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Chicken People, Lend Me Your Brains!

cafe

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I've wanted to try keeping chickens for about ten years, but for a long time it just wasn't feasible. It might be now, but I need to know a lot more about the time/money/space involved. I think I'd like three or four chickens to start with.

Background: We live in a mid-sized mid-western city (zone 5). I'm not sure how cold hardy I would need the birds to be or what kind of shelter they would need over the winter.

Our house is set on the rear of two city lots, so we have a pretty open area. I have a lot of lawn-obsessed, retired neighbors so my shelter has to either not stand out or look decorative.

I can't afford to fence my whole yard, so I'm looking for something portable like a smallish chicken tractor.

My mom works at the local animal shelter and animal control told her it was okay to have a few chickens in town, so legally, I should be okay.

I need the birds to be on the quiet side, be docile, and lay eggs.

How much can I expect feed, etc to cost?
 

miss fortune

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my parents have chickens- they stay in a shed that's similar to a large dog house sort of :shock: it's always well lined with straw and when it gets cold they stack bales of straw around the edges to keep it warmer... the chickens eat table scraps and corn, so it's pretty cheap for them... as long as you don't have roosters, the chickens are pretty quiet as well... as I'm not too far from you, the same chicken rules should apply :newwink:

they grow Golden Comets, which are pretty hardy as far as weather goes and are VERY reliable brown egg layers... they're also easy to tell apart genderwise as chicks, so you shouldn't end up with a surprise rooster! :holy:
 

cafe

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my parents have chickens- they stay in a shed that's similar to a large dog house sort of :shock: it's always well lined with straw and when it gets cold they stack bales of straw around the edges to keep it warmer... the chickens eat table scraps and corn, so it's pretty cheap for them... as long as you don't have roosters, the chickens are pretty quiet as well... as I'm not too far from you, the same chicken rules should apply :newwink:

they grow Golden Comets, which are pretty hardy as far as weather goes and are VERY reliable brown egg layers... they're also easy to tell apart genderwise as chicks, so you shouldn't end up with a surprise rooster! :holy:
Pretty! I was just reading up on the whole sex-link thing, which is really cool and handy. Also, brown eggs seem to be really popular, so bribing neighbors into being happy about having a crazy lady nearby might work better with those. :laugh:

I thought there was some kind of local rule about having to buy at least 25 chicks at a time. Do you know if that's still the case or how the rule applies?

My neighbor gave me a monstrosity of a dog house that his son made in shop class years and years ago. My dogs won't go near it, but you're giving me ideas about converting it to my evil purposes. :yes:
 

miss fortune

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sounds like a plan! a bale of straw alone should make it quite cushy and comfortable for chickens! :yes:

we've bought chickens from local farmers before, so it was easy to choose whatever chickens we wanted, but the hatcheries that I've visited here let you buy however many you want- most of the limits apply to ordering by mail :)

those are the friendliest chickens I've met as well! :holy:
 

cafe

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sounds like a plan! a bale of straw alone should make it quite cushy and comfortable for chickens! :yes:

we've bought chickens from local farmers before, so it was easy to choose whatever chickens we wanted, but the hatcheries that I've visited here let you buy however many you want- most of the limits apply to ordering by mail :)

those are the friendliest chickens I've met as well! :holy:
Oh man. I'm excited. I'm planning on starting next spring and the hubby is being evasive about whether or not he's going to go for it. I'm going to have trouble not bugging him about it.

Edit: This is the dog house. Obviously it needs some TLC, but would something like that work if it had a door to keep out predators at night? What other modifications might it need besides adding straw? I would move it off the patio and onto a grassy area. Would it need to be raised off the ground or anything like that?

100_3066.jpg
 

bcvcdc

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just up the road from me lives a guy who has chickens. i could maybe talk to... oh snap, he only speaks czech and i wouldn't be able to understand anything he said anyhow. oh well. sorry i even brought it up.
 

cafe

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just up the road from me lives a guy who has chickens. i could maybe talk to... oh snap, he only speaks czech and i wouldn't be able to understand anything he said anyhow. oh well. sorry i even brought it up.
:laugh: Thanks for the thought. Maybe you could just scope out his set-up and report back. :popc1: :chicken:
 

PeaceBaby

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Chanteclers

Chanteclers are a very hardy bird; Wyandottes are too and a good dual purpose bird. :ninja:

Basically you want a chicken with a small or short comb for cold weather.

As far as heating, Shop The Coop.Com: Chicken Coop Heaters - works well for a small space, no danger of setting the coop on fire ...

And you could put a little pen with chicken wire on the front, for the summer and they can scratch up in the front. :)
 

Laurie

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My friend had a chicken and it ended up getting eaten by the neighbors dog. She wants to get her yard fenced in if she tries it again because of that. Her brother in law made this awesome, awesome coop, I can prob rips some pics of facebook.
 

cafe

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Chanteclers

Chanteclers are a very hardy bird; Wyandottes are too and a good dual purpose bird. :ninja:

Basically you want a chicken with a small or short comb for cold weather.

As far as heating, Shop The Coop.Com: Chicken Coop Heaters - works well for a small space, no danger of setting the coop on fire ...

And you could put a little pen with chicken wire on the front, for the summer and they can scratch up in the front. :)
That's a pretty chicken! And that heater looks nice. I am wondering how hard it is to make an adequate pen. I've seen some framed from pvc pipe that could maybe work. :thinking:

My friend had a chicken and it ended up getting eaten by the neighbors dog. She wants to get her yard fenced in if she tries it again because of that. Her brother in law made this awesome, awesome coop, I can prob rips some pics of facebook.
I've been reading that dogs can be a big problem. Sometimes I have trouble keeping my own contained and it's not unusual to see strays. I'm going to have to have something sturdy. I'd love to see the pics if they aren't too much of a pain to come by.


I'm also reading that it's not something you can really expect to break even on. I'm wondering just how much expense I can justify.
 

Laurie

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Their coop:
13638_1290528705170_1288825519_865606_2430007_n.jpg


Eggs they got:
18150_1349635462802_1288825519_1030676_7012121_n.jpg



This was a chicken that just showed up at their house one day. Would look through the basement windows. It was hilarious.

8519_1260273588811_1288825519_771735_1412226_n.jpg
 

cafe

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Nice coop and eggs! I am pretty sure the INTP won't be doing much beyond brief heavy lifting, but it's possible I could convince my ISTP dad to help with something. His motto is 'If you use a tool once, it's paid for itself.'

I guess word got out where the nice digs were!
 

Laurie

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That was her only chicken. They built the coop for it after it decided to start looking in their windows. It adopted them I guess.
 

cafe

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That was her only chicken. They built the coop for it after it decided to start looking in their windows. It adopted them I guess.
Wow. Nice family and smart bird.
 

ragashree

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Rhode Island reds are a good breed too, they're one of the best backyard general purpose breeds if you can get proper stock these days. They're tough, good foragers, healthy, and usually pretty friendly when treated properly, as well as being one of the most productive laying breeds of all (they're still used as a parent breed for the modern laying hybrids, I believe). The eggs are brown though, I prefer that personally, though I know not everyone likes it. They're big and can defend themselves better than most breeds too, which may help with the dog problem. They can be used for meat too, but they're long lived, a good pet breed and excellent layers, so eating them seems unnecessary unless you have more than you know what to do with. I personally think they look pretty nice too, here are some ladies:
2830837261_f39612883b.jpg
 

cafe

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Rhode Island reds are a good breed too, they're one of the best backyard general purpose breeds if you can get proper stock these days. They're tough, good foragers, healthy, and usually pretty friendly when treated properly, as well as being one of the most productive laying breeds of all (they're still used as a parent breed for the modern laying hybrids, I believe). The eggs are brown though, I prefer that personally, though I know not everyone likes it. They're big and can defend themselves better than most breeds too, which may help with the dog problem. They can be used for meat too, but they're long lived, a good pet breed and excellent layers, so eating them seems unnecessary unless you have more than you know what to do with. I personally think they look pretty nice too, here are some ladies:
2830837261_f39612883b.jpg
Pretty and I never thought I'd say this about a chicken, but there is a gleam of intelligence in those eyes. I think around here people pay extra for brown eggs. Long-lived is good. My youngest son is already asking me how long chickens live.
 

ragashree

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Pretty and I never thought I'd say this about a chicken, but there is a gleam of intelligence in those eyes. I think around here people pay extra for brown eggs. Long-lived is good. My youngest son is already asking me how long chickens live.

I think laying hens typically do about 5 or six years, maybe quite a bit longer if you're lucky and they're well cared for, which isn't too bad as chickens go, particularly considering they're almost egg laying machines for a lot of that period. They do indeed seem quite bright for chickens too, I know they usually recognise their owners and familiar people and distinguish them from strangers. That may be a problem if there are a lot of strangers around, but probably not so much with hens which are more docile anyway. I don't imagine a cock would go down so well in suburbia! :)
 

prplchknz

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I would love to keep a chicken, I have a balcony I wonder if I could fit a chicken coop on it, but i don't know if i have room honestly, but fresh eggs are so amazing. I should convince my parents to get a chicken they have room.plus it doesn't get as cold where they live.
 

cafe

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I think laying hens typically do about 5 or six years, maybe quite a bit longer if you're lucky and they're well cared for, which isn't too bad as chickens go, particularly considering they're almost egg laying machines for a lot of that period. They do indeed seem quite bright for chickens too, I know they usually recognise their owners and familiar people and distinguish them from strangers. That may be a problem if there are a lot of strangers around, but probably not so much with hens which are more docile anyway. I don't imagine a cock would go down so well in suburbia! :)
I think 5-6 years would be just about perfect, since my boy is going to be 12 before I even start, assuming I do.

We definitely can't have a rooster unless some silent breed exists. We don't even live in suburbia, or rather, this suburb got swallowed up by urban sprawl fifty years ago.

I would love to keep a chicken, I have a balcony I wonder if I could fit a chicken coop on it, but i don't know if i have room honestly, but fresh eggs are so amazing. I should convince my parents to get a chicken they have room.plus it doesn't get as cold where they live.

I am pretty sure it'd be possible to keep a chicken in an apartment with a balcony. You'd probably need something like a small rabbit hutch, I think.

ShowAltImage.ashx


This one is cute, but ungodly expensive:
OrangeEgluakaTruveysNorth-1.jpg
 

prplchknz

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yeah but we already have a grill and a flower bed in which the dog uses as his bathroom, especially in the winter when its too cold for him to go on walks, that's the down side of owing a chiuaua mix. they're not allowed outside when it's below 35f.
 
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