baby and all three of them did really well. She likes to sit in the sun and the little ones climb up and sit on her back.

I loved my few chickens. I kept a few as pets and eggs. For the meat I bought a hybrid (some kind of cross) that grew so fast, in 7/8 weeks they were good for butchering. They got so big so fast that they ate lying down and I was told their legs would break if not butchered in time. They tasted wonderful. A raccoon got in the pen and killed all but five of my pets. He didn't eat them just killed them. My favorite, Penny had holes in her neck. When she breathed her feathers would ruffle. Decided to try and save her and put some peroxide on the holes. We had just gotten a new fridge and I put her in the box. Her beak was crooked too but I fed her wet cornmeal with a spoon. I could not believe that her beak went back to normal and the neck holes closed up. Good ole Pen Pen lived seven years after the attack. They were good in my garden too. I let them in a llittle before dusk and they would go back to the pen as it got dark. I miss my chickens. :-(
ditto on composting and having a setting hen..