Still on the fence in Texas

BirdOfPray

Chirping
9 Years
Sep 29, 2010
21
3
84
Hey there!

My name is Robyn, and I'm located in Austin. We had chickens when I was a kid, but we also lived on 25 acres. It's also been a while, so I'm plenty rusty. I'm starting to do some research on what it would take to keep maybe 2 or 3 laying lens in our backyard -- I always liked having chickens around, and I dearly miss fresh eggs. I'm hoping to get some answers here as to exactly how the backyard chicken thing works out, especially with regard to keeping a reasonably nice backyard for kids to play in. My husband isn't a huge animal person (this is definitely my idea), so I do want to make sure I can give him an accurate idea of what to expect before he agrees to anything.
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Looking forward to getting to know y'all!

Robyn
 
There are some wonderful coops for a few hens posted here. Do some searches for small coops or small flocks and see what you can find. Your husband will love fresh eggs.
...also, this is not the place to be talked out of anything, I guess you know that.
Go,go, go! Yeaaaaaaaaaa, chickens!
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Welcome to the wonderful world of BYC.
 
Having just a few chickens is just plain fun! I can imagine that having LOTS of chickens could get to feel like nothing but work. Check out a lot of the coops and runs on this site. It's pretty easy to keep your backyard nice AND have chickens! Ours are only going to be out a couple hours a day, but they have a huge run to goof off in all day long, and they seem pretty happy. Our chicks have been handled daily since day one by the kids, and they are all really sweet. Hope you join the party!
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Thanks for the welcomes! I've been looking at a lot of the coop designs, thinking over what we could likely make work in our backyard. Lots of really creative ideas out there! I'm hoping we can make it work.
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From Western Washington State. I am telling you get over the fence. it is a good place to be.
 
Live in Austin too which is a great city for chickens. I have a large backyard and I find the chickens don't "cramp the style" of my yard too much. I have to clean poo off the patio sometimes and run them out of the garage because they are nosy. I love having my chickens. I talk to them, they love to see me, they are funny and I have eggs. I think it is a great experience for kids. I think you should atleast get 3 to start with.
 
Hi Robyn,
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I started raising chickens 18 years ago in 78745! (S. Austin) A couple of things I learned along the way -

Fenced yard. There were 2 huskies 5 blocks away and every time they escaped, they made a beeline for my yard.

Predator proof! NO chicken wire, go for welded wire AND hardware cloth. Nasty raccoons in Austin, (plus the dogs running loose).

Make the coop to where it can be just hardware cloth in the summer and covered in the winter to prevent drafts. I never had to heat the coop, even when it snowed. Good ventilation, but no drafts.

NO roosters. Spend a little more and get pullets. Even then there's still a 10% or so chance of getting a cockeral in the bunch.

Keep the neighbors in the loop. All my neighbors ended up getting chickens, too!
 

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