What am I getting myself into?

[wolfandfinch]

I want chickens. I've been planning them for over a year. I've researched the local bylaws, been to a class, spoken with my neighbours. I have all the materials for a coop (left overs from our renovations). I have the site planned out. I am good at building stuff, and my Dad will be helping out with building the coop.

My husband says NOT YET. He thinks it's going to take more of my time and energy than I think. I thought he meant the coop so I told him about my dad helping. He meant the day to day of looking after them.

I am planning on building those pvc pipe feeders, doing deep litter method with DE and getting a self-watering device. I may or may not be able to afford an automatic door.

I believe that I should spend some time every day with the chickens, but I don't know how much they *need* in terms of socialising...

I have to go out to the garden every day anyway as I have a significant vegetable garden going on back there.

So what am I missing. Why does he think this is going to be really time consuming? I know I do too much, I have small children, I bake my own bread and make my own yoghurt and ice cream. I'm often taking on more than I chew, but I don't get why I'd be getting in over my head with this one.

Thoughts?

 

[FireTigeris]

How large a pen are we talking, what is the maximum you would be happy with in there?

I have a 25*12*8 run, 1/3 fully covered with with attached 8*3*3 coop and I have 24 chickens (1/2 banties) ... I cannot have anymore chooks.

It takes about 1 hour to every other week to clean, and 30 min on the opposite weeks.

I have it set up that I can water from outside into a large kiddy pool (I'm in FL they like water...)

It takes 5 minutes to feed them including getting out the key and unlocking the coop (long story).

It takes 30 (on the short clean weeks) to handle each bird and check for problems... (approx)

So there you go- once I can feed from outside my time will reduce.

Oh- and 5 min to collect eggs daily...

 

[cackydoodledoo]

I think it depends on how attached you want to be to your chickens as to how much time you spend with them. They will take a little time to feed/water/clean etc.... Maybe he is thinking about who will take care of them if you decide to go on holiday or something????

 

[wolfandfinch]

Sorry of course you need more details!

We are allowed only a maximum of 4 pullets in the city.

The coop will be about 30 square feet

The run will be about 50 square feet.


My parents have already offered to come check on them if we ever get to go away again LOL. They live 4 blocks away, and would get the eggs

I assume I'll be attached

My kids will also want to be involved in coming to get the eggs and see the chickens, probably every day.

So on a daily basis how much time do you spend?

 

[backyardmenagerie]

I spend maybe 5 minutes opening the coop in the morning and checking food and water, 5 minutes collecting eggs and doing a head count, and 5 minutes in the evening tucking everyone in and locking everything down. It takes less than 30 minutes each weekend to clean. That's it, that is actually necessary. However, I go out and visit with my chickies probably 30 minutes to an hour a day, just because I enjoy watching them. It's time I would have otherwise spent watching tv or surfing the internet. And I'm pretty busy - I'm in college, with 2 majors, applying to grad school, working a part time job, I commute an hour each way, and I have other animals and property to maintain. The chickens are really the lowest maintenance, least time consuming part of my day. I simply choose to make more time for them.

So really, chickens take as much time as a you want to devote to them. Sounds like you will have plenty of space to leave your chickens to their own devices if you don't have time to spend with them. And 4 hens will be very low maintenance.

 

[wolfandfinch]

Quote:
thank you! I hope to be able to spend more time with them than the basics, but I want to be able to make the argument to him that at the least I can meet their basic, necessary needs...

 

[llrumsey]

The short amount of time you actually spend just feeding and cleaning will be outweighted by the amount of joy that you would get from your birds. 4 hens is a very small operation, it takes me about 2-3 hours daily to do chores, but then I have ducks, geeses, pigeons, turkeys, guines, chickens (unknown number) 6 goats, 2 burros and a lama, by the time I watch all the birds to make sure they are ok, scratch the goats and comb the burros, (I'm still trying to tame the lama). I have had a sucessful day.

Watching chickens scratch and just do chickens things can be so relaxing and funny, I get so much joy out of it. Yes it can be work, and time consuming but go for it.

 

[wolfandfinch]

Quote:
do you raise those animals for food? It sounds lovely

I want quail but it's not legal in the city here.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

It really only takes a few minutes a day to take care of them. Mainly collecting the eggs and checking to see if they need the feeder topped off or the water refilled. Plus opening and closing the door, if you don't have an automatic door like we do. If you do deep litter in the coop, it takes time to shovel it out once a year and put down more shavings. The rest of the year, you mainly just have to toss a few feed scoops of fresh shavings around as needed. That only takes a few minutes a week.

In warm weather, I use water bowls, because they're easy to clean and refill. I just use the hose, as it's out there for gardening anyway. It takes more time in the winter, when the temperatures are freezing. Then we have to haul the waterer back and forth to the house to clean and refill.

Their care really only takes more time if something goes wrong. If they need to be treated for parasites, get sick or get attacked, then it takes time to treat them. If you use common sense in where you get them and how you manage them, that shouldn't be much of a problem. It's always a possibility to keep in mind, though.

 

[wolfandfinch]

Quote:
thank you!