Chickens?

(Ron) #1

I have been contemplating getting few chickens to have here at the house (I live in a residential area of a medium community) as it is allowed to have a personal use coop as per city code. Talking to a couple people that do this already, I thought I would get some advice. When I ask what they feed their chickens, a majority is food from the local feed store.
Curious, I went to the feed store and chicken feed consists of “you guessed it”… corn meal and grains.
How is this supposed to be better than what I can buy at the store other than I would know there were no drugs involved (unless it is in the feed)?

(Cheryl Meyers) #2

You should send an email to Jimmy Moore–he has about 16 chickens at last count on his podcast. Do you have room to let them scratch for bugs in the grass? (I’m just curious, not a farmer.)

(Jo) #3

I think the grains in the feed of the chickens are not so much the issue. I have 45 chickens and feed them organic, non-gmo feed, which is, I believe, regulated to be free from antibiotics and hormones, and the eggs are absolutely delicious - there is absolutely no comparison to store bought eggs. i also let them forage on about an acre and feed them green stuff every couple of days (also organic).

They have no access to grass, they live in a wooded area, but they dig for worms and other insects and get plenty of exercise. My thing is - if the chickens are happy they produce less stress hormones and the eggs are more healthy. There are also feeds that have added omega3 mostly in the form of fish oil or flax.

I feed bagged commercial feed that I get from Tractor Supply Store, not feed from the feedstore.

(ANNE ) #5

I keep a few chickens, and like the previous poster said, they are fed grains which are organic. But they range freely on grass and scratch around for insects, grub etc.
Chickens need a bit of space to stretch their legs and move around, the quality of their feed will all add to their health and well being, and the quality of their eggs.
BTW you do not need a rooster/cockerel especially in an urban area, the boys are super noisy…
Good luck, and if you get the chance watch the animation ‘Chicken Run’…

(Jo) #6

Oh yea, tell me about it. I have three! But I am not in a (sub)urban setting, I’m on top of a mountain with a lot of predators around so the roosters are useful in keeping the hens safe. They take turns looking around for danger, including from up in the sky and sound the alarm if a hawk is circling above. All the hens run to the henhouse to hide and come out only after the roosters gives the all-clear sign.

So there is a use for roosters in some settings, probably less so in suburbia where neighbors may take offense at roosters crowing at all hours of the night and day.

Oh boy, now you’ve done it. You got me talking about my chickens!!! Here’s some pictures.
Here’s the eggs:

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And the chickens:

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(Doug) #7

Jo, love the colors of those eggs, and that is a great story - didn’t know they were that advanced as far as protecting the flock.

(Jo) #8

Oh yes, they have a sophisticated hierarchical social system as well. Lots of fighting to get to the top, but never to the point of hurting each other. I also have a policy that the biggest bullies will make delicious chicken stock.

I have fortunately never had roosters attack me, but I do teach them from little chick (once I know they are boys) who’s boss and if they don’t accept that fact, they go into the pot. I had one who I named “Stew” and when he was big enough to yield a meal, he was dispatched by me personally, and given how much trouble he had given me, it was strangely satisfying to eat him. :slight_smile:

(Doug) #9

:smile: and :smile:

Our family had chickens in the 1970s, on the same farm where my dad still lives. The main problem was raccoons - the surrounding area is heavily wooded, and there’s a never-ending supply of them. At certain times of the year, the woods would be full of their sounds, snarling, hissing, chittering away. A raccoon is a smart and determined animal; relentless, really. Once they know there are eggs and chickens, it’s a struggle.

We also had ducks. Made a dam on our little creek so they’d have a pond. We loved watching 8 or 9 fuzzy ducklings following the mother duck around. Our ducks were somewhat unpredictable - one might take offense to something, and you’d have a squawking beast fast-waddling at you. Or - and this was apparently in the hands of the gods - on a given day the herd mentality would take over, and they’d all come running at you. Hilarious.

(Jo) #10

Yes, we sit sometimes and just watch the flock, it’s called “Chicken TV”. Very relaxing. They’ll come running at us and when they find out we have nothing for them to snack on they’ll just start foraging around us, and the occasional one may jump onto my lap for some personal petting time.

#11

I thought about getting some too. All my neighbors have them and I hear all the noise from them, so might as well have some too :stuck_out_tongue:

(Ron) #12

Thanks for all the responses. Think I am going to give it a try.:face_with_raised_eyebrow::crossed_fingers:

(TJ Borden) #13

That’s one of the things that concerns me. My wife wants to get chickens, but I know she’d get attached and not handle it well when it comes time to… dispatch them, to send them to the skillet in the sky.

(Jay Patten) #14

I used to keep about 50 +/- hens at a time. Is there a way to private message somone on this forum? Too much info to write in this post…

(TJ Borden) #15

There is, but many of us are interested, so go for the long post.

(Tina Emmons) #16

Funny, I was only thinking eggs! They’re the best and slaughtering and plucking are gross! Had to do it as a kid. Plus we have so many great options for meat in the stores now. Get her a few for the yummy eggs! They are awesome to have in the yard too!

(Brian) #17

I’m interested in what you might be thinking, too! The biggest flock I had was about 60 or so laying hens. But that was like 20 years ago and in a different part of the country. I’ve been thinking of getting some more hens but have a friend just a few miles down the road who has chickens he treats really good and feeds better than probably 99% of chickens out there… he sells me eggs for $1.75/doz. It’s hard not to just continue that relationship as long as it lasts. (He’s getting up in years and I suspect it won’t be that many more for his little chicken operation.)

(Jo) #18

I also raise batches of meatchickens, but not cornish cross, but a breed that is a little bit less overbred. They are called freedom rangers or Red Rangers and they are more active than cornish cross, which results in meat with a bit more bite to it. Those don’t jump in my lap and I have no names for them. I bring them to a butcher to be butchered. Can do it myself but for a small fee per bird I can have someone else have the mess! I usually only get boys because they grow bigger.

#19

I’m jealous, my douche county doesn’t let us have chickens on the side of it I live on, to be fair from my back porch I’m against 6 neighbors and we have smaller lots (.25acre) but still. I want eggs damnit! It’s a fight every year to get that passed. I gotta look back into that crap.

(TJ Borden) #20

Call them service animals.

(GINA ) #21

I have 5 hens. If chickens are let out, be aware they will destroy any vegetation that is near them. I had flowers and vegetables, then I had nothing. I put up a light fence around an area for a garden, and it worked to keep the chickens out, until the d@mn rabbits chewed through the fence and the chickens followed them through the holes. I patched them up, then new chew holes. It took a few weeks, but then there was no garden.

I still :heart: them though, so now we are getting a more expensive chew-proof fence and I am starting the garden again. They are only a couple of years old, but when they stop laying I’ll be running an old chickens home.