Prepare for your chickens if you decide to go for it. Have a good, larger-than-you-imagined coop with proper ventilation high up, nests about a foot off the floor, roosts higher than the nests but not so high they are in line with the ventilation, multiple locks on all doors to keep out dexterous racoons, all windows covered with 1/2 inch hardware cloth, a larger run than you thought, and cover every inch of that run in the same hardware cloth along the bottom so raccoons can't reach through, and the top with nothing bigger than 1inchx2inch wire fence so fishercats, weasels, and young racoons can't climb up and squeeze through. Also, and so important, make a 2 foot apron around the perimeter to keep digging preditors out. Last but not least cover the top with that 1x2 wire to keep out hawks, owls, and those climbing preditors...racoon, fishercats, weasels, etc.
Thats what I did....except the coop itself isn't tall enough for me to stand inside. Next year. There's lways next year improvements.
Lots of work. And money unless you have such supplies on hand. Then you start buying the food, unless you feed them acording to Back To Eden gardening methods.
But now it's done. You bring in your chickens. You watch them interact. You interact. You start recognising each one. You start automatically naming them. You know who the friendly one is, who the clown is, who's the boss...and they start to know you.
And you realise it was all worth it. You're in love.
OH! And there are eggs!
And the best darn fertilizer on God's earth. Now you need a garden!!
It's a hobby that is a lifestyle that keeps maturing.
Yeah, its a bit of money to start but do it right and the rest is worth it.
And come here for help and encouraging words.
