No wire fencing required for chicken run?

[CliftonQuail]

@teddyjames

You can have a village of tiny coops instead of one large one. Wooden shipping crates are sometimes free. Up on legs with boards across the back two they can form part of a wall for the run.

I met a woman once who was using old pet carriers as her coops and nesting boxes. She had stacks of them with bungee cords to hold the doors closed at night. There were dozens of birds wandering around her property. That's sort of like your idea of a village of coops.

To the idea of raising quail: I have coturnix quail. They take up very little space and mine typically start laying at around 6 weeks. Granted the eggs aren't as big as chicken eggs, but they're pretty healthy for you. The birds are relatively easy to harvest, too. They need a higher protein feed than chickens, but other than that, I'm happy with my birds.

 

[GCrumb]

@CliftonQuail I've seen quite a few of wooden shipping crates with one side hinged, a pop door and ventilation and a tarpaper roof added. Roosting bar and maybe a nest box, perhaps in the form of an actual cardboard box, inside. A neighbor had such a setup. It's not too bad looking and works fine, though it's a half a dozen doors to open in the morning and shut up at night.

 

[FloorCandy]

I met a woman once who was using old pet carriers as her coops and nesting boxes. She had stacks of them with bungee cords to hold the doors closed at night. There were dozens of birds wandering around her property. That's sort of like your idea of a village of coops.

To the idea of raising quail: I have coturnix quail. They take up very little space and mine typically start laying at around 6 weeks. Granted the eggs aren't as big as chicken eggs, but they're pretty healthy for you. The birds are relatively easy to harvest, too. They need a higher protein feed than chickens, but other than that, I'm happy with my birds.

I think it was important that the birds could reproduce themselves, quail are short lived and an incubator is a pricey purchase. Plus game bird feed is pricier than chicken feed in general and you can’t give the quail chicken layer until they’re adults. Plus quail are harder to contain without any mesh because they fit in such small places. I put my 6 remaining quail in my aviary, I’ve had like 3 sightings, I hear them, but they crammed into small openings behind stuff. It’s fine, I have chickens and turkeys for eggs, but I haven’t seen a quail egg since I moved them into the larger area, I’m sure they’re laying them behind the shed or chicken house between the aviary walls and the furnishings.

If people locally will provide free birds to you, you can always try yard birds, and if they get killed you only lost a bag of feed. Tbh if you lose some, the remaining birds will probably be the ones with better instincts, like staying closer to home etc, and you can grow a flock of more successful birds.

 

[JaTexas]

Hope someone can help.

My backstory: I'm 67yrs old. Kinda desperate. I have always worked for myself and never had a "real" job. I have been poor all my life but it's not been too bad overall, even though I have no retirement, a money pit for a car, and don't own this trailer that my nephew lets us stay in for free. (Thanks Joe) I make ends meet on $550 per month with a little bit added in the form of government food assistance. We visit the local food banks but we get more black beans than anything. The occasional can of tuna or spam comes in real handy late in the month. Currently my family of four can not afford to eat the whole month. We resort to eating ramen the last week or so before my benefits come in. In order to try and not starve the last week of the month, we have decided to try and raise some chickens to help supplement our diet in the form of eggs and meat. We have some locals who will donate a some birds. I have some wood scrap that might be enough to make a coop. Problem is that wire fencing is so expensive! I'm afraid we are going to have to do something else.

Is there any way to give chickens room to peck and eat grass and stuff without using a wire fence? How did the pilgrims do it some 300 years ago without wire? We have to have something strong and covered because there are dogs, hawks and coyotes all around.

There is help out there. Do not panic. Local agencies like school 4H Clubs, FFA (Future Farmers of America), Eagles, our Boy Scout Troup did projects like this in our tiny town in Texas. Even try your county Agriculture Department. Don't keep your "light" under the basket...open it and let the locals know your issues. And, it never hurts to pray for help!

 

[teddyjames]

I found some affordable wire to make a 10x10 run. I have enough lumber to build a 8x8 coop minus flooring and wall coverings. Right now feed prices are also affordable in my area, even the good stuff. If I can find enough materials to floor the coop and cover the walls I think we can do this.

In my childhood years I can remember my family raising chickens. We ate meat and had eggs for everyone. The birds ran free and roosted in the trees around our place. No matter how many birds we had, they always only bought 100lbs of chopped corn. There were many predators but we had so many birds that we never really missed them. Think 200 free range birds left basically to fend for themselves. Every spring I remember seeing chicks everywhere. Multiple hens with so many chicks they couldn't cover them all. Many died, many made it. None lived to be over 4 years old. We also had geese, turkey, ducks and basically anything that an old farmer woman would want. That area still has a few chickens running around but the key is no neighbors and all the stray dogs get shot on site unlike my location. Out of the 15 or so people that have homesteads here, none have chickens. All have multiple dogs. Think 18 dogs of all shapes and sizes running around. Local dog catcher will come and round them up but my neighbors just go out and get more. The stress lvls of any chicken around here will probably be insane having a pack of dogs constantly staring them down through flimsy chicken wire.

I'm thinking about going with Rhode Island Reds. I hear some roosters can be aggressive which is a bonus. I personally prefer mean roosters. I may add in a hen that likes to go broody so I can raise a few chicks.

When I talk to people around here about playing classical music for my birds, insulating the coop, planning the run and coop the right size for the flock, feeding my birds anything other than corn or mash, keeping the coop warm in winter and providing something more robust than flimsy chicken wire, they think im crazy and tell me that chickens don't need all of that. When I'm successful and do more with less, maybe they won't think I'm insane.

Already been through this with tomatoes, telling me that 10 10 10 fert is all they ever need. I told them mine will grow 12 foot vines. They called me crazy. Right now they are at 4 feet and going strong thanks to research and the net. Maybe my girls will get some tomatoes too!

By the way I really do appreciate all the help and responses I have gotten. It has helped in so many ways. Thanks again.

 

[NatJ]

Currently my family of four can not afford to eat the whole month.

I have been killing birds for food my whole life.... Its really simple for me, been doing it 50+ years

You have mentioned that there are people you can get chickens from.
If those people want to get rid of extra males, or old hens that will not lay very well anyway, you might just butcher them for meat.

That would give you chicken meat, using the skills and tools you already have, and let you skip all the concerns about predator-proof housing for chickens.

For what you have described about the predators and your financial situation, it may not be cost-effective for you to try actually keeping chickens.

if you get caught killing a deer out of season, its a huge fine and possible jail sentence. Thats why..
and if you kill a rabbit in the summer when they have rabbit fleas, it can and will make you very sick.

So you may be able to hunt certain wild animals, at certain seasons, but cannot do it all year long. Maybe a big freezer would serve you better than chickens? That way you could stock up at the correct time of year, and have the meat to eat all year long.

They say its best to grow a garden and raise your own food but its looking like its just cheaper to buy it at the store. Didn't used to be that way.

If you are thinking of a garden, you might consider a few potatoes. In some climates they are easy to grow and produce well, and in some they do not. I would not try to grow a giant patch the first year, just plant one or two potatoes in a spot where you won't step on them, and see how they do. If they do well, you can eat some of the potatoes and save the smaller ones to plant next year. If they do badly, you haven't lost much by trying.

 

[teddyjames]

When I say we have the birds covered, I mean that Murry Mcmurry has them for 2.15 each. 10 will only set me back 20 something. We can get chicks online.

Freezer? No way. The power goes out here all the time and we never ever pack our freezer because we never know when the power will go out for 4-5 days.

I will eat all the birds the hens raise (pretty much).

I'm confident that I can get more eggs for 20 dollars using live birds than buying them. Even if the savings is pennys its worth it. When the net loss is pennies, I'll quit. I think it'll work out.

 

[SourRoses]

Raising birds to laying age is the actual expense behind Point of Lay pullets. By the time they get to laying age you have sunk in more than you expect.
I sell extra POL pullets for $30 each, that's just covering expenses. Heat lamp, electricity, feeders and waterers, it really adds up.

But if you want to raise your own, keep in mind shipping and other costs - you're financially better off going to your feed store on chick days, or finding a local keeper with chicks.
If you want to save money on feed, Leghorns are #1. RIR eat a bit more per egg.

 

[teddyjames]

This is something long term that we are willing to do until we die. Waiting 4-5 months for a chick to start laying is moot. I can wait 4-5 months in order to have more affordable and sustainable food for the rest of my life (less than 40 years) Its an investment. Wait 6 months then have cheap food for the next 40 years. NO BRAINER lol

We aren't starving to death but food does run low and we have to resort to eating foods we hate like black beans and rice, ramen. I mean ramen is great but not if you have to eat it 5 days in a row for breakfast lunch and dinner and that is what we have to do the last 5 or so days of the month.

For some reason I don't go for feed store birds. In the past we have had issues with the quality of the chicks plus our local feed store only has random chicks and never a selection of quality birds like RIR's or barred rocks. They are pretty well known for telling you they are one breed but when they grow they are something else all together. I just don't trust feed store chicks.

This whole being poor thing has gotten way out of hand. We have a hard time buying food, we soon won't have any vehicles to use because ours is old (2002 model, 312,000 miles and about gone). We may or may not have the land sold out underneath us. My family requires lots of healthcare which is where the most of our money goes. Its just insane how no matter how hard you try, if you don't have MONEY, you can't do anything. Poor people just don't stand a chance.

I wonder why the crime rate is so high? Its seems impossible to get anything the honest hard working way anymore.

 

[GCrumb]

I'm afraid if the power goes out randomly for four or five days at a time, you won't be able to raise day-old-chicks. They need heat.

Your best bet may be to put up an advert at feed/pet stores and on craigslist saying you take unwanted chickens. Eat them unless they seem likely to be laying, keep the ones that are, and see what you end up with.

You can also start to improve your pasture by throwing out clover and flax seed (free, watch for stands by the side of the road, when the seedheads ripen shake them out into a paper bag) in areas where you want chickens to forage and they can be watched better.

You might see if you can source agricultural gleanings, like wheat with a lot of dirt and pebbles in it from cleaning out the thresher, that kinda stuff is great.