Tampa Chickens!

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FloridaChris

FloridaChris

Hatching
6 Years
Sep 29, 2013
4
0
7
Hey everyone, new to BYC and new to chicken raising! I picked up a used coop two weekends ago and just got my 3 chickens yesterday from a buddy who was raising them for me. This is a new adventure for me and I'm really looking forward to the fresh eggs.

My original plan was to free range the chickens, as I have a fairly large fenced in backyard and plenty of bugs for them to eat. I prepared the backyard for them today, patching up any holes and cleaning out overgrowth. Unfortunately, as the sun started to go down the chickens took to roosting and started climbing on top of places they don't belong! They got on top of my 6ft tall privacy fences. Luckily, I was able to push 2 of them back into the yard instead of getting loose into the neighborhood streets, but one jumped into the neighbors yard. That was a first for me, having to explain to a neighbor my chicken was in his yard and then proceed to chase it around his backyard. So... from now on they will live in the coop!

That has raised a question for me. Will the coop's run be enough for them? I hate to keep them contained, but they can't be trusted!

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Welcome to BYC
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Glad you joined us! Ideally you should aim for 4 sq feet per chicken in the coop (floor space) and 10 sq feet in the run. Keep them cooped up for a week, at least, so they know where home is before letting them out again. That will help :)
 
Just found out the law was changed for the City of Tampa and not Hillsborough County, like I thought. I am 1/2 mile for the City limit. Just going to have to keep the birds under wraps and concealed.
 
They do like to climb and jump up but I think you can encourage them to stay where you want by giving them treats and keeping them closer to your house. You may need a bigger run.

Glad you joined us.
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Caroline from Florida
 
Hey guys, just got my first egg!!! Horray! Question, I built a roost for them to sleep on that is above the nesting boxes, but they seem to like sleeping in the boxes. They are also pooping in the boxes too. How can I break them of this? If I can't, how can I clean the eggs before eating/storing them?
 

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