I would love to have more info on keeping urban chickens. We are allowed to keep them where we live, but they have to be contained within their coop and run. No roosters either. I would love advice on size of coop, quiet and friendly breeds, etc.
Thank you for all the helpful information. I buy eggs from friends who have chickens. I live in a subdivision and do not have a privacy fence. Probably not in the cards for us to have chickens.
Had chickens for a while. Sister game me a German Short Haired Pointer puppy. Her neighbors were very close and threatened to harm the dog due to his constant howling while she was at work. So I got him. The breed is a bird dog for hunting. He kept catching our chickens and bringing them to us like a GSP breed does. No more chickens ! My neighbors both tried chickens but foxes, rackoons and hawks got them all. The coons are very smart and can get into the smallest hole. He even dug the fence down deep and put fishnet over the pecking area. Again, no more chickens are clucking around here ! And my experience with coons is they don't eat the chickens like a fox or hawk would. They seem to just kill them for fun ! Very strange indeed !
I really enjoy reading your posts, but I get envious of your lifestyle😁. The research and time you put into your posts is very appreciated and educational! You make it look easy!
Do you raise any chickens for butchering? If I raise chickens this summer I will be in the same position as Caitlin. I want egg layers…Thanks!
Great information. I love your blog. I have a neighbor who has 5 chickens (supposedly, therapy chickens) but they are not allowed to be kept because of property size as per our county. He has taken them inside to become house chicken to avoid the rules. Is that possible to keep the chickens in a coup in a house? Does that effect their health? I know just the mess and smell alone would want me to put them outside again. Please give some insight. Thank you, Renee
I've kept chickens for 14 years in an urban backyard coop, covered as we have eagles and hawks, and racoons and minks: doesn't sound like an urban area, but it is! It is expensive for me, as i buy organic food for them, and would be much cheaper to buy organic eggs from a farmer or the grocery store. But a big draw for me, and one i didn't see posted in the article, is the amount of chicken manure, mixed with hay, when i clean out their coop every 2 or 3 weeks, and add it to the compost for my urban veg garden. Of course i let it age before using, so my plants don't burn. Each chicken supplies me with 2 cubic feet of manure every year.
I would love to have more info on keeping urban chickens. We are allowed to keep them where we live, but they have to be contained within their coop and run. No roosters either. I would love advice on size of coop, quiet and friendly breeds, etc.
Thank you for taking the time to prepare and share these wonderful resources - especially now, with the growing problems regarding food... You rock!
Thank you for all the helpful information. I buy eggs from friends who have chickens. I live in a subdivision and do not have a privacy fence. Probably not in the cards for us to have chickens.
Good to know 😌
Had chickens for a while. Sister game me a German Short Haired Pointer puppy. Her neighbors were very close and threatened to harm the dog due to his constant howling while she was at work. So I got him. The breed is a bird dog for hunting. He kept catching our chickens and bringing them to us like a GSP breed does. No more chickens ! My neighbors both tried chickens but foxes, rackoons and hawks got them all. The coons are very smart and can get into the smallest hole. He even dug the fence down deep and put fishnet over the pecking area. Again, no more chickens are clucking around here ! And my experience with coons is they don't eat the chickens like a fox or hawk would. They seem to just kill them for fun ! Very strange indeed !
I really enjoy reading your posts, but I get envious of your lifestyle😁. The research and time you put into your posts is very appreciated and educational! You make it look easy!
Do you raise any chickens for butchering? If I raise chickens this summer I will be in the same position as Caitlin. I want egg layers…Thanks!
I just did ducks a bit. At first it was by accident, adopted
a stray Muscovey from a neighbor. Then
I found out about Muscoveys broadly. Ducks are best
in wet areas that may flood frequently, for reasons we don't
need to say much about. That old saying.
Her name was Heraldella, I wrote her a song, she was
a real good duck. https://on.soundcloud.com/HNM6b
Great information. I love your blog. I have a neighbor who has 5 chickens (supposedly, therapy chickens) but they are not allowed to be kept because of property size as per our county. He has taken them inside to become house chicken to avoid the rules. Is that possible to keep the chickens in a coup in a house? Does that effect their health? I know just the mess and smell alone would want me to put them outside again. Please give some insight. Thank you, Renee
Oh My Gosh!
I've kept chickens for 14 years in an urban backyard coop, covered as we have eagles and hawks, and racoons and minks: doesn't sound like an urban area, but it is! It is expensive for me, as i buy organic food for them, and would be much cheaper to buy organic eggs from a farmer or the grocery store. But a big draw for me, and one i didn't see posted in the article, is the amount of chicken manure, mixed with hay, when i clean out their coop every 2 or 3 weeks, and add it to the compost for my urban veg garden. Of course i let it age before using, so my plants don't burn. Each chicken supplies me with 2 cubic feet of manure every year.