why did you start keeping chickens

[dmiller415]

I retired last year from Law Enforcement. Moved from a large metro city to a new state and in a rural area. One of my dreams was having some chickens. I have never owned chickens or had any idea how to start or raise them. I jumped in with both feet and my eyes wide open. Just last spring I bought my first coop (used tractor style) and an acquaintance gave me 3 Barrocks. I fell in love! A few months later I bought another smaller coop and 3 sexlink chicks. I am now in the process of converting an old tool shed into a bigger chicken coop. I call it the winter chalet, LOL! I love my girls and I love their eggs that they lay for me. I would like to eventually have about 10 chickens, no rooster. I am so hooked on my girls!

 

[bruceha2000]

I have been harboring my illegal ladies ever since.

A lot of cities have regulations against chickens and a lot that don't, used to. Of course, before eggs came from the grocery store, all cities allowed chickens. We just got too "sophisticated" for our own good. The trick is to convince the city council that a few chickens are not a problem. They are less damaging than dogs that get out and a LOT quieter. Mine never make more that a quiet 'bok' and the occasional 'SQUAWK' if startled but they don't make loud noise all day like some dogs that are trapped in their yard.

Most cities will not allow roosters. There might be a limit on the number of chickens and the distance the coop must be from the lot lines but that doesn't preclude the chickens from using the yard as a run. And you don't HAVE to have a huge yard. The prior area I lived in has many very small lots but were able to convince the city to allow chickens. They set a 20' distance from all lot lines for the coop. A 5' wide coop is legal on a 45' wide lot.

So, in your spare time

, write up a letter to the city council and a petition that your neighbors can sign, get on the agenda for a future meeting and make your illicit chickens legal citizens of the city! I haven't needed to do that but I would be surprised if there were not some BYCers who have that might even provide the letter they successfully used.

Bruce

 

[Donna Lynn]

My inspiration for wanting chickens. This is my Granny, Mildred Rebecca Shores Parrish, she was 24 here and pregnant with her fourth child, my Uncle Bob. She & my Pop had just moved from Havana, FL to Tampa, FL for a better life and bought this property. It is still in my family 70 years later, there are 6 acres between this property and my Mom's. She always had chickens, ducks & geese along with many other animals. Myself, my brother and my cousin were lucky enough to have her as our daycare and grow up with all these animals. I lived next door for most of my growing up days. One of my hens (girls) is named Mildred for Granny. I know she's smiling down on me.

 

[HillbillyAcres]

YOU GUY'S HAVE GIVIN' ME AN ADDICTION! *BYC*

 

[TXchickmum]

My inspiration for wanting chickens. This is my Granny, Mildred Rebecca Shores Parrish, she was 24 here and pregnant with her fourth child, my Uncle Bob. She & my Pop had just moved from Havana, FL to Tampa, FL for a better life and bought this property. It is still in my family 70 years later, there are 6 acres between this property and my Mom's. She always had chickens, ducks & geese along with many other animals. Myself, my brother and my cousin were lucky enough to have her as our daycare and grow up with all these animals. I lived next door for most of my growing up days. One of my hens (girls) is named Mildred for Granny. I know she's smiling down on me.

I love this!

 

[toomanydogs]

Had chickens as a child and loved them, even had one that would come when you called he name, Herman, didn't know he was a hen when I named her.Fast forward to adulthood, well at least I'm older, and wanted chickens, first husband said "no those dogs of yours will just kill them" so I started collecting ceramic chickens, Number two comes along, me- what do ya think about 3-4 chickens, him- sure why not, we bout 6 and now have 40. i think this one and the chickens are keepers

Lisa

 

[Donna Lynn]

Thank TXchickmum!

 

[chicks are me]

I have wanted to get chickens,no cows, since I was around six. Cows were and now are (sadly) out of the question. Not for the lack of trying. I was always interested in farm animals, I decided that I was interested in chickens. I convinced my family to chickens about three years after I started to want them. When we knew we were getting them, we started out thinking about how many we were going to get we started with four. When we ordered, we got nine. Now we are planning to get more next year!!! we all love them, and love seeing them in that shipping box when they arrive!

 

[bruceha2000]

was asked by the owner of the autism/residential care organisation am under if would like to start incubating chicks,so we coud have pet chickens here and also on our farm [a farm for people with autism to go to].

support staff are constantly going on about being fed up that they aren't laying eggs yet and keep saying they will put them in the oven if they dont do any soon,they would get a foot up their rear and a lot worse if they touched the chucks and that isnt why have the chickens.

It is great you have so much support in this endeavour (spelled 'correctly' for you British people

) .

I'm sure they are kidding about cooking the chickens if they don't lay. I have a friend at work who has been giving me "advice" on how to get my chickens to lay since they were a month old. Things like telling them I will cook them if they don't start giving me eggs, saying I should grab them by the neck and "milk" the eggs out. Every time he comes in my office he starts with "how many eggs do you have for me today". I always say "None, they aren't old enough yet " (though they are now getting closer). I also told him he better be careful, I might just go straight to the standard answer once they do start laying, just out of habit

Bruce

 

[bruceha2000]

It seems that there aren't many people who stick to their original number of chickens that they wanted in the first place......

I didn't know that was even allowed!

I didn't have a "we need only this many" number. Even so the "try it and see if we like raising chickens 'maybe 6'" became a dozen because there are SO MANY interesting breeds out there! Happily they are all healthy AND are all GIRLS. If it works out, the coop is easily big enough for another dozen and there is plenty of space to make housing for a couple of hundred if we ever think we want that many

Actually, I can't really see having that many. I have a hard enough time counting the 12 we have to make sure they all got in the coop before we lock it up for the night.

Bruce