Anyone have chickens (hens)?

[Sealed]

I am thinking that it would be fun for the kids and I to have several hens (3 or 4). We would love to have our own fresh eggs. I do not know anything at all about chickens, short of what I have been able to google off and on today.

I am wondering how much hard work it will be to properly care for them? It seems it can be expensive, too. I am sure that a coop wiould cost alot of money (several hundred dollars).

Would anyone have any advice? What should I consider before taking on this venture?

Thanks! :):hehee

[Biblenuggetlady]

We had chickens and a rooster and we loved them! It took me a while to eat their eggs though, it just didn't seem "right" to eat their eggs-not that they are different from the store, but... :hehee I am weird, I fed them to my family though. The rooster was a really good guard dog, but we had to get rid of him when he started attacking company, we put him in the zoo they had at the feed mart. We even had a name for him, Doc...because he looked like a witch doctor, I'll see if I can find a picture to post.

We built our own coup also, it doesn't have to be expensive at all. 2x4's a couple panels of wood, chicken wire and hay. They don't require a lot of work either.

I say...go for it! :thumb

We got our hens and rooster as chicks and watched them grow.

[Biblenuggetlady]

This is what he looked like:


http://www.cacklehatchery.com/non_bearded_white_crested__black_polish_roo.jpg

[Sealed]

Thanks for the encouragement BNL!! I would love to see a photo of Doc!
um.... Do hens attack, too?

We live in a subdivision in the county, so there are not restrictions as long as the animals do not go on others property. We are on about 1 acre.
Is there any chance that the hens could disturb our neighbors? We do not plan on getting a rooster, so I can't imagine that hens would make alot of noise. What about smell?

[mmullig]

Oh what fun! We do not have chickens because our dogs like them too. But... we have had and we live next door to a chicken farm and our friends have lots of them that we get eggs from often. They are easy keepers. I think that setting up their housing is the most costly, but you can be creative and save money on this. Depending on how many you have, a bag of food for them should last at least a week and it is cheaper than dog food. My friends children have the best time going and gathering eggs. It wasn't until they were a little older that they understood that they were eating unborn chickens. Baby chicks can be bought a farm storm for about 2 bucks a piece. If you children are small, please do not get a rooster. They are like most male animals in that their instinct to protect their own is very strong. We had chicks and a rooster when I was young. When the rooster was out, I was not allowed out by myself. I think I was about 4. Either way, one day, I snuck into the chicken pen. I had gone in all the time with daddy. Well, the rooster got me. No, I didn't have any lasting damage just really scarred the pants off me. We had fresh rooster for dinner that night. Daddy decided it wasn't worth the risk having a small child and a rooster. Older kids is ok. They can carry a stick around. Have fun!!! they are sooo cute.

[BelovedChild]

Hens as arlule do not attack people. Hens will peck and attack each other on order to establish top hen.

chicken coops are easy to build. Is hubby handy in woodwork. he should be able to build a pen okay. My DH is not what anyone would call a woodwork expert but he has built severl chook pens.


Basically you would need a shelter for nighttime and weather. Plus an enclosed area for them to run in. You would also need a roost for them as they like to perch on wood at night. You would also need a nesting box filled with straw. Shedded paper could be used as an alternative. If the wings are clipped, you would not need to cover the top of the run area.

Chooks (by the way Aussie term for hens) can be fed laying pellets or mash which is available from a produce merchant. They can also be fed most household scraps (not pumpkin seeds (don't know why but they are dangerous in some way to the chooks). Chooks also like a green pick eg cut grass (but keep free of pesticides), outside cabbage lettuce broc l spinach aves etc. The green pick hels the eggs to be a deep yellow.

Depending on where you live may mean whether or not you can have a rooster. Here in Aust, there are regulations about rooster in suburbia (some whingers do not like the rooster crowing at all hours), so you would need to check local authority rules.

If you buy your hens from a commercial place do not expect them to go clucky (been there done that). Battery hens seem to have some instincts bred out of them. If you want future chickens, see if you can buy from a chook breeder.

[Tenbear2808]

I have a place in the country that we are moving back too within the year should the Lord tarry.

We are living in an apartment until we can get the house repaired and some remodeling done due to my allergies and disabilities.

Having said that, I am interested in possibly getting chickens to. How many chickens would you need to have enough eggs for say a couple of dozen a week? just 3 people but I do have some neighbors I would give the eggs to or sell at a discount depending on what the Lord would have me do.

Also the best chickens in terms of laying, quality of eggs and temperment also. I want something laid back. :lol2 No pun intended! :lol2

A friend of mine had some chickens that looked like they were wearing "Hedy Lamar" hats :lol2 I cant remember the name but they looked like boa feathers on there heads (I just remember Hedy from old movies and mom talking about her i am not that old :hehee)

She also had some chickens I talked her into buying called Japanese somethings. I liked them cause they were beautiful with these long curving tails. She didnt use them for eggs or nothing she just liked chickens

Any good books? Like Raising Chickens for Dummies or something like that? I need it sweet and to the point with practical info.

Thanks to everyone in advance! :wave

[deanne53]

Right now I have 66 laying hens and 75 peeps. For brown eggs I have Golden Comets. You can get Rhode Island Reds too, they both are very hardy for winter, and they are very quite. If you want white eggs I would get White Leghorn..( like Foghorn Leghorn) . If you grow them from peeps it will take them from 18 weeks up to 24 weeks to start laying. Chickens lay eggs every other day so you may figure on that on how many you want. For me, I would get a dozen or two. Some do die. Now if you want chickens to eat, get the Cornish Cross,. They get fat and ready to butcher in 7-8 weeks.
If you want to have fertile eggs then you need to get a rooster, if you only want them to eat, I wouldn't have one.
The Rooster with the hat is a Japanese Silkie.

Hope this helps, I have raised chickens for 20 some years...

[lisaann]

We have chickens too. Right now we only have 3 but at one point we had at least 15. 3 gives us just enough eggs for our family of 4. :thumb It's good to have a few more than you need because you will have some die.

The majority of ours were Rhode Island Reds and we have two black and white ones but I forget their name :scratch. They have all been very good playmates for the kids. :lol2 They had a couple of them so tame they could carry them around like babies. :ohno

A coup doesent have to cost a lot of money. We have ours built into a corner of our shed/garage. Dh cut a door so they could go in and out and then made an outdoor pen out of chicken wire. You should make a way to shut the door to the outside in case of bad weather.

[Lynn]

Dh cut a door so they could go in and out and then made an outdoor pen out of chicken wire. You should make a way to shut the door to the outside in case of bad weather.

We live in the country also and have around 12 hens (did have more but two were lost to predators). We have more than enough eggs to share with neighbors and friends. Near the bottom of a wall of an existing shed, my dh installed a pet door (purchased medium size at Lowe's) so that they could be closed in at night. Any chickens left outside at night will not be there in the morning (well, actually, their feathers will be). We had a rooster once, too, but too much racket for me.

For questions about good layers, go to the web site for Murray McMurray Hatchery, and look at their online catalog or contact them for one by mail. This is really the best idea, then you can sit around as a family looking at the 'picture book' like we did with our grandchildren to decide which varieties to order.
Let us know what you decide to do. Chickens are fun.