Backyard Chickens?

I wouldn't forget to check zoning laws first. Some places have limits on chickens and my require a permit for more than 3 of them.

I don't have them but was really surprised at how much these things poop! My thinking was it's a bird so how bad can it be? It gets almost cat or small dog sized and more often than either poops in a day. If you have to keep them in an enclosed area in the winter, the smell, cleaning and possible heating of the coop is something to think about.

The have rotating coup guys...the kind you can roll around your yard and solve the issue of cleaning everything but the egg stations. Bonus of marrying a would be farmer lmao
 
This might sound gross but we don't clean the majority of the chicken coops in the winter months. The poop actually heats the coop in cold winter months. If you clean the floor right down to the floor boards it's too cold for them. We insulate the coops and just hang a light bulb, doors are open during the day for them to run around. Chickens don't like fresh snow and when it's -20c or colder we keep the doors closed

That is not gross at all... we used to just throw down some fresh hay every now and then and scrap it in spring and put to compost pile. The rotating coups we don't worry about because those are for spring summer and fall. :)
 
I forgot to add, there is someone off to our northwest that has chickens. Every so often, early in the morning, I can hear crowing! I wanted to try and get a video of it but I always get caught off guard and either I don't have my phone/camera with me or I'm too busy! LOL One of these days!!
 
I forgot to add, there is someone off to our northwest that has chickens. Every so often, early in the morning, I can hear crowing! I wanted to try and get a video of it but I always get caught off guard and either I don't have my phone/camera with me or I'm too busy! LOL One of these days!!
Ha! I finally caught it!! Last Friday morning, @ 7am I was out cleaning in the corral and I heard it! Whipped out the ole camera phone and finally caught the Cock-a-Doodle-DOOOOOOO..............Its always amazing to me how far sound travels out in the country! This is probably less than a half mile away and kiddie corner to us. About where I am pointing the camera. But its also so quiet out here that you can hear other things like animals. We have cows far down the road that we can hear sometimes and also a donkey that is even further. When it's really quiet you can hear him baying. So cute.


Turn the volume up! (and don't forget to turn it down! LOL I've done that! :eek:)
 
I just added 6 new baby chicks to my group and one is a barred rock rooster. He is 2 months old but has not crowed yet. But at 1 month one of the hens laid an egg. I just moved them in the my old hens this week so I only had one coop to keep. They stay inside most of the day right now because the older hens won't let them out the door.
 
Ha! I finally caught it!! Last Friday morning, @ 7am I was out cleaning in the corral and I heard it! Whipped out the ole camera phone and finally caught the Cock-a-Doodle-DOOOOOOO..............Its always amazing to me how far sound travels out in the country! This is probably less than a half mile away and kiddie corner to us. About where I am pointing the camera. But its also so quiet out here that you can hear other things like animals. We have cows far down the road that we can hear sometimes and also a donkey that is even further. When it's really quiet you can hear him baying. So cute.


Turn the volume up! (and don't forget to turn it down! LOL I've done that! :eek:)

HAHA!! I think there funny to listen too :D our neighbor down the road does it too. Buddy I think ur getting into chickens ;) its a slippery slope.. just wait till springtime and u go into TSC or whatever feed store is close & u see chicks... heeheee
 
I just added 6 new baby chicks to my group and one is a barred rock rooster. He is 2 months old but has not crowed yet. But at 1 month one of the hens laid an egg. I just moved them in the my old hens this week so I only had one coop to keep. They stay inside most of the day right now because the older hens won't let them out the door.

Pictures!!! :love:
 
I just added 6 new baby chicks to my group and one is a barred rock rooster.
Oh, Suzan, I didn't know you had chickens! How cool! Yes, we all would love pictures!!

Buddy I think ur getting into chickens
I can live through you! And the others here. LOL I like them but honestly, I have enough here to keep me very busy. I really don't want to add more! lol And its bad enough worrying about the horses in winter....chicken would be worse. I wouldn't do well with their demise. :( I've seen them for sale and can't help but go over and look!! They are so damn cute. And I love hearing that guy that I caught on tape. LOL

This thread is driving me nuts! I'm so down for a few hens,the wife is sooo NoT!!!
Haha, it was the opposite here, Gel, but then I saw how hawks and owls and such can get them and omg I didn't want to go through that. Plus the extra work. They are adorable and I love seeing them but I'm not a young chicken anymore! :wub:
 
I love eggs and the dogs LOVE eggs so I never have enough for anyone else. If I pile up I feed the dogs!!! I will try to get some pictures - with all my computer problems this month I might have a hard time recovering pictures. But I can try to take some more. I started in July trying to grow new chicks and at day 3 went to the baby chick house to
check on them and they were just gone. Freaked me out - I searched high and low - they were in a wire crate with very small plactic mesh around it and on top of another crate. So next month I bought 6 more - Same day 3 went out there and this time caught the culprit - A big black snake was so stuffed with chicks he could not get back out. So he died right there with those chicks!!!!

I had not seen any snakes around - next 2 weeks I caught 3 and sent them all to snake heaven. So these chicks stayed in the house the first two weeks just to be safe. Took a quick look and did not find any chick pictures - will try to get some.
 
Living in the country there are enough mice for them to eat that they can darn well stay out of my chicken coop!!!! One I caught wrapped around the eggs from that morning just getting ready to eat them. I have very small wire around the inside of the chicken coop. I swear I don't know how he managed to get UP to the laying box. I caught him by the tail as he tried to slither out - it was amazing. Then he came back through the wire with is head to try to get me and that was his fatal mistake.
 
I caught him by the tail as he tried to slither out - it was amazing. Then he came back through the wire with is head to try to get me and that was his fatal mistake.

:lmao: I've told the story here once before about the Bull snake that was in the horse barn......as I tried to catch him (in the days before I had my trusty snake catcher! ) he slithered into Cheyennes stall! :eek: She wasn't in there but, still! I didn't want to lose him in there!! He took a nose dive and started to bury himself into the bedding and under the building! I grabbed a hold of his tail and yanked! Man, he was strong!!! I was so afraid I'd pull him in two or that I'd whip him out and hit myself in the face with him! LOL So I finally let go. I spent hours looking for him, even putting a hose down the wall but I never saw him again.

I'd ask if you have one of these
IMG_20130622_071318_756 snake hook.webp

....but you probably would rather use this, lol
shovel.webp
 
No I need to check into that little piece of equipment. But it all happened in 2 different buildings so would have to one one everywhere. I grabbed tin snips and caught his head and then pulled him on through and got him then with the a stick. The snake I caught in the crate I had a stick with a screw in the end and did the deed with that- improvise!!!!
 
Found the pictures of the baby chickens and took some now that they are grown - then had to go buy a new card reader as my old one won't read the new faster cards - soooooooooooooooooo here are my chickens.

Babychicks.webp

Baby chicks now grown up
Chicksn2.webp

My older chickens from last year
Chicks1.webp

The black hen is a black sex link and the red is a sex link also. The babies are a Black sex link - the speckled one is a Barred Rock Rooster and the gold is a buff
orpington - the black fuzzy one is a cochin and the speckled gold is a chochin. The dark red is a Rhode Island Red....... I like variety and color!!!
 

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