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 !
Ha, I think our racoon are hungrier, as they definitely eat the chickens around here. We've lost more chickens to racoon than anything else. Electric fence really does the trick though, and they wont go past it if you run it right. We have a DC electric system that runs off a deep cycle battery out at the coop (as our coop is no where near a plug). Keeps the dogs away too. Our dog wanted to eat the chickens, but he hit the wire once...and now he cowers if a chicken gets loose. He's sure that zap was somehow chicken magic.
Anyhow, it's trick unless you can put up good permanent fencing to keep them safe, and even then, we still do lose some occasionally...mostly when the chickens get out of fort knox and then they get eaten quick. It's not perfect by any means, but electric does really help.
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!
Yup, we have raised broilers (ducks, chickens, turkeys and even geese) and then done a big harvest day. We also process our layers when they get older too. It's not fun, that's for sure, but it is a great way to get fresh meat.
I don't tend to talk about the meat side of things on the blog, as that's one of those things the vast majority of people just don't want to see...but it is a reality.
I understand.. people forget all the meat they buy in the stores are slaughtered..hopefully humanely. I've always wondered about egg layer chickens being harvested and wondered what the meat was like. Mostly soup ingredients?
I love ducks! They've been some of my favorite pets over the years, with so much personality. I had a one legged duck that bonded to me for years, and he'd come hopping when I called. Thanks for the song about your duck =)
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
Wow...that's going to get messy really fast. The chickens, I'm sure, are quite content and healthy indoors in his house...They're living like kings. But...anyone else living with them is likely living in poop covered squalor.
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.
That is tricky, but there are a lot of good coop options and chicken breed options. I'll add this to my list to write, thank you for the suggestion!
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 Marcela!
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.
Yeah, that seems to be the case with so many people these days. But you're still getting them fresh one way or another, so that's what counts =)
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 !
Ha, I think our racoon are hungrier, as they definitely eat the chickens around here. We've lost more chickens to racoon than anything else. Electric fence really does the trick though, and they wont go past it if you run it right. We have a DC electric system that runs off a deep cycle battery out at the coop (as our coop is no where near a plug). Keeps the dogs away too. Our dog wanted to eat the chickens, but he hit the wire once...and now he cowers if a chicken gets loose. He's sure that zap was somehow chicken magic.
Anyhow, it's trick unless you can put up good permanent fencing to keep them safe, and even then, we still do lose some occasionally...mostly when the chickens get out of fort knox and then they get eaten quick. It's not perfect by any means, but electric does really help.
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!
Yup, we have raised broilers (ducks, chickens, turkeys and even geese) and then done a big harvest day. We also process our layers when they get older too. It's not fun, that's for sure, but it is a great way to get fresh meat.
I don't tend to talk about the meat side of things on the blog, as that's one of those things the vast majority of people just don't want to see...but it is a reality.
I understand.. people forget all the meat they buy in the stores are slaughtered..hopefully humanely. I've always wondered about egg layer chickens being harvested and wondered what the meat was like. Mostly soup ingredients?
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
I love ducks! They've been some of my favorite pets over the years, with so much personality. I had a one legged duck that bonded to me for years, and he'd come hopping when I called. Thanks for the song about your duck =)
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
Wow...that's going to get messy really fast. The chickens, I'm sure, are quite content and healthy indoors in his house...They're living like kings. But...anyone else living with them is likely living in poop covered squalor.
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.