Confinement

[frenchiegirl21]

I am slightly upset that some people are being so rude to the OP. She is trying to find a solution for having a lower budget and still taking proper care of her animals. I admire her for that.

That being said, what if you built a coop out of materials that you chose but let your mom pick the paint/outer design colors, TwinWillowAcres? Our coop was built very cheaply and we painted it a bright barn red after we finished building it. It easily holds all 30 of our chickens plus a small run of quail. I can post a picture tomorrow if you like. That might be a nice compromise between the space, budget, and pleasing your mom

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: I read through all the posts, and don't see anyone being rude.

The idea that it's good to try and raise chickens in a 10 X 6 INCH space (60 SQ IN) is not "taking proper care" of them.

Picture an average shoe box. Now picture it with a chicken inside.

Also the excuse about "copper in the pastures" only makes sense if there will be tons of chicken manure per acre.

It's not "rude" to be factual

If one doesn't have the budget to build a proper coop, they should forget about chickens until they do

 

[Too Fast]

I think OP is getting an education about backyard chickens vs. commercial operations.

 

[gg706]

I personally would never keep my chickens in such a way. With the quality of life for the chicken not even being thought about. The cost of the feed would be astronomical! I would not even bother. Commercial operations do not purchase their feed from the local Tractor Supply at $20.00 per bag. They collect the waste...poo included dry it grind it up and feed it back to the chickens. So I would not worry about your chickens eating bugs! Free ranging is the only way to keep a backyard flock and possibly break even on the eggs. Even with free ranging I think the cost of my eggs is higher than "free range" eggs from the store. But I get enjoyment and a HUGE entertainment factor from my flock. All of that would be lost keeping them in cages.

 

[NC ChickenKate]

Please op, consider that your time and efforts put into raising, feeding, watering, cleaning pens, etc. is part of your costs per egg. The more time you must spend caring for your chickens' needs the more expensive your eggs must be to recoup your costs. If your eggs are more expensive than store-bought, why would folks want to by them? By giving your chickens an enclosed yard to spend the majority of their day the time you will spend cleaning their poop is lessened. The more weeds, grasses, bugs, veggie scraps they eat to round out their diet, the less you will need to spend on chicken feed (the price of which continues to rise. The less stressed a chicken is the fewer health problems they will develop. If making money off egg sales is your goal you have to consider what your time is worth and add it to your other start-up expenses. On paper, the sort of business you are considering rarely makes anything close to a profit and usually works at a loss every year.
Factory chickens, confined to the size of cage you are considering have a very short life expectancy when compared to unconfined chickens. You will need to slaughter your hens after two years due to fewer eggs showing up (and the meat will be not good for much other than frying) and then buy new chicks and start the cycle all over again.
If I was in your shoes I'd spend my first year building the biggest and best coop and yard I could (wood pallets are found free all over the country for materials). Paint it pretty for your mother. If you need help building it right, ask for help from someone and offer to pay them with free eggs for a month once the hens are laying. I'd build my own feeders, waterers, nest boxes, etc. and there are many, many photos on this BYC site to look over and copy. I'd read, absolutely everything I could, every single article, about all the aspects of raising chickens I could find. I'd find as many folks who also raise chickens (small scale) in your immediate area to pick their brains about weather concerns, breeds that do best in your area, local predators, shows, egg prices, where they get their feed, local vets that care for chickens...there is so much to learn! Put together a small medical emergency kit. Get your brooder ready and THEN order your chicks.
Don't limit your dreams by thinking small cages are the cheapest way to go...I think you'll find they won't be when you consider the problems inherent with that type of husbandry. The last thing to consider...chicken math! 24 hens turns into 30 hens mighty fast!
Best of luck and enjoy learning about chickens

 

[Busybee1]

I was thinking about getting some Leghorns from a commercial hatchery & I was thinking would it be possible to keep them in cages (almost like rabbit cages)?

According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, layers need just 60 sq inches of space. If I have a 2x2 cage (1 sq ft being taken up by a nesting box), I don't think I would put 7 chickens in there. But maybe 3? Then I can use rabbit feeders and have a nipple watering system set up.

I was thinking about having these cages set up just like a rabbit hutch, except instead of housing rabbits, they house chickens.

What do you think & why?

I think the OP is playing everyone and sitting back enjoying the show. I would not take the bait if I were u. There are too many people who really do want advise to waste your time one her posts. Look at her other posts and u will see what I mean.

 

[4 the Birds]

I think the OP is playing everyone and sitting back enjoying the show. I would not take the bait if I were u. There are too many people who really do want advise to waste your time one her posts. Look at her other posts and u will see what I mean.

The OP is young and learning. It is not a waste of time to help others learn and I am sure the posted advice is appreciated by her and other readers. I also read Backyard Herds and she has several thousand posts there and is familiar with raising sheep. We can offer her some advice with poultry here at Backyard Chickens.

 

[donnavee]

Did you post this just to get some people riled up? Because I can't really believe that someone would post such an idea on this site. And yes, I am riled up! Keeping 3 chickens in 2 square feet is like the equivelant of keeping 25 cats in a two bedroom house. Would you do that? Wouldn't they be standing on wire all day? That alone will cause major issues with their feet. It is animal cruelty, there's no way around it.

I was wondering that myself! You could probably live in say a 10 x 10 room with the basic necessities (food, water, warmth, a place to sleep and bathroom space) - but I think you would not be very happy or healthy. Personally, if that's the best life you can give the chickens then I think you should forget it.

 

[frenchiegirl21]

I read through all the posts, and don't see anyone being rude.

The idea that it's good to try and raise chickens in a 10 X 6 INCH space (60 SQ IN) is not "taking proper care" of them.

Picture an average shoe box. Now picture it with a chicken inside.

Also the excuse about "copper in the pastures" only makes sense if there will be tons of chicken manure per acre.

It's not "rude" to be factual

If one doesn't have the budget to build a proper coop, they should forget about chickens until they do

I apologize if I offended you. I understand where you are coming from, and I agree with you, but some people have posted rude things.Saying "I think the OP is playing everyone and sitting back enjoying the show. I would not take the bait if I were u. There are too many people who really do want advise to waste your time one her posts. Look at her other posts and u will see what I mean." is rude. That has no factual base or constructive criticism to help the OP. I wanted to bring some attention to it and show my support for the OP. It may not be my place to do so, but I believe she is doing the right thing by asking for opinions and trying to gather all the facts. I again apologize if I offended you or came off in a way I did not mean to.

Rachel

 

[CTchicken117]

I was on the Poultry Judging Team for my high school last year, and we placed 2nd in CT. Part of the test was housing and care for egg laying chickens -typically White Leghorns. I can recall that one of the major stresses of keeping birds caged all day in large facilities that produce eggs for grocery stores is - the risk for disease is extremely high, the cost to maintain the chickens is extremely high, and the egg quality will be nowhere near as good as other birds. To begin, the risk for disease is extremely high because chickens need proper ventilation, and without it, if one catches a disease such as Newcastle, it can be spread very easily throughout the whole flock. Not only is disease a problem, but ventilation is huge. Last year in Connecticut during the freak snowstorm of October, a major chicken plant lost power for a week, and over 1,000 birds perished! They did not have the necessities that electricity provides them with. Secondly, maintaining costs of chickens kept in cages all day is extremely high because they need a constant food supply, water supply, and moving air. If they cannot get out to exercise and hunt for bugs and scratch for seed, you will be paying more for their feed than they will be giving back to you. Lastly, the egg quality will not be as good as free range birds, because they will not have the exercise, the interaction, and the ability to forage. Those three factors are major in egg quality. I strongly believe that you consider another option, and if you need to wait for more money to suit your mother's needs, then so be it. It would be better for the chickens, and you if you waited to get the proper supplies.