How much work involved in raising chickens?

[klen]

I have a similar situation. One dog, a 3.5 year old and a 13 month old. My baby is DE-MAN-DING to say the least. When I need to get stuff done, I stick her in my Beco carrier and put her on my back and she's good. Otherwise I'm holding her all.the.time. We just got our first 3 baby chicks and everything is going good so far. We're getting our other 6 next month.

I clean out the brooder box at least twice a day (poop) and change the water once a day and make sure they have food. I also pick each one up at least once a day and let them perch on my hand as long as they wish and talk to them. My 3 year old loves to love on the chickies and the baby loves to squeal at them. It's going good so far.

I don't imagine cleaning the coop once a week and changing water and feeding them once a day is going to be that much work. But that's what I plan. I also work part time and my husband works full time. But everything we do, we are in on together. If he's unsure, I wouldn't do it.

 

[Ema]

I have 3 children, work full time and the kids school activities keep me incredibly busy, still I have chickens and vegie gardens. the time consuming part is the building of the coop and runs. the chickens aren't all that picky and as long as they got food and water and running room they are quite happy to go about their things. I spend 2o minutes in the morning, bringing them fresh water and making sure they got plenty of feed and unlocking the coop for them, and gather eggs. if I am not home they do not free range, but someone is always home so they are always out free ranging anyhow. then around nightfall they happily all come back to their coop to sleep, and I go back out check food and water and lock the door after a head count.

Every sunday i go and clean out the coop completely, and sift their sand box while they are out and about. the coop clean up takes me about an hour, but they are so entertaining I could spend all day watching them, lol....we do spend a lot of time with them because we are always working in the yard on something or other. so if you have little time you can still do it, but you will find making a lot more time then you think because it is really enjoyable having them around

Ema

ohh and

 

[sammyh312]

My wife and kids bugged me for the longest about raising chickens, but id heard all the promises before, and i knew that as soon as the "new" wore off, id be stuck with taking care of em. Id gotten into a rut the past few years where if i wasnt at work (22 yr. cop) i was in my chair with beer and the big screen, and after being raised in a semi-farm life between Illinois and Texas, I wanted nuthin to do with any kind of livestock. Well, I finally gave in, and after building a coop and run, and getting the first birds, I WAS HOOKED!!! Best thing i coulda done...im no longer laid up on my dead arse glued to the NFL channel, and me and the kids are having a ball with our flock! Only twelve birds (ten hens) so far, but im already planning to expand the area and go up to at least thirty soon. You can put in as much work as you want, but in reality it takes no more than ten to fifteen minutes to care for them. Now im inventing things to do outside, and am always trying to think of ways to tweak the coop and run, and when im not out there, im here reading and learning. Just let your husband know, a few minutes a day feeding, watering, spreading DE, etc are all that needs to be done. Sure, you might have a more detailed cleaning routine on a saturday or two per month, but even that doesnt take more than an hour or two. In fact, he'll probably be trying to find things to do so he can be out there with them more! my wife and i even put patio furniture out there for our coffee in the morning! What i remembered as drudgery as a kid turned out to be just the ticket in middle age, and I love being out there in the morning with my coffee when Rocky starts crowing! Y'all do it, you wont regret it.

 

[Smittenroade]

Chickens are easy, don't need much room and productive. WIN WIN WIN and theyre not noisy, if you don't have a rooster that is. Which you don't need for eggs or anything anyways...Unless you want them to be fertile which I'm guessing you don't.

 

[Tala]

It's as much work as you want it to be.
Some days I spend all day with them. Some days I let everything slide.

They have enough water to last at least 2 days, or longer, even in the summer, and a feeder that holds 60+lbs of feed, so in theory I could simply collect eggs and be done with them that day. Most days I top off the water and bring them treats and such, but still I can be in and out in 10 minutes if I WANT to be. Most of the work is getting the kinks out of your "set up" - building a predator secure pen, deciding what feeder/waterer works best for you, etc. Even raising chicks is pretty easy once you get it down to a science.
About once a week I dump and clean the water buckets, and turn the bedding in the coop, but even that doesn't take THAT long to do.

 

[ChicKat]

Hi aliceb---

You are smart to get chickens. everyone should have them.

The same concerns that you expressed passed through my mind..and I am brand new to chickens. I think that your idea of two or three is a good starting point... (I have 3). It occurs to me that it doesn't take much more work to take care of a flock than it takes to care for a cat. There are some caveats and variables... Some chickens are noiser than other breeds.... just like some cats are noisier.

Your chickens will be noisiest when they see you coming around, because they will begin to associate you with food, and treats.....

I researched coop options, and I ended up getting an 'Eglu Go' and attached run. It is like a small dog house... The back opens like an oven, and the floor slides out completely. So once I had the set up and routine down, it was less than 5-minutes each day.
1. Put in fresh feed, they run to gobble it up, ( I do take feed in every night so no mice think it is a buffet awaiting them)
2. Close the door to the run, so they won't stroll out of the back of the coop while I am dumping
3. open the back door
4. pull out the bottom
5. dump the poo and wood shavings in a plastic container that holds it until convenient to put in compost,
6. If it is sloppy/dirty, squirt with a hose and brush with a car-wash brush or dish brush ---make sure it is dry before adding wood shavings.
7. put fresh wood shavings on floor and in the nest box area.
8. Then slide the floor and nest-box/ roosts in close up the back door, and open the pop door---- just in time for the egg laying to begin.
9. Make certain the waterer is clean and topped off

That takes longer to write (and read) than to do.

After that -- refresh the water, and by 9:00 we usually have the first of 3 eggs. I am astonished and in awe of how productive these chickens are.

Once a week if needed a little more washing like on the detachable back door for example, may be worthwhile.

I have three huge tubs that cattle molasses supplement comes in. One for poop, one for shavings, scrub brush, scooper and DE and one for feed, grit, oyster shells and treats. Each has a snap on lid and makes for a great seat to sit and watch the chicken antics.

because the Eglu is plastic, it doesn't need repainting, or treating, mites can't get into the perches etc.. Wood coops are reputed to need annual painting or finishing on the inside.... Probably a lot of that depends upon climate and exposure.

I think that from what I have read on this forum, the owner of a few chickens can clean daily -- and the owners of many chickens clean the coops, yearly or half-yearly. It could be that the time commitment is nearly the same.

Where you live will influence what works best for you. If predator protection is important, be sure to factor that into your planning. The person who suggested a chicken tractor provided good advice, moving the coop around can be very advantageous.

A downside to the Eglu Go is that it is very low-to-the ground. So maybe if you get something like an Eglu, or if you get a chicken-tractor like an A-frame you may want to be sure that you can easily access it when you are pregnant. (Or if you keep chickens a very long, long, long time, when you get old and arthritic like me. :O) )

Hopefully your husband will become as enthusiastic about chickens as you will be. We love our chickens!

Think through your criteria and once you have determined what will work for your needs, you will be on your way to flock happiness.