[*]Do you keep chickens as a hobby or as a business? i suppose providing for your family is considered a hobby these days, which is ok bc if we called it a business - sure as heck the gov't would find a way to tax us for it even more.
[*]How long have you kept chickens? Between my husband and myself, 30 years. We went a few years without them but we have recently began a rebuilding process.
[*]How many chickens do you have? currently, we have none. we plan to have everything well designed before we put together our flocks. we plan to have 2 flocks of about 12 chickens, but will also have guinea, turkey, geese and more!!!!!
[*]What breed are they? we will have barred rock (for eating and eggs), silkies/ polish for kids and show and who knows what else!
[*]What problems do you face keeping chickens (what is the most time consuming part of keeping chickens)? In the past the hardest part was coop maintenance. We are designing our coops this time so it is easier to clean the floor.
[*]Have you had problems with predators in the past? (If so please say what kind of predator and what happened) There have been skunks, weasels, fox, cats, dogs... anything that can get them will get them. We are building large enclosures for the chickens to avoid that from now on. There are a lot of dogs that run in our town and we can't risk it.
[*]What style of chicken housing do you have (material and size)? We are building our coop with rough lumber up off the ground about 4 feet on telephone poles. The sides come off but roof and ends stay in place. It's about 10 x 6 x 4 and we are considering a second level just for food, maybe some mirrors, toys, etc. The enclosure is about 25 x 25 x 12 with two doors front and back. The pen is done, poles are set for coop, just have to put the coop up and get the chickens.
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[*]Do you find areas of difficulty in different seasons? We have a tough winter in MN, as keeping any animal warm can be hard. We are building the coop off the ground so that there is a nice shaded area for the chickens in the summer. We hate leaves in the fall on the netting overhead but a leafblower does the trick.
[*]What happens to the chickens when you go away? they seek counseling. seriously? they're chickens. anyone who gets chickens probably doesn't go anywhere for very long, do they? we never leave for more than a day or two, and in that case we just leave extra food and have someone stop by to close them up and check water, etc.
[*]How long have you kept chickens? Between my husband and myself, 30 years. We went a few years without them but we have recently began a rebuilding process.
[*]How many chickens do you have? currently, we have none. we plan to have everything well designed before we put together our flocks. we plan to have 2 flocks of about 12 chickens, but will also have guinea, turkey, geese and more!!!!!
[*]What breed are they? we will have barred rock (for eating and eggs), silkies/ polish for kids and show and who knows what else!
[*]What problems do you face keeping chickens (what is the most time consuming part of keeping chickens)? In the past the hardest part was coop maintenance. We are designing our coops this time so it is easier to clean the floor.
[*]Have you had problems with predators in the past? (If so please say what kind of predator and what happened) There have been skunks, weasels, fox, cats, dogs... anything that can get them will get them. We are building large enclosures for the chickens to avoid that from now on. There are a lot of dogs that run in our town and we can't risk it.
[*]What style of chicken housing do you have (material and size)? We are building our coop with rough lumber up off the ground about 4 feet on telephone poles. The sides come off but roof and ends stay in place. It's about 10 x 6 x 4 and we are considering a second level just for food, maybe some mirrors, toys, etc. The enclosure is about 25 x 25 x 12 with two doors front and back. The pen is done, poles are set for coop, just have to put the coop up and get the chickens.
)[*]Do you find areas of difficulty in different seasons? We have a tough winter in MN, as keeping any animal warm can be hard. We are building the coop off the ground so that there is a nice shaded area for the chickens in the summer. We hate leaves in the fall on the netting overhead but a leafblower does the trick.
[*]What happens to the chickens when you go away? they seek counseling. seriously? they're chickens. anyone who gets chickens probably doesn't go anywhere for very long, do they? we never leave for more than a day or two, and in that case we just leave extra food and have someone stop by to close them up and check water, etc.
