Trying to be a good neighbor

[KenStorm989]

So i'm designing my coop for the spring. I plan to start with 3-5 Egg Layers. I have an Old metal shed, that i'm tearing down on a 12x12 concrete slab right under a tree in the back corner of my yard (the red square outline). i plan to build the Coop there and use the area next to it as a run. The area for the run will be about 24x36ish..(the grey outline).i dont have the exact length measured yet. I dont know anyone near me that has backyard chickens, you guys are pretty much it. I dont live "out on the farm" i'm more suburban, as you can see my local borough allows chickens... how much will me having Chickens effect my neighbors negatively? I really like my neighbors, I know alot depends on how clean i keep it, but, i'm looking at you guys here as experts, what do you think? is it a good place to do this? i'm just looking for imput...

thanks in advance

EDIT***** I measured the area - Coop 10'x8' - Run 21' x32'


Ken

 

[Daox13]

So i'm designing my coop for the spring. I plan to start with 3-5 Egg Layers. I have an Old metal shed, that i'm tearing down on a 12x12 concrete slab right under a tree in the back corner of my yard (the red square outline). i plan to build the Coop there and use the area next to it as a run. The area for the run will be about 24x36ish..(the grey outline).i dont have the exact length measured yet. I dont know anyone near me that has backyard chickens, you guys are pretty much it. I dont live "out on the farm" i'm more suburban, as you can see my local borough allows chickens... how much will me having Chickens effect my neighbors negatively? I really like my neighbors, I know alot depends on how clean i keep it, but, i'm looking at you guys here as experts, what do you think? is it a good place to do this? i'm just looking for imput...

thanks in advance

Ken

depending on breed depends on noise (sort of) and deep litter will be the best method to keep the smell down. I live in an urban neighborhood too and my neighbors are fine with it. no stink and barely much noise unless my lead hen gets a hitch in her step.

 

[PapaBear4]

That is a LOT of space for 3-5 chickens. Even just the 12x12 slab could support that many with no issue. But you're right that they'll be happier with a run with grass to enjoy (until they eat it all). I agree that deep bedding is the way to go. If you notice that it's starting to smell funny, add more. But with that much space it probably won't be often. Extra bedding gives the chickens something to do as well.
Taking a dozen eggs to the neighbors occasionally doesn't hurt either! Happy building!

PapaBear

 

[KenStorm989]

Yea, I have the 12x12 concrete slab, and most of that area of the yard is all over grown with weeds, so my plan is to cut them all down real nice, and let the chickens help me keep them down! I want to start with 3-5 just to get the hang of it, This will be a nice home project for my 7 year old son and I to do together (yea yea i know i'll end up doing 99.9% of the work ) maybe next spring we'll add to our flock, i'd like to eventually find a happy medium between supplying all the elderly people at our church with free eggs, and a decent but not overly tiresome amount of work, so i think maybe a max of 12-16 birds at some point?

 

[Daox13]

Yea, I have the 12x12 concrete slab, and most of that area of the yard is all over grown with weeds, so my plan is to cut them all down real nice, and let the chickens help me keep them down! I want to start with 3-5 just to get the hang of it, This will be a nice home project for my 7 year old son and I to do together (yea yea i know i'll end up doing 99.9% of the work ) maybe next spring we'll add to our flock, i'd like to eventually find a happy medium between supplying all the elderly people at our church with free eggs, and a decent but not overly tiresome amount of work, so i think maybe a max of 12-16 birds at some point?

that's exactly what I am pretty much doing now in my coop build. I have 3 hens and plan for maybe 5-6 just because the eggs are mainly for us and our neighbors (yes giving them eggs will make them like your chickens more). I have a 8'x17' run and will let them free range on occasion in the privacy fenced back yard, but I have barred rocks which are heavy enough to keep them in the yard. deep bedding is the way I am going because it wont stink and the less hens you have the less changing and adding you will need to do to keep the stink down. think about it this way, your hens at 12 will produce on average a dozen eggs a day (depending on breed) and at 7 days a week that's a grand total of 84 eggs a week so unless you have a lot of elderly at your church you should be fine especially since most people don't eat eggs daily, but keep in mind you can always expand at some point as well.

As far as your neighbors I suggest mentioning your plans to them in passing and see what they say. I was very upfront with my neighbors and I think they really appreciated it, plus they can kind of take part in you getting chicks and them growing up and starting to make grown up chicken sounds over peeps and you would be surprised in an urban environment how accepting people are of an abstract lifestyle and its a great lesson for their kids if they have any.

 

[Folly's place]

Ken, your project sounds great, and having that concrete slab is a huge help! All the best, and share coop plans with us here too. Mary

 

[Pork Pie]

Some hens can make a real big fuss when they've laid (i.e. noise), so having as many as you eventually plan to could cheese the neighbours off after a while. Starting with a few is a good idea and maybe get a mixture of breeds to help you in choosing the most appropriate breeds when you wish to add to the flock.

 

[Teila]

Howdy KenStorm989

I am also suburban and my neighbours are probably closer than yours. We are also allowed chickens (6) but one of our rules is that the coop and run must be more than 2 metres away from an adjoining fence or property line. I just mentioned that in case you have not checked if you have a similar restriction.

++ on the deep litter method which I use in the run; keeps smell and flies to a minimum. [Due to our climate, the coop floor is slatted timber so no litter].

++ on sharing eggs; definitely helps.

++ on talking to the neighbours. I did that and still check when chatting to them that the girls are not upsetting them; always get a “No, they are fine”.

Hens can be noisy, especially if they want something but it is not usually an all day, everyday thing and no worse than barking dogs, excited children etc.

I work from home and used to only let my girls free range of an afternoon, [supervised] 4PM when I knocked off work, but they started demanding to be let at 3PM. So, I let them out earlier, one hour unsupervised. Of course, they then started demanding at 2PM which became 1PM .. you get the picture? They now free range all day

Good luck with your project and please share some progress pics

 

[Leigti]

I also live in the middle of town. And the houses here are much closer than it looks like yours are. Definitely look into the rules for how far from the property line you can build etc. They do have those rules here but they don't enforce them and less there is an issue
I asked my neighbors before I got the chickens and they were fine with it. They like watching the chickens and I get an update every day from my one neighbor when I get home from work. I started with three, now I have 12. They free roam in the yard all day most days. Most of the noise is when they are laying eggs or waiting to lay eggs, it seems like they all want the same nest box if you put the coop in the back corner of the yard then that will work out good as far as noise goes. You are about as far away from the other houses as you can get. And the vegetation helps decrease the noise also.
Don't bother chopping down the weeds, the chickens will do it for you. They will decimate grass very quickly.

 

[KenStorm989]

I looked into our local zoning ordinance for animals, and all it says are 1. No Hogs, and 2. Any animal that escapes my property, ex Dogs, Cats, Chickens etc...are subject to a fine. The Weeds are waist high in some areas....chickens will destroy them that high?