Urban Downtown Living *six month update*

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
Thank you! i was just informed that it would be better to upgrade as they grow. i really appreciate that info! like i said, the hardware is cheap, so i can continue to provide pink perches for my girls as they wish ...


thanks everyone for the comments! i was soooo worried it would be too small!

 

[aubreynoramarie]

btw, do you think that three hens should be the max in this space? since the coop is smaller the dimensions should be what i go off. i dont want to get too addicted so you better just tell me "three", but its seven by three by three and a half with four stories (three by two and a quarter feet) and two three foot perches. the chicken swap is next week and i may be liable to swap my e.e. for two more chicks! no no no no no!

 

[drumstick diva]

Do they get a chance to romp on grass and eat bugs and stuff? The run made me think a bit of prison.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
Unfortunately i choose to torture my animals and keep them OFF MY GRASS. no, i live in a high desert city where we have severe water shortage and choose not to grow it. must be terrible, since bugs ONLY live in grass. i am a chicken warden. sorry for the sarcasm,. if we are home they are allowed in the backyard where there are a million plants and trees and weeds they will hopefully eat. they are on the side of the house that is pretty much non-growing, and we have raccoons in downtown so they must be shut up as tight as possible. I APPRECIATE THE HONESTY THOUGH! lmfao, they might find bugs, but who knows, i bought some cracked corn and freeze dried veggies/hay to hid in their sand each day so they wont get too bored. I am certainly not going to grow any plants for them to simply destroy. there was a three foot tall weed in there this morning that is completely gone now. our neighbor has a compost pile next to the fence (that you can see from the pics) that they pick yummy stuff out of.. and tell me? i have heard that chickens left to be on grass destroy it anyhow and are left with only dirt, not to mention ALOT of people on this site have recommended sand in their runs, so why would you say it looks like a prison? is this based on how you would feel in a run or how a chicken would feel in a run? because they seemed super stoked today. JUST WONDERING.


thanks for the optimism!

 

[hallerlake]

I think you've been very clever. Maybe you could grow some weeds in pots to rotate in and out.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

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lol thanks, im going to go pot my weeds right now

 

[Zahboo]

Well 60 in the run and 21 in the pen. You could fit 5, possibly 6.

 

[nhc]

I love what you have done. When friends tell me they have no space for chickens, I will refer them to your pics. Inspiring. Thanks for sharing them. In terms of adding to your flock, I would wonder about increased odor and easing new ones into an established group. But I am just new at this myself and have no clue what I am talking about.

 

[drumstick diva]

I'm sorry I didn't notice you where from Nevada - desert etc.

My sister lives in New Mexico so I should know about her all gravel/stone back yard because of water restrictions. She buys plants that can survive droughts etc. I always told her she should raise dogs, since her yard looks like one big dog run. I didnt mean that as sarcasm to her - just a scenario on my mind. I used to raise dogs so when I see gravel and a fenced area thats what I think about. My sister wouldn't have chickens for any reason on earth and thinks I'm nuts for following a chicken forum.

It never dawned on me how people have chickens in arid areas- apart from no grass tho, do they tolerate the heat well? No criticism intended. I am learning from this forum that people are also successfully raising chickens in Alaska and how much worse their winters are than mine ( Chicago suburban area). The image I get from most posters on here is that they have chicken tractors etc and have to keep moving them because they destroy the grass under them. Or the chickens destroy their gardens. As you put it the chickens destroy everything so then they are back on plain, barren ground.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
appreciated,

no you are absolutley right, it smells so bad some days, even though i comb it everyday. I was just hoping someone would say "NO MORE CHICKENS" so i wouldnt get addicted and move into a bigger place!

i just wanted other urbaners to see that there are some things we can do, although i have gotten some pretty nasty looks from neighbors...(however my boyfriend eats two eggs every morning, thats the whole reason i bought my girls!)