Chickens are like rats

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ChickenEmpire said:
Hi everyone,

I have been wanting to keep chickens for many years now but have only recently started taking it seriously. I am in the 'research' and 'fencesitting' stage.

I live within a city suburb, in a house, with a pretty small backyard. Our city allows up to 5 hens per house, no roosters. They have to be housed 40 feet away from other residential buildings and 5 feet from the property line. I believe I have a spot that would *just* about make it.

According to the city, we only have to notify adjacent neighbors (not ask for permission) but it still feels odd to try and phrase my intentions. People here don't really know or talk to each other.

We want to keep chickens for the eggs and for the experience. We have 3 cats, a dog and 4 pet rats already.

In a strange way I am finding out that chickens seem to be a lot like our pet rats. You have to be super careful with quarantining new birds, brush up on proper introductions and hierarchy, familiarize yourself with the different common ailments that plague the animal and know how to treat them since good exotic vet care can be difficult to access, proper ventilation and sanitization is key, socialize early and often, etc.

Anyways, I am looking forward to getting to know more!
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Welcome to BYC!!
 
Welcome. Chickens need space, both in their coops and in their runs. They also need protection, hardware cloth everything and make a hardware cloth apron around everything. With that said, if you do not have a lot of space, I suggest going with 3-hens instead of the 4 permitted and/or going with a smaller breed that does well in your climate
 
Hi and welcome to BYC; glad you joined! Sounds like you already have good knowledge as far as basic chicken needs. I think that when you make the decision to go ahead and get yourself some pullets, you will be very glad you did. Their fresh eggs are great, and they are so fun and entertaining. Since you have nearby neighbors, a topic that might interest you is that some chicken breeds tend to be quieter than others. (No guarrantees and there are always exceptions.) You can also make your own thread in the "Chicken Behaviors and Egg Laying" forum, and should get lots of replies.

I agree with you that it seems odd that your city says you "should notify your neighbors that you have chickens, but it's not necessary to ask them for permission." Unless that is specifically in your city's written rules, I would get my 5 hens and not be concerned about notifying neighbors. Are your neighbors supposed to notify you if they get a dog? Sounds like your subdivision residents tend to keep to themselves and like it that way. Athough, when you get chickens, you will find that chickens are a great conversation-starter, and you may convert your neighbors to get chickens of their own. But if that doesn't happen, you will find endless fun and interesting chicken talk on BYC, and you can tell your own chicken stories too.😊
 
Allsfairinloveandbugs said:
Hi and welcome to BYC; glad you joined! Sounds like you already have good knowledge as far as basic chicken needs. I think that when you make the decision to go ahead and get yourself some pullets, you will be very glad you did. Their fresh eggs are great, and they are so fun and entertaining. Since you have nearby neighbors, a topic that might interest you is that some chicken breeds tend to be quieter than others. (No guarrantees and there are always exceptions.) You can also make your own thread in the "Chicken Behaviors and Egg Laying" forum, and should get lots of replies.

I agree with you that it seems odd that your city says you "should notify your neighbors that you have chickens, but it's not necessary to ask them for permission." Unless that is specifically in your city's written rules, I would get my 5 hens and not be concerned about notifying neighbors. Are your neighbors supposed to notify you if they get a dog? Sounds like your subdivision residents tend to keep to themselves and like it that way. Athough, when you get chickens, you will find that chickens are a great conversation-starter, and you may convert your neighbors to get chickens of their own. But if that doesn't happen, you will find endless fun and interesting chicken talk on BYC, and you can tell your own chicken stories too.😊
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. There is definitely an abundance of information on here and I am excited to keep reading.

Here is the specific wording re: backyard chickens in my city:

"-Provide written notification to all next-door neighbors and neighbors that connect to your property boundary.

-A site plan including the location of the chicken coop must be included in your application. The city requires two square-feet per chicken and access to an outdoor enclosure. The enclosure must be at least five-foot away from the property boundary.

-Bring all materials along with your application to the police department and pay the $25 permit fee. This fee must be renewed annually.

-Register your chickens with the state."

When you submit the application, they make you tick off that you have contacted your neighbors in order to get the permit approved so I don't want to lie but yes, it is a little frustrating.

We have 2 adjoining neighbors (we are a corner lot) and one of our neighbors has an unfriendly golden retriever that roams the whole neighborhood and guards our own property FROM us. We live in a city suburb, there are leash laws, they just don't care. Having to tell them about chickens seems so ridiculous but I will do it anyway.
 
Thank you everybody for the warm welcome. I am excited to be here.

Whilst our city allows for 5 chickens, we definitely only want to start with 3 since our backyard is small. We were looking at getting an Eglu or Nestera since those seem easy to clean and we do not have any woodworking skills or tools to build our own coop.

We also grow a lot of vegetables and fruits (in our front yard) so it might be fun to do some composting with the chicken poop.
 

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