I would love to have them but unless they live in the house with me I couldnt keep them in the woods. We have fox and fischer cats that would love to have a chicken dinner. some of them are so pretty.

I've heard that chickens sometimes pick on each other... does that happen often?

Yep, I have 12 hens and 1 rooster and am currentlly incubating 2 dozen eggs. I have raised chickens for 7 plus years now. None are currently pets. I did not raise this last bunch so was not able to train them except to call them. I can call a chicken like ther is no tomorrow. :roll:

Thank goodness we have never had a problem with predators. We built our hen house and chicken yard in the back yard. The chicken yard has a 6 foot chicken wire fence with bird netting 'roof'. My girls are free-range all day and when I call them or DH does chores, they go right in the coop.

The rooster is nasty and next time he jump-kicks me his neck gets twisted. He's too old for stew pot. I don't butcher anymore as DD and DH can't handle eating something they have taken care of. Geesh, however the eggs are bar-none to store bought.

I have 4 Morans(sp), two New Hampshire Reds (I really like these girls for layers and meat), six Rhoade Island Reds ( I don't like this breed, but they are excellant layers and good roasters), and the rooster. Can't remember what he is.

BarbM - we have fox, coyote, vulchers, and who knows what all. I think because we have a Great Pyrannese(sp) in a run in the yard, that is why we do not have any problems with predators. He still is 20 feet from the coop.

We only have the rooster for protection for the girls and when I want to incubate eggs. The rooster has to fertilize the eggs to have baby chicks. No rooster no chicks.

Hens lay an egg just about every 24 hours. That's how long the cycle takes. Weather conditions, breed, health, have alot to do with how often they lay during heat and cold.
The amount of hens to keep depends on how many people are in the household and how many eggs they eat a day. We get between 6-12 eggs a day for three people. We don't eat that many eggs, so we sell the excess.

Eggs can be gathered daily and left on the shelf in the egg basket for up to 10 days provided they are intact. During this time, when enough eggs are collected, they can be incubated at the same time and will hatch usually within 24 hurs of each other. Once eggs are refrigerated, they become sterile and you cannot incubate. Eggs can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 months with no problem if intact. DO not wash egs as you will wash off the protective coating which if washed off will allow bacteria and germs to permeate and ruin the egg. Ok, EGGS 101 done.

As far as racoons- I see one especially in the daytime, I shoot it, hit it with the car, whatever I have to do. We have the highest incidence of rabies in our county in the state due to coons. Had one last year tried to attack the dog then me. Can't shoot in the head if your gonna have it tested for rabies, so shot it 6, yes 6 times before it gave up. I was ready to grab it and twist. I watched every shot go in and exit other side. It was highly rabid. Had to quarantine our dog for 45 days for safety sske even though he had had his rabies shot. Have not seen any this year. Around her we say, Shoot, shovel, shut up.

My yards not fenced in either however they have something call an Eglu Omlet. Google it, it is a self enclosed chicken coop and run combo on wheels so you can move it around the yard. From what I remember they cost around $500. I would love to know if you decide to get chicken since now you can have them and not worry about your yard not being fenced in. If you decide to do it let us know.

trupeach, sometimes those are called Chicken Tractors. DH and I built one and use it for the chicks when they are old enough to be out of the 'nursery'. Ours is too heavy for me to move much, but we also used it for all the roosters we had a few years ago. Needed to seperate them from the hens so that we didn't have problems.

Leghorns lay about 6 eggs a week, I bought 6 pullets and we are a family of 4. We had 3 1/2 doz eggs a week, the neighbors were avoiding us, the dogs and cats got sick of scrambled eggs. I made quiche, deviled eggs, pickled eggs, omlets, ect, ect. LOL, I do miss the hens though, a rooster is unnecessary and very aggressive. I spent more on chicken feed than I ever did on eggs. If you get some, enjoy! I sure did.

I have 8 hens, no rooster. :(
And yes, they are our pets. DD has them sooooo spoiled.
Just this morning, I look out the back door to see my 7 year old DD and her favorite hen "Miley", relaxing on a bean bag chair on the back porch. Priceless! :-D

No eggs yet. They are only about 4 months old.
Poor Miley, has a crossed-beak, so I have to make her soft oatmeal twice a day to make sure she'll eat.
We have 1 acre, so they pretty much run free all day until the sun sets, then we lock them in the hen house for the night.
We have too many critters out here.
Our backyard butts-up to the national forest and we have raccoons, deer, cougar, fox, coyotes and I DON'T want to know what else.
I've heard neighbors talk about seeing black bears & panthers here a few years ago. (before we lived here)

I would love to get chickens again. I have a chicken coop for night-time, but they would be free-range during the day. They are so much fun. No roosters for me though. I love the eggs and so do my neighbors! No chicken killing for me though. I also have to keep Maggie (choco lab) away from them.

I think they only do that if they are overcrowded and are kept like the large egg producers do, all lined up in cages.