Urban Chickens

[Special K]

Annecros, I don't think anyone else has mentioned the book "Still Life with Chickens," by Catherine Goldhammer. I'm about halfway through it and it's a hoot!

[Tri2Cook]

So this is actually about chickens? I thought city chickens were pigeons.

[annecros]

Oh man, this homemade coop/chicken tractor thing has turned into a monster project. We've already made mistakes that we will not repeat in the future. I think we will be consuming $50 eggs. Oh well, at least they will be MY eggs!

Roofing material? Hubby says shingles, but surely that will be too heavy. We put plywood on there secured with bolts and wing nuts for easy removal, and painted it, but that won't make it through the rainy season.

I just wish he had looked at some of the plans out there before he started, but no. $200 later at Home Depot, and we don't even have a chicken in residence yet!

Will they be selective about the weeds in the yard? I don't want them sick on me after all this. Oh, and the city says I can have all the ducks I want! I may branch out into other fowl next Spring.

[DerekW]

Oh man, this homemade coop/chicken tractor thing has turned into a monster project.

Here's a link to a page of pictures of other peoples "chicken tractors", good and well... interesting.

Roofing material?...plywood ... won't make it through the rainy season.

There's plywood and plywood. We build boats out of it. If you used decent stuff and it's painted adequately then you may be pleasantly surprised at how long it lasts.

That said, the nice chap next door has had his chooks in pens made from scrap pallet lumber for a good while now -

... the city says I can have all the ducks I want!...

Mmm Duck. Mind you, I'm confident enough that I'd be able to administer the coup de grace to a chicken; I'm not so sure that ducks wouldn't be able to play the 'cute' card too effectively for me.

[BarbaraY]

Something to note. As I said above my girls were getting into my neighbor's garden so I have to keep them penned. We are working on getting the yard expanded.

In the meantime the eggs have gone from Lg./ExLg to small. They really miss running free. I throw them leaves and such but they seem to know the difference.

[sparrowgrass]

I am getting ready to do some major investing in my chicken raising enterprise. I want to fence my garden (50' by 50') which adjoins my chicken yard. I will put a gate into the existing chicken yard, so that I can allow the chickens to run in garden during the winter.

I have tried letting the girls run free, but it just doesn't work well for me. They do too much scratching to be compatible with a pretty yard. I have a lot of elevation changes in the yard and they seem to find the places to dig that will cause the most soil to wash into places I don't want it. I am tired of shoveling and sweeping soil and mulch back into place and replanting uprooted perennials.

Having the chickens in the garden in the winter will allow them to eat weeds and weed seeds, and take care of the bugs and bug eggs. I also put every leaf I can collect into the chicken yard in the fall and winter--with the new setup, they can compost even more leaves into nice soil. Folks here still burn their leaves--I could put an ad in the paper offering to collect bags of leaves, and maybe the air would be a little cleaner.

This won't happen til fall, but in the meantime, I will be thinking about all the viney, twiney plants I can put along the fence next year--clematis, black-eyed susan vine, scarlet runner beans. . . . . .

[PopsicleToze]

Hubby had the good sense to look up our local ordinance, and we can keep up to 10 chickens as pets as long as they are penned and do not breed. Fine with me. I don't have much use for roosters. They don't lay eggs.  

←

It's been a long time since we had chickens and I have forgotten just about everything except how nasty they can be (hopefully, yours will be nicer than the ones we had). However, I think the rooster is necessary if you want to have eggs. Isn't it??

[Nyleve Baar]

Roosters are absolutely not necessary unless you want fertile eggs. Without a rooster, hens will lay just as many eggs but they won't hatch. As for being nasty, some roosters are evil and others are lovely. Some of this is breed related (avoid the Columbia Cross - or similar name - they're really aggressive). But big dufus-ish Standard Cochins are so mild-mannered that they can be bullied by tiny little bantam roosters.

To the day she died, my mother would remind me that she bore a scar on her leg where our big nasty rooster attacked her. I think she was actually sort of proud of it since none of the other residents at her Miami seniors home had access to any poultry that wasn't cooked.

[annecros]

The girls are here!

Three lovely Buff Orpington pullets. We settled on them because they were incredibly docile - not flighty at all, even after being scooped up in a net and handed off to a stranger. They actually like to be petted.

We put them in the coop, before the hour was out they were out in the run and foraging. Went to roost like the good girls they appear to be. Hubby has been assigned picture taking duties this weekend.

I'm in love!

[annecros]

Oh wow, he took some snaps last night! We put the run over an old tomato patch. They appear to be making short work of it. Maybe after photos later.

When they first found the feed, I love the powderpuff bottoms:

Discovering tomato:

I think I'll call her Mona:

Chilling out by the home made waterer and coop:

There is much that is makeshift (redneck) about the coop and run. The ladies seem fine for now, but we have improvements planned. The goal was to make it safe and comfortable for the chickens, but not break the kids.

[nakji]

Congratulations on your new additions! You run isn't at all "redneck" - Chickens are trendy now! Even The New York Times has an article today about raising chickens, "Don't Cluck, Don't Tell", discussing city ordinances that allow urban livestock. Hens and goats get a pass from many municipalities, but roosters seem to be a cock-a-doodle-don't.

[annecros]

Congratulations on your new additions! You run isn't at all "redneck" - Chickens are trendy now! Even The New York Times has an article today about raising chickens, "Don't Cluck, Don't Tell", discussing city ordinances that allow urban livestock. Hens and goats get a pass from many municipalities, but roosters seem to be a cock-a-doodle-don't.

←

They just aren't that hard to keep. We bought a 50lb bag of layer crumbles for about $15 bucks - that should keep the ladies fed for some time. Especially if I can keep them ranging enough. I'm keeping the feed in a metal garbage can to keep from attracting rodents. They are very quiet (I was reminded when I was at the breeders why roosters are undesirable in an urban environment), certainly not as irritating as a barking dog.

When you think about people with exotic pets, it doesn't make any sense to prohibit people from keeping a couple of laying hens.

[Magictofu]

Would love to hear more about the instalation. My partner and I would love to have a few chicken in our backyard but wonder about the best way to house them quietly so that neighbours don't complain to the city.

[annecros]

Would love to hear more about the instalation. My partner and I would love to have a few chicken in our backyard but wonder about the best way to house them quietly so that neighbours don't complain to the city.

←

Have you checked your local ordinances?

My husband did that for me when he and the kids were plotting this adventure. I know they vary widely, and if it is forbidden I would then consider.

[Magictofu]

The regulations are quite ambiguous. You can have up to three domestic animals (including birds) but no farm animals which are defined as "animal usually found on a farm". I don't think that I want to test whether chicken can be considered domestic animal in court.

My great grandmother used to keep chicken in the basement of her house a few decades ago... not sure I want to go that way either.

[Dianabanana]

Do the chickens need tending every day? We spend about two weekends a month away from home, and I am wondering if it would be possible to leave them with a supply of food and water, or if I would have to arrange for someone to come look in on them. I have wanted chickens for years and this thread has got me thinking about it again!

[annecros]

I would want to have them looked in on every day, twice a day would be better. They are, for want of a better word, kinda stupid about some things. They are a domesticated animal, and very dependent. They are too smart for their own good in other ways. Our smallest one, Maybelline, already aspires to be an escape artist. Have to watch that one.

Maxime, have you spoken to the neighbor's about it yet? A couple of hens that are well kept really are no bother to anyone. I think if your neighbors are open to it, and you make clear what your plans are, the animal control people would have much better things to do that hassle you about a couple of chickens. There are some "stealth" chicken keepers out there on the internet, but I'm not sure it is worth that much effort.

I highly recommend chicken keeping. I thoroughly enjoy my mornings out there with them. In the evenings, hubby and I take our cocktails out back and watch the antics. Last night was some leftover egg noodles and about an hour's worth of chicken "keep away" games.

[Magictofu]

I did talk to my neighbors, most were quite excited about having a few fresh eggs once in a while. I still need to resolve one problem though: what to do with my chicken in the winter? I don't think they could survive the kind of winter we have here and I am convince adding a light bulb in the coop would be enough.

[annecros]

Well, since I am in the tropics, some of the other chicken keepers here will have to help you out with wintering.

I have seen pictures of them out in the snow, though - and do know that they are commonly kept in your climate. I think the "deep litter" method is especially useful in cold climates, if I recall correctly.

Right now my problem is the heat. The rainy season hasn't kicked in yet to cool off the afternoon temps. I am freezing water in soda bottles now for them to sit on in the heat of the day!

They are already spoiled.

[sparrowgrass]

I often leave mine alone for a weekend. I have a big feed hopper that holds about 25 pounds of feed, and a large rubber water tub. I don't even worry about the eggs--if I am gone 3 days, I feed them to the dogs or back to the chickens, but the eggs are perfectly edible even after two days in the nest. (After 3 days, if they have been fertilized and incubated, they begin to develop blood veins, and look yucky.)

MagicTofu, if you want to raise chickens in a cold climate, get heavy birds with small combs. Chickens can stand a lot of cold, but their combs might freeze at below zero temps. Some people put vaseline on the combs to help protect them. Check out the catalog at Murray McMurray to figure out which ones are heavy.

The most important thing about keeping chickens in the winter is to make sure their house is not damp. They actually do better in a slightly airy house than one that is sealed tight against the cold. Dampness will make them sick. You also need to make sure that they have plenty of food at all times, so they can keep themselves warm. A thick layer of straw on the floor of the house helps, as does having a house sized to the number of chickens you have--if you only have a couple they need a small house so their body heat doesn't get lost.

You can buy a water heater for the water tub for about 30 bucks--worth every penny.

[Nyleve Baar]

I did talk to my neighbors, most were quite excited about having a few fresh eggs once in a while. I still need to resolve one problem though: what to do with my chicken in the winter? I don't think they could survive the kind of winter we have here and I am convince adding a light bulb in the coop would be enough.

←

I live in Ontario too - ok, not brutal Ottawa, but still rural and COLD in the winter. Chickens do quite well, thank you very much. I give them hot water morning and afternoon, so they get a nice warm drink. And we've never, to my knowledge, lost a single bird to the cold. Agreed, smaller combs don't frostbite as badly, but really, it's never been a big problem. A single light bulb is plenty of heat, if you're worried. We never even bother with that. Just make sure your coop is well insulated and the body heat of a bunch of birds will keep it warm.

[annecros]

To anyone considering this, I highly recommend keeping a couple of chickens if you are able.

I do have to revise earlier remarks about them being sort of stupid. They really aren't - they are highly adapted to the living conditions that make their lives possible. They behave in ways that the canine or feline wouldn't - but hey, they're birds.

I think about my store bought chickens and eggs entirely differently now. Those anonymous chickens living out a miserable life in factory conditions make me sad. I almost can't stand to eat them when I think of the pleasure that the girls take in scratching, running and living a life.

Very social creatures. As soon as I hit the door (and there is no understanding how they tell the difference between my husband walking out the back door or myself - but the girls know) they are there calling to me. And of course I call back. "Chook Chook" works better than "Chicky Chicky". Or at least with my girls it does. There is so much structure, and individuality, in the barnyard.

Raising a few for meat makes more sense to me now. At least I will know that the creature had the best life I could give it. And, believe it or not, they are some of the easiest pets I have ever kept.

Oh, and lots of treats. Chickens love themselves some treats. They're rotten, and I haven't gotten the first egg yet. But the ladies are beginning to look like young ladies now, and not small dinosaurs. Actually, there is a lot of eye candy there.

Now I wish I could have a rooster.

[annecros]

I did talk to my neighbors, most were quite excited about having a few fresh eggs once in a while. I still need to resolve one problem though: what to do with my chicken in the winter? I don't think they could survive the kind of winter we have here and I am convince adding a light bulb in the coop would be enough.

←

You have gotten a lot of good advice. The only thing I can add is that chickens are so very well adapted to being kept that they will surprise you at several turns.

We just revised our Hurricane Plan to account for the chickens. They have a reserved space in the garage. They will hate it - but not as bad as they would hate it outdoors!

I'll talk sweet to them. They'll be fine, if it comes to that.

[DerekW]

Our girls arrived today:

One Americauna and two feathery footed ones - I don't recall the breed name.

It's dark out there now, and they don't appear to have found their way "upstairs" to the roosting perch. Hopefully they'll settle in soon.

[annecros]

That's a cool looking setup you have there Derekw. Is that a tractor? How easily is it moved? Good looking birds, they look to be older than my girls. Are they already laying? Give them a treat for me - mine were introduced to watermelon during the heat of the day yesterday.

We've given up on moving my husband's coop around the yard (I told him so ) and now I just open the run in the AM and let them free range the fenced back yard during the day. We did clip the flight feathers before turning them loose, and they still haven't forgotten that insult, but are really enjoying the ranging. They still consider the coop home, always come to the run when called (because that's where I treat them), and are in and out of the run and coop all day.

I am going to have to fence my vegetable plots in the back from now on though.