Thread: Chickens?

We kept chickens when I was a child. One problem was keeping them in bounds- they can slip out of many kinds of fencing, hence, chicken wire. Wherever you keep them, they will be messy- they crap all over everything. We didn't have many- I think perhaps 15. They ate the same stuff our horses did and we usually didn't have much in the way of chicken feed. I don't remember how much- it has been nearly three decades ago now.... I do not recollect them making interesting pets- most were rather stupid and the roosters would attack people occasionally.

Not much practical advice there, but it might get someone else to talking....

My mom adopted the Easter chicks from the local library each year. All we did was set them loose in the barn, show them where the food and water was, and they stayed around until something ate them. The hens will lay anywhere and they do create a lot of crap! Chicken scratch shouldn't be too expensive - it's just cornmeal with maybe some extra nutrients thrown in - and they get a lot of bugs and stuff, too. We liked to throw them bits of stale bread every so often. They don't make good pets if you're looking for something to replace your dog but they can be interesting to watch at times.

I'm probably a bit late in replying now!! I used to have chickens and I LOVED them, so I'm quite passionate about this subject.
If you are getting them for the purpose of having fresh eggs, don't go for the fancy breeds. Just the average "point of lay pullets" are the best layers. You can get some fancy chickens too, because some are really quite beautiful, but they usually don't lay quite as well.
Leghorns are good for egg laying, as are New Hampshires. But apparantley New Hampshires are quite rare in some places.... Silkies are pretty little things, and are quite good layers for a showy chicken. Frizzles are gorgeous!

Now, to your questions:

How much time do they take?

Depends; chicks are harder to take care of compared to if you buy pullets. Having the right sort of environment is important too. But once you have your cages area set up, it's pretty much done. You just need to change the straw and bedding reguarly, check for mites or lice, and refill their food and water.

How much do you spend on feed?

Back when we had them it was quite expensive. We'd buy the chicken feed that helped them lay eggs. But we'd also give them kitchen scraps, and I'd make porridge for them in winter. (I really loved them!) We let them out daily for a scratch around in the gardens, which is important for them too, so they can top up their nutrients. Not sure what it's like in your area, but chicken feed here in Australia is pretty pricey.

Are they interesting to have around, or just "bird brains"?
They are verrrry interesting. Well, I think so. I think they are quite intelligent. I had a little leghorn, named Buffy (yes, they all had names). I nursed her to health when she was a critically ill chick. She always remembered me, knew my voice, and even knew my step. My little sister would head to the chicken pen, and they would hear her and panic (she was a rough toddler!). The chickens would hear my step and would relax, and come running to the door. Buffy would stand still so I could pick her up, then she would fall asleep in my arms.
They are just really relaxing and interesting animals to watch.

What breeds do you like?

I like the Silkies, Frizzles and Pekin. They are very pretty. Buffy was a leghorn, and a pretty chicken too, but other leghorns are pretty ordinary. New hampshires are huge birds, and lay huge eggs. Ours was pretty broody though and wouldn't lay often.

Anyway, hope this answers your questions. They are rewarding, interesting pets to have. They can make a mess, and you have to be consistent in keeping up their food, water and hygeine, but that is like most pets.
Let me know how things go

Sushi

You must see if your neighbour has a cat

Never had chickens, but I did have a big aivery at one stage .It was horrible. We had quails who hid their eggs in the sand to go rotten, and you would stand on one not knowing .So so gross. It was also a nightmare to keep clean and tidy. Of course, this may have been because I was 10 at the time... I swore off outside birds and aiverys then and there. I decided that I wanted birds as pets rather than as something noisy in the back yard.
I have to admit though, that I have thought about chickens, but I hate chicken poop because it is all runny and icky. Also bear in mind if they'r ein your back yard, chances are they will fly to the top of the washing line to show off and to poop on your clean clothes.
I think if you have the space and time and willing to care for them they can be really good. And really cute and funny to watch. But they are a bit of work.

You can tell how often I don't stop in to talk about pets...It's June and I just saw this! ops:

I keep chickens. I currently have 6 hens and 1 rooster; they free-range on my 6 acres.

I've found keeping chickens to be easy. They don't take much time.

I like to give them plenty of space. The less space, the more time they will take, and the more conflicts in the flock.

If you are wanting to keep them penned up, they will need a shelter to roost in; one that is ventilated, but that you can close the door. They like to roost above the ground, so provide them with something to roost on. I've used tree branches and poles of various sizes. Currently, my chickens roost on a pole about 2" in diameter; there was an old goat pen on my place built with them, and I saved a couple for roosts when I tore it down.

Give them as much room as possible outside that coop. The more room they've got, the healthier they are and the less they pick on each other.
You'll probably want to clip their wings to keep them from flying over fences. You can make a fence around their pen really high, and cover it with a "roof" of chicken wire, which protects them from hawks and owls, or you can just make a fence about 4 feet high and clip their wings. The shorter fence is easier for larger areas.

They will need a waterer; I use a 5 gallon, and empty and fill it once a week. Look at a feed store to find one. An open pan of water will be fouled quickly, so you want one made for chickens.

I feed mine every day. I was using a bulk feeder, filling it only when it emptied, but the extra food attracted packrats, so I feed them once a day. A 50 lb bag of food lasts me about 3 weeks on average; longer in the summer, less in the winter when there is nothing for them to find on their own. That bag of feed costs me about $11.00. If you don't want your flock to reproduce itself, you don't need a rooster, which will lower your food cost.

I clean out the coop twice a year. My chickens free range all over the place, so the only place I really have to clean is under the roost; the rest quickly breaks down where ever it falls.

Free ranging keeps the cost of food down, and keeps the flies and other insects under control.

They need a place to lay; nesting boxes. Hens prefer a "hidden" place, so a whole "box" to hide in is good. Keep it filled with clean straw. Depending on how many hens you keep, you don't need more than 1 or 2; the hens prefer to use the same nest.

When a hen shows signs of being "broody," I will let her set the eggs once a year. I can eat the young roosters, and the young hens keep my flock laying regularly, since the older hens don't lay as much as the younger. If I get too many hens, I give a few away. If you are planning to keep them for their lifetimes, be prepared to have too many eggs in the first few years, tapering down to fewer eggs each year. That's why I allow mine to hatch out a few chicks each year. They are "adopted" into the flock naturally, and 1 or 2 young hens a year keep the egg laying constant.

You can put lights on a timer in their coop, that will come on early and go off late, to keep them laying over the winter. Day length triggers abundant laying, and also restricts laying during the winter. They will stop laying when they moult, and then start up again. My hens lay an egg 2 days out of 3 in the summer, and 2 out of 4 in the winter. How many you want depends on how many eggs you need. I give a lot of eggs away in the summer!

I like heavy breeds that can be used for both meat and eggs. They are calmer, too. Right now I have a mixed flock of Buff Orpingtons, Australorps, Wyandottes, and a couple of easter-eggers because I like the green eggs. Most of the chicks sold as auracanas or americanas are really mixed breeds that retain the egg color. I also like the dark chocolate colored eggs laid by Marans, although I don't currently have any, and the Brahmas.

I find the clucking and scratching to be soothing and pleasant to be around.