- Aug 21, 2012
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I was worried about all of these things when I first got them as chicks about five months ago.
Not so much, now.
I've never had chickens before these three.
I live in a unique area. Chickens are illegal here..........that being said, my neighbor across the street has horses. My neighbor behind me is zoned for horses (he has an acre) but he doesn't have any. There is a cattle/pig farm about a block away. I very nicely asked my two closest neighbors how they felt about me getting chickens, and they laughed and said it wouldn't bother them one bit. I can hear about two dozen roosters every morning from my bedroom.
I let the chicks crawl all over the dogs when they were babies. The dogs did not like this, and I had to be very aggressive/dominant over the dogs when I would do this. Also, at about two weeks old, I would let the chicks on the lawn to forage around while the dogs were out. I supervised this daily (less than fifteen minutes a day) until they were old enough to live in the coop.
My dogs live to chase birds..................they have never touched the chickens. The dogs and chickens are allowed unsupervised access to the backyard all day long.
The chickens walk around the pool at various times of the day. They haven't drown yet...........................
They nibble on the Russian sage, and oleander. I've seen them do it. Nobody is dead yet. I actually considered cutting all of the oleander out, but my neighbor's house is surrounded by it, and it falls into my yard anyway. Plus, it's a great plant for where I live.
I was going to clip their wings, and I still might if I run into problems. I haven't yet. The fence is all block wall, and most of it is at least 5' tall. One did fly over the gate about a month ago. I found her pacing back and forth at the gate to get back with her buddies. No problems since then.
I live in the desert, southern Utah. It's over 100 degrees here most days in July and August. The chickens pant, and they look uncomfortable..............but then again, so do the dogs and I. They have access to shade and water. Nothing else is provided.
The coop is just an old camper shell and some scrap wood I had laying around. Nothing to brag about, but they call it home. I collected a bunch of sand from a dried out wash up the road for their litter. I clean it once a month or so. They really don't spend much time in it, except to sleep.
During the heat of the day, they hang out on the north side of the house that's protected from the sun. When it's cloudy, or the sun is being blocked by the house, they eat the Bermuda grass on the lawn.
They kick the landscape rocks into the lawn, and I have to pick the rocks out before I mow. Annoying, but only a few minutes a week.
Crap. Yeah, it's everywhere!!!! Nothing a few minutes with the hose doesn't cure. I don't have much of a problem because it's so hot and dry here, it dries up very quickly. The lawn is greener than it's ever been, I assume from the fertilizer.
I grew my first patch of tomatoes this year. The chickens raid it daily. I have to pick the tomatoes when they just start to turn pink, otherwise the chickens get to them first!!!!!! They don't like to eat the green ones. I've just been too lazy to fence them off from it. I will say that I haven't seen any pests on the fruit, but I've never grown anything before, so I'm not sure what pests to look for. haha
One is a black sex link (the black one that flies to me). One is a leghorn (white). One is a brown sex link? I think (the brown one in the nest box). The black sex link is not laying eggs yet. The other two started about six weeks ago. They are all the exact same age. They definitely have unique personalities. The black one flies to my shoulder when my back is to her. I never taught her to do this, she just started doing it. What's weird, is she is the most timid of all of them. She runs the furthest from me when I come outside, and she is the hardest to get to take a treat. The white one is the dominant one. She's the first for everything, but she won't let me touch her. The brown one sitting in the nest box is the most friendly. I actually think she likes to be picked up. She squats down and freezes when I do pick her up.
The eggs are about 2/3 the size of a large store bought egg. They taste the same to me as any other egg I've ever had. From the two that are laying, I would guess I'm getting about five or six eggs a week per chicken.
Just spreading some info. I'm not saying any of these things are good, I'm just showing my experience thus far.
Enjoy.
The audio sucks on the video. I've pretty much covered what I say in it above, plus some.
Here is the video of my "Extreme Backyard Chickens".
and yes, I was incredibly bored when I thought to make this post.
and yes, I did a lot of research here before I got my chickens.
Thanks.
Josh
Not so much, now.
I've never had chickens before these three.
I live in a unique area. Chickens are illegal here..........that being said, my neighbor across the street has horses. My neighbor behind me is zoned for horses (he has an acre) but he doesn't have any. There is a cattle/pig farm about a block away. I very nicely asked my two closest neighbors how they felt about me getting chickens, and they laughed and said it wouldn't bother them one bit. I can hear about two dozen roosters every morning from my bedroom.
I let the chicks crawl all over the dogs when they were babies. The dogs did not like this, and I had to be very aggressive/dominant over the dogs when I would do this. Also, at about two weeks old, I would let the chicks on the lawn to forage around while the dogs were out. I supervised this daily (less than fifteen minutes a day) until they were old enough to live in the coop.
My dogs live to chase birds..................they have never touched the chickens. The dogs and chickens are allowed unsupervised access to the backyard all day long.
The chickens walk around the pool at various times of the day. They haven't drown yet...........................
They nibble on the Russian sage, and oleander. I've seen them do it. Nobody is dead yet. I actually considered cutting all of the oleander out, but my neighbor's house is surrounded by it, and it falls into my yard anyway. Plus, it's a great plant for where I live.
I was going to clip their wings, and I still might if I run into problems. I haven't yet. The fence is all block wall, and most of it is at least 5' tall. One did fly over the gate about a month ago. I found her pacing back and forth at the gate to get back with her buddies. No problems since then.
I live in the desert, southern Utah. It's over 100 degrees here most days in July and August. The chickens pant, and they look uncomfortable..............but then again, so do the dogs and I. They have access to shade and water. Nothing else is provided.
The coop is just an old camper shell and some scrap wood I had laying around. Nothing to brag about, but they call it home. I collected a bunch of sand from a dried out wash up the road for their litter. I clean it once a month or so. They really don't spend much time in it, except to sleep.
During the heat of the day, they hang out on the north side of the house that's protected from the sun. When it's cloudy, or the sun is being blocked by the house, they eat the Bermuda grass on the lawn.
They kick the landscape rocks into the lawn, and I have to pick the rocks out before I mow. Annoying, but only a few minutes a week.
Crap. Yeah, it's everywhere!!!! Nothing a few minutes with the hose doesn't cure. I don't have much of a problem because it's so hot and dry here, it dries up very quickly. The lawn is greener than it's ever been, I assume from the fertilizer.
I grew my first patch of tomatoes this year. The chickens raid it daily. I have to pick the tomatoes when they just start to turn pink, otherwise the chickens get to them first!!!!!! They don't like to eat the green ones. I've just been too lazy to fence them off from it. I will say that I haven't seen any pests on the fruit, but I've never grown anything before, so I'm not sure what pests to look for. haha
One is a black sex link (the black one that flies to me). One is a leghorn (white). One is a brown sex link? I think (the brown one in the nest box). The black sex link is not laying eggs yet. The other two started about six weeks ago. They are all the exact same age. They definitely have unique personalities. The black one flies to my shoulder when my back is to her. I never taught her to do this, she just started doing it. What's weird, is she is the most timid of all of them. She runs the furthest from me when I come outside, and she is the hardest to get to take a treat. The white one is the dominant one. She's the first for everything, but she won't let me touch her. The brown one sitting in the nest box is the most friendly. I actually think she likes to be picked up. She squats down and freezes when I do pick her up.
The eggs are about 2/3 the size of a large store bought egg. They taste the same to me as any other egg I've ever had. From the two that are laying, I would guess I'm getting about five or six eggs a week per chicken.
Just spreading some info. I'm not saying any of these things are good, I'm just showing my experience thus far.
Enjoy.
The audio sucks on the video. I've pretty much covered what I say in it above, plus some.
Here is the video of my "Extreme Backyard Chickens".
and yes, I was incredibly bored when I thought to make this post.
and yes, I did a lot of research here before I got my chickens.
Thanks.
Josh
