Everyone is discouraging me

[lazy gardener]

Agreed re: supervised free range. They love it, and no matter where my girls go on my property, I can usually get them to come running by taking a quick stroll around the yard shaking the scratch can and giving them my signature call. I do realize that with flock expansion this spring, and choosing some more adventuresome foragers, that may change the free range dynamics a bit! Always new challenges and new stuff to learn!

 

[mortie]

Mortie, Don't let people discourage you. I scanned through this thread, and picked up that you're planning on a small flock up to 4 pullets, will build a coop, perhaps 2 level with attached run... and are interested in deep litter. sounds wonderful. Does the area where you will house them get much sun? Especially in a cold area, your girls will want lots of sunlight, as well as available shade. They won't do as well in an area that is constantly shaded. Deep litter is the best way to keep the odor down. My coop is an 8 x 8 cattle panel with 4 x 6 loft for roosting and nests, DL shavings in the loft, DL leaves, grass clippings in the lower 8 x 8 level. There is essentially no odor. I'm not sure if anyone suggested it, but an other factor that helps with the odor is to give your flock fermented feed. It develops a good pro-biotic flora in the chicken's gut so they digest the feed better. They will also eat less feed over all which will stretch your feed budget. I find that dog poop on a lawn smells far worse than any smells I pick up when I am standing in my girl's CP coop. I also think that you will find the average short duration egg song to be less disruptive than the barking of some dogs.

You've pretty much got the gist of it! I have been reading about fermented feed and it does interest me, I will look more into that. I agree that my dog probably poops more, and her poop is more...objectionable. I have read that chickens make some noise when they lay...I've been trying to find a video on youtube that illustrates it but it's not much of a concern for me. It can't be any louder than my dog...or my lawnmower for that matter!

Warning: if you hatch eggs, you will get some roosters! Can you dispose of them?

mk

Yes. I have a couple of different options for roosters. Which route I go will depend on how big they are when I have to make the cut.

for a small flock like you are talking about you would have to completely neglect the birds in order for the coop to get smelly enough to be a problem, I have a larger coop and 26 birds right now and even if the poop builds up under the roosts a little between cleanings you cannot smell it around my yard, sure if you go in the coop there is a certain smell but that isn't even what I would call bad, just a coop smell. However if you don't ventilate properly and don't clean often enough it could really stink, good ventilation equals dry not overly stinky poop.

Great, thank you. This is exactly what I need to know!

That's actually a 4X12 run as they have access to under the coop too. That type of set up is plenty of space for 4 standard chickens.

Don't forget you'll tame them, get them to come running when you call, chickens love pecking about the yard so when ever your outside for a few hours you can let them out. When they start heading off your yard call them back, may have to walk them back if they are out a lot as they will be looking for better forage.

I have a 6 foot privacy fence and some friends have told me they will probably not try to go over that. I just know I'll get at least one really intrepid one that will wonder what is up there and get up on it and come down on the wrong side. One neighbor would be amused. One would be irritated. During the fight to legalize chickens in my city one of the major objections the animal control people had was having chickens on the loose so they are likely to come down pretty hard on someone with poultry at large. If I felt reasonably sure they would stay within my fenced yard I would have no problems with them running around in the yard. It will take some extra supervision with the dog though.


Ok someone asked if the area the coop is going is sunny. It is not sunny. It's in the shade most of the time. One of the reasons I am being allowed to put chickens there is because grass won't grow there anyway. The trees will mean less snow in the run and less rain....but also less sun.

 

[mortie]

Agreed re: supervised free range. They love it, and no matter where my girls go on my property, I can usually get them to come running by taking a quick stroll around the yard shaking the scratch can and giving them my signature call. I do realize that with flock expansion this spring, and choosing some more adventuresome foragers, that may change the free range dynamics a bit! Always new challenges and new stuff to learn!

I was thinking that likely they will be conditioned to come back to their coop area when they hear a certain sound whether I try to do that on purpose or it happens by accident. I am sure they learn very quickly to associate certain people and sounds with food. And chickens like food

 

[flickerloo]

Pine shavings dry out the poop in the coop very quickly. Also, I feed fermented mash, and it really changed their poop quite a bit... Firmer and less stinky. I live in a neighborhood in the city on a very small lot, and only my closest neighbors even know I have chickens, and that is because they talk to me on a regular basis. My run smells less than my neighbor's dog "litter box". I can't actually smell anything unusual until I am standing in the run, and even then it is minimal. And the only time my hens make any noise is when they are laying or if a large bird or dog outside their run scares them.

Definitely don't let others' ignorance keep you from having urban chickens!

 

[blucoondawg]

Here is a example of what folks call the "egg song" this is the noisiest your hen will get and they only do it for a short period either before or after they have just laid an egg. There are many examples of this online just google "chicken egg song" or do a search on youtube and you will find many such videos. Mine can get quite loud as I have 25 hens and it seems when one gets going some others will join in, the good news is the are generally in the coop when this goes on as they are in or near their nest area so the coop helps muffle the noise, and again with your small amount of hens this little noise occasionally shouldn't bother anyone unless your neighbors are major fuddy duddies

 

[annagarret]

I was thinking that likely they will be conditioned to come back to their coop area when they hear a certain sound whether I try to do that on purpose or it happens by accident. I am sure they learn very quickly to associate certain people and sounds with food. And chickens like food

I have always called "Babies" to mine when they are out and they come running to me...if I am out gardening or watering they stick right by my side....like little puppies..

 

[mortie]

Thanks for the helpful information! The chicken song video was pretty hilarious. I think it's cute

 

[Plough]

I have always called "Babies" to mine when they are out and they come running to me...if I am out gardening or watering they stick right by my side....like little puppies..

Mine do also, and rightly so. When ever I'm digging and find these white fleshy thumb sized grubs (which is particularly regularly in my compost) I toss the grubs to them. Hands down their favorite treats.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm learning to keep a little bucket handy when I garden to put the creepy crawlie chickie treats in so I don't have to go find a chicken every time I unearth one... and then stand by and enjoy the keep away antics. They LOVE tomato horn worms. Thrash the guts out of them, then run around with the skin like it's some great prize before they finally eat that too!

 

[3KillerBs]

How many chickens do you have in your 4x8 run?

7, which is really one too many but I haven't had any odor issues with regular doses of fresh bedding.

I convinced DH to fence the backyard so that the chickens can have some time on Bug Patrol. It will just be 4' chicken wire and so not dog-proof but it will do for while people are out there with them.

PS -- I never scoop. I just toss more bedding down in the run when they get it well-broken down. And I put additional shavings in the coop when it seemed low.

I'm going to replace the bedding in the coop this week. Its nice and dry and doesn't smell, but its gotten fairly dusty.