Official BYC Poll: Which Challenges Did You Face in Getting Backyard Chickens?

[AntiqueB]

My biggest hurdle was my SO, who was adamantly against chickens. When he finally said ok, I had to rush to order chicks before he changed his mind, so I didn't really get the breeds I originally wanted; I got what they had available to ship fast! Then one of them was a boy, so I had the stress of rehoming. . . At least I had already bought a coop in advance!

Thankfully, my neighbors have been very nice about the girls, and I do give eggs away to them. I love my chickens, and am so glad I got them!

By the way, hubby loves them, too, now.

 

[Thunder344]

I got chickens for eggs and pets that some of them have survived moving to a whole different house. The main problem is limiting myself to a smaller number of chickens. I currently have 63.

 

[K0k0shka]

I'm sorry you have to deal with a nasty neighbor. Maybe they'll move soon. I was lucky with my next door neighbor. The town ordinance dictates that the coop and run have to be 10 feet from the property line. When the animal control officer came to inspect my coop before I was granted a license the neighbor cae over and told the officer that he was happy that I had my coop and run behind my garage close enough to his back porch so he and his wife could sit on their porch and see and hear my hens. I got my license and the coop is only 4 feet from the property line! My neighbors are out every morning and eat their breakfast on the porch on nice days when I go out to let my girls out into their run. they say they love to see how goofy the birds are when they get a little running room and love to hear the egg song. Of course I share extra eggs with them often.

You're lucky! My neighbor said he's not moving anytime soon. He also refused eggs or any peace offerings. Some people just suck.

Which city was that in? I am a Russian speaker too.

A suburb of Boston. I'm not a Russian speaker though

 

[DonyaQuick]

Secure run (an extension anyway) and Other for me, Other being the big one.

By far my biggest challenge was getting from a place with a land where I could put a coop. I wanted chickens for over a year while sitting in an apartment. Everything after that has been so much easier in comparison, especially getting chickens...just walked into my local TSC and said "I'd like to get started with chickens please" and walked out shortly after with 6 chicks and everything I needed to set them up.

A small secure run was easy with the prefab kit I used but a reasonably secure, daytime-only run extension to give adequate space was harder. The soil here is densely packed, large rocks after a few inches, so no easy way to do post holes, and on top of that I have no way to bring in long enough pieces of lumber. For at least a temporary solution I recently opted to go with a metal kit that didn't really need digging, but I'm still trying to figure out how best to hook it up to my coop's smaller secure run in a way that doesn't involve plastic play pen panels, and a bunch of zip ties.

 

[Regina Larsen]

Secure run (an extension anyway) and Other for me, Other being the big one.

By far my biggest challenge was getting from a place with a land where I could put a coop. I wanted chickens for over a year while sitting in an apartment. Everything after that has been so much easier in comparison, especially getting chickens...just walked into my local TSC and said "I'd like to get started with chickens please" and walked out shortly after with 6 chicks and everything I needed to set them up.

A small secure run was easy with the prefab kit I used but a reasonably secure, daytime-only run extension to give adequate space was harder. The soil here is densely packed, large rocks after a few inches, so no easy way to do post holes, and on top of that I have no way to bring in long enough pieces of lumber. For at least a temporary solution I recently opted to go with a metal kit that didn't really need digging, but I'm still trying to figure out how best to hook it up to my coop's smaller secure run in a way that doesn't involve plastic play pen panels, and a bunch of zip ties.

Can you use 8 or 10ft steel t-posts? No post holes, best way is to get a post tamper and they bang in quick and anchor perfectly.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Can you use 8 or 10ft steel t-posts? No post holes, best way is to get a post tamper and they bang in quick and anchor perfectly.

Although I'm not confident those would go in either based on the way a shovel just dead ends with a clunk, I did look into them and couldn't get them delivered! Not from sources I trust anyway; it was all pickup-only for the size I needed and my cars that are too small to do it safely. Why I can get a 300lb metal cage kit dropped off same day but not some T-posts, I have no idea. One of those cars will eventually get traded in for something that both has space and can tow a trailer so I can start bringing in serious building materials for various things, but cars are a whole different can of worms. Used vehicles here are going for the price of new, new ones on the lot have as much as a 20k markup, and new ones not on the lot are backordered for months. Fortunately, the big metal pen I got has other uses once I'm past the car situation, so it wasn't a waste - it'll be an easy way to relocate the chickens to the other side of the house when it comes time probably next year to tear down a dilapidated shed that's near the current coop.

 

[EP Rabbitry and Homestead]

OTHER - Finding someone who sold RIR's, which were the breed we were looking for.

 

[Cecisflock]

Found out too late that not all chickens are show worthy. It's like having puppy mill dog vs. a well bred dog. But hey! I get 2 new hens on Saturday!

 

[Regina Larsen]

Although I'm not confident those would go in either based on the way a shovel just dead ends with a clunk, I did look into them and couldn't get them delivered! Not from sources I trust anyway; it was all pickup-only for the size I needed and my cars that are too small to do it safely. Why I can get a 300lb metal cage kit dropped off same day but not some T-posts, I have no idea. One of those cars will eventually get traded in for something that both has space and can tow a trailer so I can start bringing in serious building materials for various things, but cars are a whole different can of worms. Used vehicles here are going for the price of new, new ones on the lot have as much as a 20k markup, and new ones not on the lot are backordered for months. Fortunately, the big metal pen I got has other uses once I'm past the car situation, so it wasn't a waste - it'll be an easy way to relocate the chickens to the other side of the house when it comes time probably next year to tear down a dilapidated shed that's near the current coop.

Sheesh!!! You have a lot to try to work around. I hope you get it worked out!

 

[TropicalBabies]

My beautiful, wonderful, stubborn and cheap butt hubby was my biggest hurtle. He complained about e v e r y stick of wood I purchased- so I did not purchase a lot. Think after all was said and done I spent $200 on a decent sized and strong coop that looked good. My plusses were- we had left over materials from our home build, live in a warm climate and are relatively predator free, so chicken wire and open coops work well. I was able to scroung big ticket items like old roofing tin, cut trees for fence posts etc and that helped a bunch, plus I have added on over time. I now have a chicken zoo with expanded coop, added multipurpose coop, brooder and Batchelor pad along with 900sq run. Plus a "summer home" coop and run up the mountain. So, I guess he warmed up lol. He is also my main delivery guy ♡ miracles happen.
Just took him a few years and lots of omelets to warm up to it.