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Corie
02-22-2010, 10:14 AM
I have quite a few friends here in Rhode Island that have chicken coops
in their backyard!
(I didn't know anyone in Dallas with a chicken coop.)

Do you have a chicken coop on your property? Is it a lot of work?
How is the smell?

I find this very interesting and intriguing. Please tell me about it.

mecawa
02-22-2010, 10:45 AM
I don't have one, and am surprised you know so many who do, sort of. My relatives on my dads side who live in MA but kind of on the RI border had a chicken coop when I was growing up. I didn't live there so I couldn't tell you day to day how it was, but when visiting and playing with my cousins in the yard, I don't remember it smelling, I just remember it was a big deal to gather them all up and put them in their cage things at night so the coyotes didn't get them.

I could never have one, but I am not a big farm animal type of girl.

Meatball Mommie
02-22-2010, 11:00 AM
We do! It was my birthday present from the kids this past year ;)

My husband built it for me and I'd be happy to post or email a picture for you. We have 4 chickens and we get between 2 to 4 eggs daily (they slow down in the winter). We do live on a large property but the coop is actually very close to our neighbors. We've had them since August (the chickens came from my inlaws who keep a larger flock and had too many this year) and I LOVE THEM. Let me start by saying that I'm no farm girl (these are my first attempt at an animal besides a cat, dog or fish) but I do all the work associated with them. They are VERY easy to care for, honestly. I have an auto feeder (kind of like the one we had for our cat) and an auto waterer (but it freezes in the winter, so I have to given them fresh water every morning now). They eat these pellets that have no smell and come in large bags like dog food. I have cedar shavings in their roosting area and where they lay eggs and I completely clean it 1x per month and put clean shavings in. It really doesn't smell bad imo and I'm pretty sensitive...I think the more chickens you have, the smellier it will be. I give the chickens all our food scraps in the morning and they're gone by afternoon, so no smell there either. I let them out at 3:30-4ish daily (when I get home from work) and they free range around our yard until dusk. They go back into the coop on their own (they want to be there for safety) and I close the door once it's dark.

All in all, super easy...I'd recommend doing it to anyone with the slightest interest. Chickens are so easy! Plus the eggs are awesome!!!!! Way better for you, esp. if you let them free range...our yolks are practically orange!

p.s. I live in coastal MA.

Corie
02-22-2010, 11:15 AM
We do! It was my birthday present from the kids this past year ;)

My husband built it for me and I'd be happy to post or email a picture for you. We have 4 chickens and we get between 2 to 4 eggs daily (they slow down in the winter). We do live on a large property but the coop is actually very close to our neighbors. We've had them since August (the chickens came from my inlaws who keep a larger flock and had too many this year) and I LOVE THEM. Let me start by saying that I'm no farm girl (these are my first attempt at an animal besides a cat, dog or fish) but I do all the work associated with them. They are VERY easy to care for, honestly. I have an auto feeder (kind of like the one we had for our cat) and an auto waterer (but it freezes in the winter, so I have to given them fresh water every morning now). They eat these pellets that have no smell and come in large bags like dog food. I have cedar shavings in their roosting area and where they lay eggs and I completely clean it 1x per month and put clean shavings in. It really doesn't smell bad imo and I'm pretty sensitive...I think the more chickens you have, the smellier it will be. I give the chickens all our food scraps in the morning and they're gone by afternoon, so no smell there either. I let them out at 3:30-4ish daily (when I get home from work) and they free range around our yard until dusk. They go back into the coop on their own (they want to be there for safety) and I close the door once it's dark.

All in all, super easy...I'd recommend doing it to anyone with the slightest interest. Chickens are so easy! Plus the eggs are awesome!!!!! Way better for you, esp. if you let them free range...our yolks are practically orange!

p.s. I live in coastal MA.


Yes, I would love to see pictures!!!

Seriously, these eggs are the best eggs I've ever had!! And you're right about
the yolk color!

One of my friends got her chickens for Mother's Day last year. She loves them. :)
She is not a farm-kind of girl either.

lmwbasye
02-22-2010, 11:24 AM
Um...nope.

But, I totally wish. Too bad we move way too often. It's enough with the two cats and a dog.

Maybe when DH retires. 10 more years!!

wellyes
02-22-2010, 11:41 AM
My MIL has a chicken coop for many years now. Chickens generally last 1-2 years..... she loses a lot to predators because she gives the chickens free reign in her yard during the day (which is a good thing IMO). She's even see one being carried off by a hawk.

Each batch of chickens, suprisingly, always does stay in the bounds of her largish property.

The REAL key is only getting hens. Sometimes she has a rooster or two. They are loud & dominating (pecking cruelly to make wounds on the hens sometimes), and obviously they can fertilize the eggs... yuck.

billysmommy
02-22-2010, 11:44 AM
Karen ~ I would love to see pics too!!!

We've been debating about getting chickens for awhile now. My IL's have them and there is nothing better than the fresh eggs!!! This may be the spring we do it :)

caleymama
02-22-2010, 12:02 PM
We do! We got 5 day-old baby chicks last spring and they moved into the coop/run in June, I think. They were indoors (in the room over our garage) in the brooder until then. DH and I built the coop and enclosed it in a run area. They can't free range well here b/c of neighbors and predatory animals. The run and even the coop have been a bit of a work in progress and we have made many modifications. We do put them in our big fenced garden for hours at a time in the non-garden season (all kinds of fun stuff in there for them) as long as we're around to keep an eye on them. A few have flown out of it a couple of times, so DDs will be "chicken babysitters" while they play in the yard. Their run is enclosed on the top as well, to keep them in and to keep predators out.

I wouldn't say they are a lot of work, but there are definitely daily chores to be done for them, as well as things like cleaning the coop and changing out the bedding that are done less often. Their hanging feeder holds plenty of food, but we give them kitchen scraps almost every day and we have to change or replenish the water 1-2x a day. More in the winter b/c we're using a plug-in heated dog dish that doesn't hold as much water. We generally check for eggs 2x a day, once in the morning when we let them out of the coop (they are locked inside overnight) and then later on b/c not all of them lay first thing in the morning. In the late afternoon we check the water dish and then later in the evening we go out and lock them inside the coop after they've all gone in for the night. DH changes out their bedding every few weeks. They are not very loud (sometimes after one lays they "announce" it and that's loud but very brief) and not really smelly - if (g)you can deal with a cat's litter box you can deal with the chickens, IMHO. Honestly, caring for them gives a nice rhythm to the day :)

ETA some pics:
3 days old, a plymouth barred rock chick
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/justwatchingthemgrow/chickens/IMG_1827edit.jpg

all 5 in the brooder at 3 days old
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/justwatchingthemgrow/chickens/IMG_1799edit.jpg

all 5 venturing out of the brooder (on its side) into the run for the first time, 4 weeks 3 days old in all their adolescent chicken glory LOL
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/justwatchingthemgrow/chickens/IMG_2276.jpg

More in next post....

jenfromnj
02-22-2010, 12:14 PM
That's so cool--I wish we could have chickens! The zoning laws around here are pretty crazy though, so I think we'll be purchasing our eggs for a long time.

trales
02-22-2010, 12:16 PM
We are getting chickens this spring. I am working on the coop right now.

caleymama
02-22-2010, 12:17 PM
with my then 4.5yo DD at 5 weeks 3 days old
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/justwatchingthemgrow/chickens/IMG00619-1.jpg

All 5 fully grown in January
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/justwatchingthemgrow/chickens/IMG_4931.jpg

The eggs! On the left the 3 from the 3 Red Stars and the 2 on the right are from the 2 Barred Plymouth Rocks.
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/justwatchingthemgrow/chickens/IMG_4954_1.jpg

Plotting her escape... Just kiddin'
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/justwatchingthemgrow/chickens/IMG_4925.jpg

Corie
02-22-2010, 12:49 PM
Caleymama,

Your chicks are so cute! :) Would love to see more pictures of the coop/run!

Corie
02-22-2010, 12:50 PM
Two more questions...

how did you pick what variety of chicken to get?

And, where did you buy them?
I think my friend got her chicks from a mail-order catalog called Murphy's. (?)

Snow mom
02-22-2010, 12:54 PM
I've always wanted chickens, but our dogs wouldn't stand for it. I'm surprised you didn't know anyone in Dallas with chickens. We have at least two neighbors (within a few blocks) with chickens, and we are in central Austin.

caleymama
02-22-2010, 12:58 PM
Two more questions...

how did you pick what variety of chicken to get?

And, where did you buy them?
I think my friend got her chicks from a mail-order catalog called Murphy's. (?)

We ordered ours from mypetchicken.com (http://www.mypetchicken.com/). They hatched on a Monday and were peeping in a box at my post office Tuesday afternoon.

We knew we wanted a breed that could withstand cold temps okay. Some with bigger combs or other features aren't as cold hardy. So far the Red Stars and the BPRs are doing fine on that front. We also knew we wanted only hens so we narrowed it further to breeds where we knew we'd be able to get female chicks (some (most?) you can't tell right away).

Your friend may have gotten hers from Murray McMurray Hatchery (http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html), which is a popular hatchery. We wanted 5 or less and getting that small quantity was not possible from many of the mail order hatcheries we looked at. We considered some in person places like Tractor Supply and craigslist but ultimately went ahead and ordered from My Pet Chicken. I've since joined a local yahoo group for chicken owners and would have better leads this time, or could split an order.

I actually don't have much in the way of pics of the coop and run itself but I'll try to get some to post.

Corie
02-22-2010, 01:00 PM
I've always wanted chickens, but our dogs wouldn't stand for it. I'm surprised you didn't know anyone in Dallas with chickens. We have at least two neighbors (within a few blocks) with chickens, and we are in central Austin.


I don't think our Homeowner's Association would have allowed it.

Plus, the women where I lived in Dallas had a completely different mentality/
attitude than my RI friends. This is something that they would definitely NOT
be interested in doing!

I think it would be so cool though to have my own chickens. :)

Corie
02-22-2010, 01:03 PM
Your friend may have gotten hers from Murray McMurray Hatchery (http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html), which is a popular hatchery. We wanted 5 or less and getting that small quantity was not possible from many of the mail order hatcheries we looked at. We considered some in person places like Tractor Supply and craigslist but ultimately went ahead and ordered from My Pet Chicken. I've since joined a local yahoo group for chicken owners and would have better leads this time, or could split an order.




That's probably it!! I knew it started with an "M'. :)

Thanks so much for the info!

fivi2
02-22-2010, 01:24 PM
I've always wanted chickens, but our dogs wouldn't stand for it. I'm surprised you didn't know anyone in Dallas with chickens. We have at least two neighbors (within a few blocks) with chickens, and we are in central Austin.

:yeahthat: A few in our central Austin neighborhood, but my dog would not play well with them. I would consider it otherwise!

my MIL (elsewhere in TX) had some move into her yard one year. She didn't know where they came from and had a hard time getting them to leave (she didn't want them). They hopped the fence from somewhere! (MIL ended up moving, so I don't have an ending to the story...)

Meatball Mommie
02-22-2010, 02:20 PM
When I get home, I'll post some pictures of our coop/run. It's a really small set-up but we let them out in the afternoons and they don't complain ;)

We have RI Reds bc. that's what my inlaws had and they're the ones who gave them to us...they have had other varieties in the past incl. the Barred Rock like pp. We need cold tolerant varieties due to where we live, and we want good layers vs. fryers IYKWIM. Ours came from a mail order hatchery bc. inlaws get 25 every other year. Just in case you were wondering, they do stop laying after a couple of years and ours go to some people we know who are willing to do the dirty business (we don't eat our hens ourselves, mostly bc. I don't want to do the deed).

Our local Agway carries chicks around Easter every year, so people who want just a couple can buy them as chicks then. They usually only get 2 varieties but might special order another if there's enough interest to split an order of 50 up.

My inlaws also keep Guinea Hens, but they're very noisy and we don't use them for eggs. They are totally free range and roost in a tree near the barn at night. We have them to keep ticks and mosquitos at bay in the cow's pasture (they raise Scottish Highlander cows as a hobby).

Raidra
02-22-2010, 03:03 PM
Argh. I just had a nice long post written out, and lost it.

Day to day, especially in the warm weather, our 6 chickens are super easy to take care of. Let them out into their pen in the morning, give them food and water, close the door to the coop when they've put themselves to bed at night. When our garden is inactive, we let them free range the whole day. Otherwise, we let them out in the evenings when we're outside (trying to time it so they go back into their coop themselves rather than us trying to round them up). They will destroy the garden if left unattended.

Now that it's winter, my husband does most of the care because our backyard is an ice slick and I really don't want to slip and fall (which seems likely, with my center of gravity off a bit). We have a heat lamp in the coop so they don't freeze.

Pros - they're fun to watch, give us great eggs, it's fun to feed them scraps, their poopy straw (or whatever you use for bedding) is great in the compost pile, they're quiet, it's a good experience for the kids.

Cons - the only real con was that it was a huge pain in the butt to have them in the house when they were chicks. They shed this dust-dander that gets over *everything*, the brooder needed to be cleaned at least twice daily or it stunk, and ours started squabbling a little when they got bigger and were still stuck in the small brooder. We put them outdoors a little early, but with a heat lamp it was fine, we just didn't let them out into the pen.

My husband built our coop, but didn't get around to treating it before the cold/snow came, so it's kind of fallen apart this winter. We're hoping to buy one of the nice ones that our Agway sells and then build a chicken tractor that we can move to different parts of the yard as necessary.

My Pet Chicken has a great breed selector tool. Our Agway had neat little charts, too, to help us decide.. ours has about 6-8 different breeds and ducklings for a few months each spring.

Corie
02-22-2010, 03:15 PM
Rachel,

What kind of chickens do you have?

caleymama
02-22-2010, 04:30 PM
I took some quick pics of the coop & run this afternoon:

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/justwatchingthemgrow/chickens/IMG_5278-1.jpg

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/justwatchingthemgrow/chickens/IMG_5261.jpg

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/justwatchingthemgrow/chickens/IMG_5263.jpg

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/justwatchingthemgrow/chickens/IMG_5274.jpg

The coop itself is built using plans for an A-frame style coop/chicken tractor that we bought on ebay about 1.5 yrs ago. As the weather got colder and the chickens got bigger this fall, we enclosed the sides so that the whole thing serves as a coop, rather than just the nesting box part at the back (last pic). One side is solid and the other side has the two doors that can lift up. We need to paint the remainder red to match what we originally built this spring. DH hung a roost bar for them in the run (you can see it to the right in the first pic) and now they don't even use the ladder, they just fly up. The 2'x4' across the top of the run was a recent addition just this winter after our first snowfall - the netting over the top drooped under the weight of the snow but with the 2'x4' it's fine.

I'm a little embarrassed to post these because it's so grey and yucky looking right now. As soon as things green up it's much less eyesore looking and so much more vibrant. Come on spring!!

ETA: Here's (http://cgi.ebay.com/CHICKEN-TRACTOR-PLANS-COOP-Poultry-Ark-Homesteading-DIY_W0QQitemZ160403706127QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_Def aultDomain_0?hash=item2558ce510f) a link to the plans we purchased.

Raidra
02-22-2010, 05:11 PM
Rachel,

What kind of chickens do you have?

We have two Black Sex-Links, two Gold Laced Wyandottes, and two White Rocks. I think. The Wyandottes are my favorites, they're so pretty. Well, pretty for a chicken. :)

Toba
02-22-2010, 05:32 PM
LOL ... I thought this was a three page thread about that stupid Farm thing on FB!! All my friends seem to be interested in it, but it drives me nuts to see all the updates. Apparently a few of them are into the chicken coop phase right now.

My ILs had chickens in Maine. One was a very nasty rooster that used to chase us all around until it went after my nephew and my BIL had to "take care of it." I believe they only have females now, but they don't use them for eggs .... they kind of just roam around all day and then sleep in the barn at night. I have no idea why they have them or what their purpose is, in their case. I think owning chickens is kind of prerequisite for where they live. LOL

I have a question ... those eggs are BEAUTIFUL ... do you only get one a day from each chicken?

Meatball Mommie
02-22-2010, 05:58 PM
Rats, I cannot find my camera cord to download pics from my camera to my computer...so pics of our coop/chickens will have to wait until tomorrow. I can borrow my MIL's cord in the morning.

Anyway, we have our coop near our garden, so our free ranging will probably have to stop in the spring. I was thinking of moving the coop, but I really like it there...maybe I can get dear hubby to make a larger run ;)

4 chickens is a really good number...4 eggs per day leads to a lot of eggs in 1 week!!! I tend to give them to neighbors/friends during the summer time, but in winter, production slows down so it's just enough for our egg eating and cooking needs. (and to the pp, max 1 egg per day per chicken...they don't always lay every day either...slows down in winter and as they age). I take their eggs every afternoon when I let them out to roam the yard.

Even though I live in MA, I don't have any kind of heat in their coop. Where they sleep at night is pretty small and cozy and they just huddle together. I was lucky in that I didn't have to deal with them as chicks bc. FIL has a barn and kept all the chicks in this huge bin he has with a heat lamp. I just took 4 when they were close to egg laying age and brought them to our house.

We do have to be watch for predators. A hawk dive bombed the chickens one day when they were first out - I was right there and it came within a foot of me!! Scary!
Our biggest threat is raccoons though...they are so clever that they can even open latches! Our coop doors are double latched for that reason and we have the chicken wire buried in the ground about 4-6 in. The run is totally enclosed so nothing (hopefully) can get in. We have oppossum and coyotes here too, but they aren't a threat when the chickens are locked up.

Raidra
02-22-2010, 06:21 PM
We do have to be watch for predators. A hawk dive bombed the chickens one day when they were first out - I was right there and it came within a foot of me!! Scary!
Our biggest threat is raccoons though...they are so clever that they can even open latches! Our coop doors are double latched for that reason and we have the chicken wire buried in the ground about 4-6 in. The run is totally enclosed so nothing (hopefully) can get in. We have oppossum and coyotes here too, but they aren't a threat when the chickens are locked up.

Yeah, racoons are definitely a problem. We have lots of latches and buried chicken wire under the ground, too. We had something trying to dig in, but it never made it through.

kijip
02-22-2010, 06:29 PM
We share one with friends. The friends have a bigger yard and we split the cost and the work with them. We have 5 chickens total and that is enough, when it is not winter, for 2 families of 4 to eat a lot of eggs. The eggs range in color from pale blue green to dark brown. Excellent eggs. Excellent learning tool for kids.

caleymama
02-22-2010, 07:25 PM
I have a question ... those eggs are BEAUTIFUL ... do you only get one a day from each chicken?
Yes, most days. Most days we get 1 per chicken. Over the course of a week we average about 33 - a day or two a week we'll get 4 instead of 5. We share often with our next door neighbors (their yard is on the other side of the stone wall in the coop pictures) and friends and family.


Even though I live in MA, I don't have any kind of heat in their coop. Where they sleep at night is pretty small and cozy and they just huddle together. *snip*
We do have to be watch for predators. A hawk dive bombed the chickens one day when they were first out - I was right there and it came within a foot of me!! Scary!
Our biggest threat is raccoons though...they are so clever that they can even open latches! Our coop doors are double latched for that reason and we have the chicken wire buried in the ground about 4-6 in. The run is totally enclosed so nothing (hopefully) can get in. We have oppossum and coyotes here too, but they aren't a threat when the chickens are locked up.


Yeah, racoons are definitely a problem. We have lots of latches and buried chicken wire under the ground, too. We had something trying to dig in, but it never made it through.

No heat in ours either. We did add a piece of plexiglass over the hardware cloth on the coop door to keep out some of the cold air and drafts, but they all snuggle together and have been fine all winter. We do have the light strung up out there running from an outside outlet and we give them a little extra "daylight" each day during these short winter days, but it doesn't generate enough heat to be helpful.

B/c of concern about predators (same ones as you guys) we have hardware cloth buried all the way around and combination locks on the coop door and the nesting box. So far I haven't seen that anything has tried to dig in, but just a couple of weeks ago DH and I were walking down to check on them one afternoon and a big cooper's hawk dove down to the run. The chickens went absolutely nuts - total mayhem - and the hawk landed on the 2'x4' across the top of the run and just sat there. One of the chickens was so scared it managed to wedge itself way in along the far side the coop - between the coop and the chicken wire. DH and I were so startled and were glad we saw what it was b/c we sure would have wondered why that one chicken was stuck there!

Jo..
02-22-2010, 07:30 PM
I just got a copy of Urban Farm and have been looking into this. I would like to have 2-4 chickens but am worried about the work or initial cost. I'd also love to have some bees.

Corie
02-22-2010, 09:11 PM
I just got a copy of Urban Farm and have been looking into this. I would like to have 2-4 chickens but am worried about the work or initial cost. I'd also love to have some bees.

One of my friends who has chickens also has a beekeeper husband. She gives
me eggs and honey. She's a good friend.

Twoboos
02-22-2010, 09:21 PM
I do not have any chickens. But this thread is cracking me up. I live in MA but do not know anyone w/chickens - except all of you! I am going to be on the lookout for coops in the area, LOL.

Corie
02-22-2010, 09:25 PM
I do not have any chickens. But this thread is cracking me up. I live in MA but do not know anyone w/chickens - except all of you! I am going to be on the lookout for coops in the area, LOL.


At the next New England area moms meet-up, I'm expecting everyone
to bring me some eggs.

Indianamom2
02-22-2010, 10:11 PM
This cracks me up too...because there is NO WAY I would have chickens.

I grew up in very rural Delaware, where there are more chickens than people. Seriously, chicken farming is big business there. I don't think you can drive a square mile without seeing long chicken houses with tens of thousands of chickens. I thought that was normal until I moved to Indiana and there were no chicken houses.

There were chicken houses in any direction I could look from our house. The smells...the chicken trucks/catchers....the stray chickens that would escape only to get run over on the road...no thanks. I don't miss it.

bubbaray
02-22-2010, 10:16 PM
This cracks me up too...because there is NO WAY I would have chickens.

I grew up in very rural Delaware, where there are more chickens than people. Seriously, chicken farming is big business there. I don't think you can drive a square mile without seeing long chicken houses with tens of thousands of chickens. I thought that was normal until I moved to Indiana and there were no chicken houses.

There were chicken houses in any direction I could look from our house. The smells...the chicken trucks/catchers....the stray chickens that would escape only to get run over on the road...no thanks. I don't miss it.


This is us (though our city d/n allow chickens in residential areas). DH grew up with "pet" chickens and a rooster as his only pets -- his younger brother had allergies so they couldn't have other pets. He tells hilarious stories about going into the coop to "feed" and care for the "pets", armed with a garbage can lid and a broom! I can't do justice to his stories, but they are very funny. He had a lot of adjusting to do when we got our dog -- no garbage can lids or broomsticks involved, LOL.

Corie
02-22-2010, 10:29 PM
I just talked to my friend and I asked her again about her chickens.

She has 3 Plymouth Rock Barred or “barred rocks” and 3 Buff Orpingtons.

Meatball Mommie
02-23-2010, 02:07 PM
Our coop:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2694/4382683500_f28a7e7d7a_m.jpg
The foreground is our garden (definitely not pretty in the winter!)

A closer view:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4381923073_4b70422c52_m.jpg
The door is propped open to let the chickens free range for a bit (so when I took this pic, they were somewhere in our non-fenced yard - they don't stray far). You can see the auto feeder (red bottomed thingie that's actually hanging) and their water is in the small plastic container near the open door. They go inside at night and I just lock the main door (not the tiny one, although I have closed it when we had a nor'easter). I have pine shavings in there and I use the door w/ plexiglass to take eggs and clean it out. The box on the left that juts out from their enclosed area is a nesting box. We have to make some adjustments this spring because they were sleeping in it, not laying their eggs in it... It has a hinged lid that I was supposed to use to retrieve eggs, but the whole thing is currently blocked off waiting for spring.

Our chickens free-ranging in our garden in winter:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4381923781_e53456386b_m.jpg


Free-ranging in the fall:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4382682460_cbf1d856de_m.jpg

A close up of #1 (as I call her...I can't tell the difference between any of the 4, so instead of names, they are just #1, #2, #3 & #4 :p):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2767/4381922147_0ac315c296_m.jpg

Also, our eggs are brown. My FIL has had blue and even greenish ones before (the hen was a cross betw. those that lay blue eggs and one that lays brown).

Meatball Mommie
02-23-2010, 02:11 PM
I just got a copy of Urban Farm and have been looking into this. I would like to have 2-4 chickens but am worried about the work or initial cost. I'd also love to have some bees.

The initial cost is really in building a coop. The chickens themselves aren't expensive, nor are they expensive to keep. Their food is pretty cheap and we feed them our kitchen scraps (no onions or potatoes though). If you (or your SO) is at all handy, you can easily build one. I've even seen them made from old pallets before, but you can get really creative with their construction.

I would LOVE some bees and I've been looking into it. In a magazine I recently read about keeping them...I think it was either Mother Earth News or a homesteading mag, not sure. Someday...

Corie
02-23-2010, 03:38 PM
Karen!

Love the chicken coop!! :) Thanks for sharing your pictures!!

kayte
02-23-2010, 03:43 PM
I don't think our Homeowner's Association would have allowed it.

Plus, the women where I lived in Dallas had a completely different mentality/
attitude than my RI friends. This is something that they would definitely NOT
be interested in doing!

I think it would be so cool though to have my own chickens. :)

Actually I know several Dallas residents with chickens. There is always a mom or two trying to pawn off her eggs at DD's school.

The homeowner's associations here have lots of power but I have heard that chickens are a county ordinance, that over rides the homeowner's/ I have one friend who lives in here (in Dallas) saving her pennies for one of these. It's so adorable!

http://www.omlet.us/images/green_eglu_cube_intro.gif

http://www.omlet.us/products_services/products_services.php?view=Eglu%20Cube

BTW, We don't raise chickens but my BIL and SIL do.

lchang25000
02-23-2010, 04:56 PM
This cracks me up too...because there is NO WAY I would have chickens.



:yeahthat: My parents had chickens while growing up in Taiwan.

elephantmeg
02-23-2010, 05:09 PM
our neighbor has chickens and then we're next door to a chicken grower-the thousands of chickens type. I think they grown them from tiny to bigger. I would looooove to have chicekns. We have an acre of land so plenty of room. Once the kids get older...

Jo..
02-23-2010, 05:25 PM
I would LOVE some bees and I've been looking into it. In a magazine I recently read about keeping them...I think it was either Mother Earth News or a homesteading mag, not sure. Someday...

I really just want to provide a home for bees (to help them out, keep them around my garden etc). I don't really care about harvesting honey. Everything I look into online sounds like a HUGE deal as far as $ (boxes, protective equipment, etc).

I wonder if I should start an o/s thread about this.

Meatball Mommie
02-23-2010, 05:56 PM
I really just want to provide a home for bees (to help them out, keep them around my garden etc). I don't really care about harvesting honey. Everything I look into online sounds like a HUGE deal as far as $ (boxes, protective equipment, etc).

I wonder if I should start an o/s thread about this.

Well, you could certainly plant things around your house that bees like. That woud help them without much expense or equipment. I know what you mean - I want to keep bees because of all the things I hear in the news about their recent decline.

kayte
02-23-2010, 06:53 PM
I really just want to provide a home for bees (to help them out, keep them around my garden etc). I don't really care about harvesting honey. Everything I look into online sounds like a HUGE deal as far as $ (boxes, protective equipment, etc).

I wonder if I should start an o/s thread about this.

If you don't care about the honey, why not get some mason boxes? They are great pollinators.

Jo..
02-23-2010, 09:40 PM
If you don't care about the honey, why not get some mason boxes? They are great pollinators.

Okay this is WAY more up my alley. I ordered two bee houses from Gardener's Supply for $30 free shipping http://www.gardeners.com/Mason-Bee-House/37-481,default,pd.html

code MNA7085B

Sorry to hijack the chicken thread...BAWK!:D

dylansnan
02-23-2010, 09:57 PM
I really just want to provide a home for bees (to help them out, keep them around my garden etc). I don't really care about harvesting honey. Everything I look into online sounds like a HUGE deal as far as $ (boxes, protective equipment, etc).

I wonder if I should start an o/s thread about this.

I keep bees :boogie: it was about a $250 initial investment, and I did not have honey to harvest the first summer, but we'll see how next year goes.

The honey bee population is decreasing because of various diseases and mites- so the more beekeepers there are, the better :D

ETA I really want chickens but so far the SO has said no to that- maybe someday

Jo..
02-23-2010, 10:09 PM
dylansnan...I was looking into chicken tractors...you just move them around your yard, so no real cleaning involved, and they fertilize your yard a little bit at a time.

I even found sites devoted to converting old cl dog houses into chicken coops! So cheap!

My issue is, I want it to be really attractive if it is in my yard, and low maintenance, because I am super duper lazy. BUT I think I can keep two or three chickens, I just need to find a design I like that is CHEAP.

I can buy organic free range eggs for $3-$4 per dozen, and would want my chicken coop to pay for iteslf (less food) in one year or less. So, I am unwilling to spend more than $200 for initial setup...

Twoboos
02-23-2010, 10:20 PM
dylansmommy...I was looking into chicken tractors...you just move them around your yard, so no real cleaning involved, and they fertilize your yard a little bit at a time.



This reminded me of our meat CSA - they keep the chickens on an old school bus, and move it around so they can roam in different parts of the farm, but be safe at night. I always laugh envisioning someone driving the chicken bus.

Corie
02-23-2010, 10:22 PM
This reminded me of our meat CSA - they keep the chickens on an old school bus, and move it around so they can roam in different parts of the farm, but be safe at night. I always laugh envisioning someone driving the chicken bus.


Can you imagine a big yellow school bus in my backyard? :)

Raidra
02-23-2010, 11:51 PM
dylansnan...I was looking into chicken tractors...you just move them around your yard, so no real cleaning involved, and they fertilize your yard a little bit at a time.

I even found sites devoted to converting old cl dog houses into chicken coops! So cheap!

My issue is, I want it to be really attractive if it is in my yard, and low maintenance, because I am super duper lazy. BUT I think I can keep two or three chickens, I just need to find a design I like that is CHEAP.

I can buy organic free range eggs for $3-$4 per dozen, and would want my chicken coop to pay for iteslf (less food) in one year or less. So, I am unwilling to spend more than $200 for initial setup...

I don't know how likely it is that the chickens will pay for themselves, considering you have to feed and water them, if you need to pay for a permit, a heat lamp and the energy that uses, and so on. I mean, it's not expensive to keep chickens, but buying eggs at the store (even organic free range) is cheaper for us averaged out over the year. We give a way a lot of eggs in the summer, then have to buy eggs in the winter when they don't produce much.

We had a huge yardsale and used the profits to build our coop (about $300). Ours is huge, though, so if you only wanted 2 or 3 hens, you could do it for less.

I'm not trying to convince you not to get chickens, but if saving money is the only reason.. eh. :)

Jo..
02-23-2010, 11:59 PM
Saving money, controlling bugs, fertilizing my yard, having fresh organic eggs...I don't plan to raise them from babies. If I do, I will get too attached and keep them forever. Am hoping to find some grown or nearly grown chickens on CL.

vonfirmath
02-24-2010, 10:32 AM
There are a lot here in austin.

Our next door neighbor has one and it does NOT impress me that their chickens keep flying over the fence into our yard -- they will neither keep them cooped up nor clip their wings to prevent flying. *grrr*

We end up with chicken poop all over our son's outside toys.

Meatball Mommie
02-24-2010, 11:46 AM
I don't know how likely it is that the chickens will pay for themselves, considering you have to feed and water them, if you need to pay for a permit, a heat lamp and the energy that uses, and so on. I mean, it's not expensive to keep chickens, but buying eggs at the store (even organic free range) is cheaper for us averaged out over the year. We give a way a lot of eggs in the summer, then have to buy eggs in the winter when they don't produce much.

We had a huge yardsale and used the profits to build our coop (about $300). Ours is huge, though, so if you only wanted 2 or 3 hens, you could do it for less.

I'm not trying to convince you not to get chickens, but if saving money is the only reason.. eh. :)

Well, we didn't need to get a permit nor do we have a heat lamp (so no energy costs). Like I said, our cost was only in the coop itself (I think DH ended up spending $300 to build it, but that was his choice of materials, design, etc.). The feeder was like $30. The shavings and food are pretty cheap (don't know cost off the top of my head). The chickens were free to us. The longer we keep chickens (not the same ones, I mean have chickens that lay eggs) the more it will pay for itself, if that makes any sense. This year our cost is high because it's our first year, but after that, it decreases.

I'd like our coop to more more mobile. That was the original intent, but we were pretty worried about raccoons and also DH didn't know how much they would hurt the lawn with all their digging/scratching, so he was afraid to do a tractor-type.

I haven't had to buy eggs more than 2 times this whole winter, so not too shabby. We only use them on the weekends really and we can do without if need be. I think I bought some for Xmas cookie baking and I'll buy some at Easter (our eggs are brown, so not so good for dyeing eggs!)

Meatball Mommie
02-24-2010, 11:48 AM
Okay this is WAY more up my alley. I ordered two bee houses from Gardener's Supply for $30 free shipping http://www.gardeners.com/Mason-Bee-House/37-481,default,pd.html

code MNA7085B

Sorry to hijack the chicken thread...BAWK!:D


Cool! I've looked into this and maybe I'll ask for it for my bday this year. My dad always likes to get me garden/yard stuff! I didn't follow the link but do you have to buy the bees or do they just come to the house on their own? I get some seed catalogs and they sell Mason bee eggs (larvae?) in little plugs for their bee houses...

fivi2
02-24-2010, 11:49 AM
There are a lot here in austin.

Our next door neighbor has one and it does NOT impress me that their chickens keep flying over the fence into our yard -- they will neither keep them cooped up nor clip their wings to prevent flying. *grrr*

We end up with chicken poop all over our son's outside toys.

Sounds like you need an outdoor dog. or cat. :tongue5:

kayte
02-24-2010, 11:55 AM
Cool! I've looked into this and maybe I'll ask for it for my bday this year. My dad always likes to get me garden/yard stuff! I didn't follow the link but do you have to buy the bees or do they just come to the house on their own? I get some seed catalogs and they sell Mason bee eggs (larvae?) in little plugs for their bee houses...

I have one from here.... I opted for it instead of hanging one because of how windy it is where I live (they like to be still). It's mounted on a fence post in our yard. It's best that the hole face southeast.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41324531

You don't need to "seed" it unless you don't find them nesting in it after the summer.

I called my county extension office, they gave me more information than I can use! I suggest calling them!

vonfirmath
02-24-2010, 02:09 PM
Sounds like you need an outdoor dog. or cat. :tongue5:

We're in a rental and not allowed pets.

fivi2
02-24-2010, 02:13 PM
We're in a rental and not allowed pets.

lol - I was just being silly. It would be awful to have your neighbor's chickens hopping the fence. As I mentioned something similar happened to my mil and it was a huge pain. Sorry!

Carrots
02-24-2010, 02:36 PM
My parent's neighbors have a chicken they keep as a pet (I believe the chicken they had this summer was #6 due to raccoons) . He runs around in the street and yard all day.

The first time I saw it walking down the sidewalk I almost had a heart attack. Chickens in this city are rare. It has become a little spectical in the neighborhood. I remember stopping to watch him at his house to see how he walked up the front stairs. Very entertaining.

caleymama
02-24-2010, 04:10 PM
Okay this is WAY more up my alley. I ordered two bee houses from Gardener's Supply for $30 free shipping http://www.gardeners.com/Mason-Bee-House/37-481,default,pd.html

code MNA7085B

Sorry to hijack the chicken thread...BAWK!:D


I have one from here.... I opted for it instead of hanging one because of how windy it is where I live (they like to be still). It's mounted on a fence post in our yard. It's best that the hole face southeast.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41324531

You don't need to "seed" it unless you don't find them nesting in it after the summer.

I called my county extension office, they gave me more information than I can use! I suggest calling them!

I am SO excited! I am definitely getting one or two of these this spring. Thanks for the links. :D

Corie
05-14-2011, 08:02 AM
We are getting chickens this spring. I am working on the coop right now.


How is your chicken coop coming along? And did you ever get
your chicks?