Is my Backyard Big Enough? And How to Stop Flying? Want buy my first Chickens

[Jr005]

Hello Im new here and I want to buy my first chickens because I have a pretty descent size yard but Im worried about my chickens flying into my neighbors yard or even worse a major street that is front of my house that always have cars driving 35 mph..

Im also worried they might be too loud but there is a rooster in my neighborhood so im hoping no one will complain..

 

[Jr005]

Also I added a 14' Wide Pool in front of the fence I was thinking about adding the chicken coop behind the white fence..

 

[torilovessmiles]

You have two options to keep them from flying, wing clipping and pinning them up. Keep in mind, some breeds can fly up to 6 feet high with wings clipped. Measure out a space, your birds will need at least 10sq feet/bird run space and 4sq feet/ bird coop space, but if you choose not to free range (which I suggest with the road) you may want to make a goal of 15+ sqft/bird run space. (This measurement is for standard birds, it can be a bit smaller for bantams.) That sounds like a lot, bit its really not. After you measure out, you can decide how many chickens you can keep. I'm sure you'd have the space for at least 3 standard hens
The sounds that hens make is about as loud as the average human conversation, barely audible outside your yard.
Have fun!! Welcome to BYC!

 

[Jr005]

thank you very much for your advice.. If I choose not to free range the chickens will the eggs still be considered organic? And if they were free range would the eggs be considered healthier or taste better?

Also I would like chickens that lay big brown eggs but that are not too noisy any suggestions on breed?

 

[Toddrick]

Your yard is plenty big enough.

Production Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth Rocks, and Buff Orpingtons do not really fly very high. At least none of mine have, although I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule. I think most dual purpose birds in general don't fly much more than waste high usually. Buff Orpingtons are probably the quietest, but lay smaller eggs. Heck, I'd suggest you get one or more of each of these breeds above like I did, since the variety is very pretty. Reds are best (dual purpose, brown egg) layers although they are afraid of people, Orps are more calm around people, and I believe Plymouths are in between the two as far as personalities go.

Stay away from the Leghorns and other birds that are bred to lay and not to eat, because their bodies are lighter, and they can fly higher. Plus I hear they are a lot less friendly and louder.

 

[torilovessmiles]

thank you very much for your advice.. If I choose not to free range the chickens will the eggs still be considered organic? And if they were free range would the eggs be considered healthier or taste better?

Also I would like chickens that lay big brown eggs but that are not too noisy any suggestions on breed?

Organic simply means that they are fed "organic" feeds, and they are not in battery cages. By most state laws, "free range" labeling simply means that the chickens have access to the outdoors. Honestly, if you're not selling eggs, there aren't a whole lot of benefits to raising "organic" chickens, IMHO. Some members would disagree, however. That is up to you

I like my Red Sexlinks (AKA Golden Buffs, Golden Comets, Cinnamon Queens, Red Stars, and many other names) for laying capability. They are a hybrid of a Red gene rooster, and a Silver gene hen, producing mostly red to buff hens with white underfluff, and males that are mostly white with cream and brown accents. They lay Extra-Large brown eggs, nearly every single day, usually even in the winter! If you see brown eggs at the store, they most likely came from a Red Sexlinked hen

Other options are Plymouth Rocks. They come in many colors, with the most popular being barred, second being white. They lay a bit less than the Sexlinks, but they lay throughout more of their lives and have longer lifespans than Red Sexlinks.

Rhode Island Reds are a good option as well. Hatchery birds are production types, and they are also often a daily-layer just like the Red Sexlinks. Where I live, the Rhode Island Red seems to be everyone's favorites!

My Red Sexlinks aren't too loud. They make some quiet purring sounds and clucks. All hens make a somewhat loud sound when laying, but it's not audible for my neighbors and it doesn't last long.

 

[torilovessmiles]

Your yard is plenty big enough.

Production Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth Rocks, and Buff Orpingtons do not really fly very high. At least none of mine have, although I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule. I think most dual purpose birds in general don't fly much more than waste high usually. Buff Orpingtons are probably the quietest, but lay smaller eggs. Heck, I'd suggest you get one or more of each of these breeds above like I did, since the variety is very pretty. Reds are best (dual purpose, brown egg) layers although they are afraid of people, Orps are more calm around people, and I believe Plymouths are in between the two as far as personalities go.

Stay away from the Leghorns and other birds that are bred to lay and not to eat, because their bodies are lighter, and they can fly higher. Plus I hear they are a lot less friendly and louder.

Lucky! All of my hens seem to be capable of clearing 5' no problem. You can't really count on general breed types, I suppose.

However, the sole fact that you (OP) live near the road would be the decision maker for me on free-ranging. I thought I was far enough away from the road, but lo and behold, one walked right in front of a coal truck. My favorite one. It was a very sad day.
*Edit because I seemed a bit rude in my wording!! Sorry!!!

 

[Toddrick]

Lucky. All of my hens seem to be capable of clearing 5' no problem. You can't really count on general breed types, I suppose.
However, the sole fact that you (OP) live near the road would be the decision maker for me on free-ranging. I thought I was far enough away from the road, but lo and behold, one walked right in front of a coal truck. My favorite one. It was a very sad day. 

Maybe I feed mine too much . I have a four foot fence around my little chicken yard, and they don't even think about flying over it. Now if I chased them around they might try, but mine have never tried to escape for the sake of it. In the year and a half that I have had those three breeds, I never saw one fly more than three feet off the ground, and that was always just when they were racing to catch up with their free range mates--they fly for distance, not height.

Like Tori says, Red Sex Links (RSL's) lay XL brown eggs, and almost every day. My sister says hers can fly pretty high, which is the only reason I didn't mention them. But there are lots of varieties of RSL's so it depends. You can always keep them in a covered run so they don't fly the coop!

Black Australorps and Black Sex Links (BSL's) are also excellent choices, and very popular among BYC'ers. I have no personal experience with them (yet, they are in my list), but I understand they are both similar in laying abilities, and friendliness.

 

[torilovessmiles]

Maybe I feed mine too much

. I have a four foot fence around my little chicken yard, and they don't even think about flying over it. Now if I chased them around they might try, but mine have never tried to escape for the sake of it. In the year and a half that I have had those three breeds, I never saw one fly more than three feet off the ground, and that was always just when they were racing to catch up with their free range mates--they fly for distance, not height.

Like Tori says, Red Sex Links (RSL's) lay XL brown eggs, and almost every day. My sister says hers can fly pretty high, which is the only reason I didn't mention them. But there are lots of varieties of RSL's so it depends. You can always keep them in a covered run so they don't fly the coop!

Black Australorps and Black Sex Links (BSL's) are also excellent choices, and very popular among BYC'ers. I have no personal experience with them (yet, they are in my list), but I understand they are both similar in laying abilities, and friendliness.

Yep!! Just out of curiosity, what do you think of covering it with flight netting, like the type they use for pheasants' flight pens? I'm in the process of designing a really big run and wondering about a good way to cover it.
Not to hijack the thread, but I think it's useful information

 

[Jr005]

I would love to sell Eggs Also I just thought having a couple of chickens wouldnt be enough to have for myself and sell..
My wife does not want to smell the chicken poop so I will make the chicken house in the back of my yard..

I just want outside to get measurements and I can make there house about 15' wide x 25' - 30' long
So will this be enough space for 3 or 4 chickens? And will it be enough eggs to have and sell?