Hi - brand new... suggestions welcomed

[KristiK22]

HI there! Brand new here We live outside of DC and have to pay a heft $450 fee to get a chicken permit BUT if we can "build a plan" for our yard, we are willing to do it.
First:4 kids, 1 dog. Not a big yard. Fenced in. We want the chickens to work the yard permaculture style for our next-spring garden.
Kids want to be a part. WE homeschool and watch/learn a lot from you tubers. We currently have a butterfly garden and front-yard square foot garden.
We want the chickens to work the land, to learn from the process, for fun and for nutritional benefits. We have one very special needs kiddo as well some food intolerances. We need corn-free, pastured eggs and align mostly with a Weston A Price kind of diet.
We are considering a coop verses a chicken tractor... We will move in a few years (military) so that is to be considered. We would like to keep a compost pile over the winter for the chickens to work as well. We have a back corner area of the yard that does back up to fencing and neighbors but also dense forest/brush and it's untamed area of our yard. This long run up the fence is the future garden and then the back corner we hope to be compost but all in all chicken area.
ANY tips?! I want family friendly layers BUT I MUST have clean and quiet to sell the neighbors on the idea...

 

[PirateGirl]

I'm not sure if you rent or own, but chickens (even a small number), can and will easily destroy that grass. I know you want them to work the yard, but a barren yard is not appealing to buyers when that time comes in a few years for you to sell and your family to move on. I like your idea of a chicken tractor that can be moved, as this will help prevent this from happening since they won't be in any one spot for too long.

You mention composting (and needing a permit for chickens)... check on your area's rules on composting. You may or may not be allowed to have an open pile (looks like you live in a neighborhood). So that may impact your plans. I know I have close neighbors and the rule is that I am allowed to compost, but it must be in a bin/tumbler. A way around this may be a stationary run with deep litter.

Just some things to think about while you are in the planning phase.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello, Kristi, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined
I'm concerned about your concern about getting the neighbors on board with the idea of you having permitted chickens that you are paying a very hefty price for.
Chickens are NOT quiet and they will not work the land for you. They will work the land for THEM.
How many are you planning on getting? You will also have to deal with A LOT of chicken poop in your backyard if you let them out daily as well as them flying up onto and over those fences. They will.
If you decide instead to build a coop with a large run, you still need to deal with all that poop. You can put it in the compost pile but I can speak from experience that for two days after I dump the poop board bucket into the compost pile, it REEKS!! Your neighbors will not appreciate that.
You may want to have a very small flock, say 3 that you confine to a coop with large attached run with deep litter that can be mixed to compost gradually and without all the stink.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC. Many of your questions will be answered in the links below (and this one -
Space requirements). Chickens are not necessarily quiet - particularly just prior to laying.

Here are some links to useful resources:

• List of guides on how to use the site - “How to...” guides
• Great go-to resource - Learning Centre
• Good starting point for browsing the site - Articles
• Insightful feedback on how members manage their flocks - Topic of the Week back-catalogue
• Excellent sources of local information - U.S. States

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[ValerieJ]

Hi! Welcome to BYC! Sorry no advice here. Have not tried to manage chickens in a subdivision. I only have 3 types of chickens, buff orpingtons, black australorps, and rhode island reds. Of those three, the BA's are the quietest. They are all friendly. Good luck!

 

[KristiK22]

To answer: yes we own!
We want to rotate them over the grass BUT it’s mostly weeds... not well cultivated grass!
We do want a garden and mulch cover. We do want thick bedding to “compost” and we also want a small flock! 2-5. Nothing ridiculous!
A tractor or movable coop allows us to move them where we want within the fence... so if they are loud or whatever, I can adapt. We just want friendly, laying hens. Not meat chickens or anything else. We ARE in a subdivision tho and have to basically have neighbor permission... I can move them around to a different area but it’s not as ideal.
We do want to free range then some for their health and for bugs! But I do need to know how to manage the spaces properly... that’s the planning stage and why I’m reaching out.
I grew up around chicken houses and ewwwwww so stinky!!! By everyone tells me proper backyard chickens a don’t stink...

 

[KristiK22]

This area we want the grass gone and chicken manure to prep for a garden

 

[KristiK22]

This is the area that we have open but us currently the playing area

 

[BlueBaby]

Hello, and welcome! Glad that you joined! Good luck with your plan's. @Compost King would be able to tell you about chicken's and compost pile's.

 

[drumstick diva]

Thank you for joining us at Backyard Chickens