Wondering if raising 3 chickens for a few eggs is hard to do?

[DobieLover]

I'll disagree with the 10 sq ft per bird is enough space. I think that is inadequate for truly happy birds. I confine my flock to a 1/3 acre pen surrounded by poultry netting powered by a 10,000 volt charger. Nothing has gotten them in their enclosure.

 

[drumstick diva]

Thank you for joining us at Backyard Chickens, the pulsebeat of the poultry community.

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

Hi! welcome to BYC!

 

[Alliepaul]

I'll disagree with the 10 sq ft per bird is enough space. I think that is inadequate for truly happy birds. I confine my flock to a 1/3 acre pen surrounded by poultry netting powered by a 10,000 volt charger. Nothing has gotten them in their enclosure.
View attachment 2633608

love your set up, wish I had the space for that!!!

 

[afieldssnowyegger]

I got 3 pullets in April 2020, and went into a little bit unsure too. I LOVE my hens, and I totally think keeping some chickens is worthwhile. However, I'm not going to sugarcoat it: It is going to be a lot more expensive than you probably think it will be.

When I got my girls out of the brooder around 6 weeks or so, I put them in this tiny coop, thinking it would be enough space. Yeah.......... no. The chickens were angry, loud, and there were a lot of issues with bullying. Though it doesn't look so bad here, by 5 months old, it was wayyy too crowded. Now, if this was the only pen the chicken would be in all day, I would not even keep one in this coop.

Original Coop (ain't it cute?! too bad it doesn't work for me)


First idea solution (but not really a solution): Got some PVC pipes, 1/2" hardware mesh, zip ties, and rope. Assembled the PVC pipes in a rectangular prism shape, glued together using the little attachers/elbows that connect them. Then, I zip-tied the hardware mesh to the walls and roof of the frame, and finally, added some rope loops to each corner to help with transporting it around the yard. The result: 10 feet x 3 feet chicken tractor that isn't really a tractor. Additionally, due to predator issues, I could only let the girls in the tractor to get some grass and move around a bit more when I was home, but only during the day. Conclusion: Chickens only got about 1-2 hours a day in the sort-of-but-not-really chicken tractor, forcing them to still spend the majority of their day in that cramped, uncomfortable coop. So my genius idea really didn't work that well in the end.

Sort-of-but-not-really chicken tractor


Oh well.... moving on to plan C:

So I ordered this big play pen about 9 feet x 12 feet. Put the frame together, and then realized that the mesh that came with it, was SUPER flimsy.... so off to Tractor Supply. Had to get 1/2" hardware cloth for the walls, roof, and floor. Attached it to the frame with about 12,009,657 zip ties, then buried the mesh on the floor under some topsoil, then about 6" of pine shavings. Covered roof with tarp to weather proof (kind of). Moved the original coop inside of this run, and let the ladies loose inside.

Happy Happy Happy Chickens In This Coop!!!


FINALLY-it was a HIT!!! They've been very happy hens since the move, and actually lay more eggs. used to get 4-5 eggs per chicken per week. Now, I get 6-7 eggs per chicken per week. The happiness of a flock is critical to keeping difficulty to a minimum.

Unfortunately, it took a lot of time, money, and manual labor to get to this point.

Some of the expenses I had to pay for

• Original coop: about $450
• Sort-of-but-not-really chicken tractor: $250
• Current coop: $800
• Actual chicks/shipping (got tricked by MPC so way over-payed): $100
• Feed (yearly cost): $200
• Treats (not necessary, but I spoil my hens lol)(yearly cost): $50
• Brooder Accessories, set up (I spent a little extra on a heat plate instead of a heat lamp to prevent fires): $100
• Miscellaneous (feeders/waterers/perches/etc): $70
• ***VERY IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER*** random crap that nobody needs but, hey, who can resist a chicken tutu?! $50

Estimated Total of my expenses: about $2,100 (this is probably underestimated)




As for concerns about gardens, my chickens love digging around in the mulch/dirt for bugs and worms.... they were curious about the plants at first, but after a while, they didn't try eating any of the plants. May depend on the type of plants you have though.



About vacations- I'm pretty comfortable leaving mine for 4-5 days alone, as long as they have multiple feeders and waterers available stocked with at least 2x as much food and water as they'll need during the time period that I'm absent. Sometimes I send a neighbor over to check on them after a few days if it's an extended period of time.


Workload on a normal day: Refilling feeders and waterers, cleaning out poop boards under roosts, managing bedding (like sifting if you have sand, or adding pine shavings to dirty or wet pine shavings), health checks on the chickens (check for limping, fowl pox, lethargy, etc)


Dogs.... That's a tricky one. It depends on the dog. Even my old, super sweet, gentle, tiny chihuahua wanted to eat my chickens when they were small. She happily plays guard dog over them now, but that wasn't the case when they were chicks. What I learned after an incident with the brooder and my dog while they were chicks....... it's best to play it safe. don't let your dogs have access to your chickens. caging the chickens in is not enough either. dogs can dig, jump, etc. floors need to be impenetrable for predators. Because unfortunately, no matter how sweet your dogs are to you, their instinct is to go after your chickens.


I know I probably seem very negative about a lot of this, but I really do love having chickens, and highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.... however,
these are some things I wish I would have known before getting my chickens. Also, thinking about it logically, not everyone's lifestyle is really compatible with chickens. Again, sorry for pointing out all of the downsides, I just think it's best to know EXACTLY what you're getting into.

Best of luck!

 

[gtaus]

I'll disagree with the 10 sq ft per bird is enough space. I think that is inadequate for truly happy birds.

Well, to be fair, I think most places recommend a minimum of 10 square feet per chicken in the run. If you have more room in the run, that's even better.

To put things in perspective, I still have some old wire cages I bought from a commercial egg farmer back in the 1970s. At that time, each cage division was about 10 inches wide by maybe 16 inches deep. A chicken spent its entire short life in that wire cage. I never had chickens in those cages, but we bought them for the wire to make larger rabbit cages. I cannot imagine raising chickens in a small cage like that, but back then, I don't remember anybody claiming it was cruel to the chickens. I don't know if that practice of caging chickens is even legal these days, but I hope not. At any rate, my chickens have a better life with lots of free space in the coop and a chicken run outside to scratch and peck for additional food. I like to think they are happy.

 

[gtaus]

It is going to be a lot more expensive than you probably think it will be.

It takes some courage to admit your mistakes. Hope your experience will help OP with their decision.

I think lots of people start off with those cute little coops only to find out that they are not that good for real chickens. I joined the BYC forum well in advance of getting my chicks and learned from the mistakes of others. That has really helped me. By the time I was ready to get my chickens, I had a pretty good idea of what it was going to cost me to house and feed those chickens, and that all those "free" eggs I would get were going to be more expensive than buying them at WalMart.

If you have realistic expectations for your backyard flock, and if you have reasons other than just getting "free" eggs from your birds, then I think raising a small backyard flock is a great thing.

 

[Alliepaul]

I got 3 pullets in April 2020, and went into a little bit unsure too. I LOVE my hens, and I totally think keeping some chickens is worthwhile. However, I'm not going to sugarcoat it: It is going to be a lot more expensive than you probably think it will be.

When I got my girls out of the brooder around 6 weeks or so, I put them in this tiny coop, thinking it would be enough space. Yeah.......... no. The chickens were angry, loud, and there were a lot of issues with bullying. Though it doesn't look so bad here, by 5 months old, it was wayyy too crowded. Now, if this was the only pen the chicken would be in all day, I would not even keep one in this coop.

View attachment 2637010
Original Coop (ain't it cute?! too bad it doesn't work for me)


First idea solution (but not really a solution): Got some PVC pipes, 1/2" hardware mesh, zip ties, and rope. Assembled the PVC pipes in a rectangular prism shape, glued together using the little attachers/elbows that connect them. Then, I zip-tied the hardware mesh to the walls and roof of the frame, and finally, added some rope loops to each corner to help with transporting it around the yard. The result: 10 feet x 3 feet chicken tractor that isn't really a tractor. Additionally, due to predator issues, I could only let the girls in the tractor to get some grass and move around a bit more when I was home, but only during the day. Conclusion: Chickens only got about 1-2 hours a day in the sort-of-but-not-really chicken tractor, forcing them to still spend the majority of their day in that cramped, uncomfortable coop. So my genius idea really didn't work that well in the end.View attachment 2637042
Sort-of-but-not-really chicken tractor


Oh well.... moving on to plan C:

So I ordered this big play pen about 9 feet x 12 feet. Put the frame together, and then realized that the mesh that came with it, was SUPER flimsy.... so off to Tractor Supply. Had to get 1/2" hardware cloth for the walls, roof, and floor. Attached it to the frame with about 12,009,657 zip ties, then buried the mesh on the floor under some topsoil, then about 6" of pine shavings. Covered roof with tarp to weather proof (kind of). Moved the original coop inside of this run, and let the ladies loose inside.

View attachment 2637063View attachment 2637064
Happy Happy Happy Chickens In This Coop!!!


FINALLY-it was a HIT!!! They've been very happy hens since the move, and actually lay more eggs. used to get 4-5 eggs per chicken per week. Now, I get 6-7 eggs per chicken per week. The happiness of a flock is critical to keeping difficulty to a minimum.

Unfortunately, it took a lot of time, money, and manual labor to get to this point.

Some of the expenses I had to pay for

• Original coop: about $450
• Sort-of-but-not-really chicken tractor: $250
• Current coop: $800
• Actual chicks/shipping (got tricked by MPC so way over-payed): $100
• Feed (yearly cost): $200
• Treats (not necessary, but I spoil my hens lol)(yearly cost): $50
• Brooder Accessories, set up (I spent a little extra on a heat plate instead of a heat lamp to prevent fires): $100
• Miscellaneous (feeders/waterers/perches/etc): $70
• ***VERY IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER*** random crap that nobody needs but, hey, who can resist a chicken tutu?! $50

Estimated Total of my expenses: about $2,100 (this is probably underestimated)




As for concerns about gardens, my chickens love digging around in the mulch/dirt for bugs and worms.... they were curious about the plants at first, but after a while, they didn't try eating any of the plants. May depend on the type of plants you have though.



About vacations- I'm pretty comfortable leaving mine for 4-5 days alone, as long as they have multiple feeders and waterers available stocked with at least 2x as much food and water as they'll need during the time period that I'm absent. Sometimes I send a neighbor over to check on them after a few days if it's an extended period of time.


Workload on a normal day: Refilling feeders and waterers, cleaning out poop boards under roosts, managing bedding (like sifting if you have sand, or adding pine shavings to dirty or wet pine shavings), health checks on the chickens (check for limping, fowl pox, lethargy, etc)


Dogs.... That's a tricky one. It depends on the dog. Even my old, super sweet, gentle, tiny chihuahua wanted to eat my chickens when they were small. She happily plays guard dog over them now, but that wasn't the case when they were chicks. What I learned after an incident with the brooder and my dog while they were chicks....... it's best to play it safe. don't let your dogs have access to your chickens. caging the chickens in is not enough either. dogs can dig, jump, etc. floors need to be impenetrable for predators. Because unfortunately, no matter how sweet your dogs are to you, their instinct is to go after your chickens.


I know I probably seem very negative about a lot of this, but I really do love having chickens, and highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.... however,
these are some things I wish I would have known before getting my chickens. Also, thinking about it logically, not everyone's lifestyle is really compatible with chickens. Again, sorry for pointing out all of the downsides, I just think it's best to know EXACTLY what you're getting into.

Best of luck!

wow, love the pictures!!! Thank you that helps a lot actually! Having your play by play as far as your coop situation is very helpful, as I was likely going to get one of those cute little coops if I take the plunge. I would want my chicks to be happy number one. Thanks for sharing your story!! [ love what you ended up with ] looks nice in the yard as well.

 

[swampfox440]

wow, love the pictures!!! Thank you that helps a lot actually! Having your play by play as far as your coop situation is very helpful, as I was likely going to get one of those cute little coops if I take the plunge. I would want my chicks to be happy number one. Thanks for sharing your story!! [ love what you ended up with ] looks nice in the yard as well.

Wow nice photos !

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Depending on how much the fee is, I think it would be a good idea to get some chickens but honestly if you only get 2 or 3 it would just be cheaper to buy eggs from the store without going through all the trouble of feed monthly, finding someone to care for them during vacation, getting a coop, setting up feed and water daily, and there are no vacations when owning animals. But if your okay with doing that then you will truly enjoy have feathery friends in your backyard, also whether or not you have a fenced yard they should be fine to free range once they know the area.

I started with 3 chickens and the money from the extra eggs we didn't eat paid for all the ladies stuff. So bonus, and I've got lovely new friends