Chickens

[hairycaterpillar]

Does anyone hear keep chickens?

[oddveggieout]

I have a small flock of egg layers, 4. We are building up and they are still too young to lay just yet but come May we should be going strong.

[msmeg]

no but one of my daycare grandma's does and I buy fresh eggs from her. I have been learning alot I had no idea what it took to raise chickens. Now I am wondering if I can have them in town it would be cool to go get my own eggs. but then maybe I should go visit her chickens before I think of it I have never been that close to chickens .

[WJ82]

My wife & father-in-law thought we should get some this year. I thought, 'great, more work' but aside from the few days building a coop, they have been suprisingly easy to care for. We got 26 chicks via mail & only one died so we still have 25 Buff Orpingtons. Pretty friendly birds and are just about fully grown now I think...no eggs yet but probably in a couple of months.

[MattO]

My brother just built a coop and bought 4 egg layers from his buddy. Now he has me interested.:) Except I live real close to the city and don't know how it would work out.

[Rose White]

I don't keep chickens, but my friend did and she said they are very dirty. You might want to find out how to protect yourself from Bird Flu if you raise chickens. It seems that the people who get bird flu are the ones who keep chickens. There must be a safe, clean way to grow them. Good luck!

Rose White, author of
Easy Gardens A to Z

[DaveB]

We keep 4 bantams

2 frizzles
1 buff orphington
1 aracna

Have to say getting chickens was one of the best moves ever. Had to build a fence to keep away from veg (and clip one wing) but they are so relaxing to sit and watch - and 3 eggs on average a day too :)

[orgnic_cathy22]

My good friend has a coop with 8 chickens. He often gives me some of the eggs and they're delicious. I can actually taste a difference from store bought eggs. They're much fresher and better for the environment too. If I didn't live in the city I would definitely consider getting a few egg layers.

[davidbkeegan]

My uncle has about 8 chickens and not only can you taste a difference, but you can see a difference. The yolk is so bright! Plus, his chickens lay so many eggs, he can't give them away fast enough!

[azizitehram]

my cousin has 3 chicken
He often gives me some of the eggs

[ha0id0er]

i like eggs so much
my cuusin have 3 chickens he often gives me some of the eggs

[Starwynn]

We have a *lot* of chickens here - free range, standard size, bantams, some penned. Did you have a question about them? This is my first year getting back into gardening (and hoping to use some un-hot chicken mess for composting soon), but have had many, many years of experience with chickens. They're a wonderful combination! Greens or things that are fresh and ripe but just not "pretty" enough for us to eat, often the chickens get as part of their 10% of their diet in "treats". I keep a pen of bantams very close to my garden so I can enjoy watching them (and they can enjoy whatever caterpillars I pick off of the plants) while I garden. :)

[Cody Wellard]

We have had chickens and ducks in the past. The ducks are so sweet! Chicken and duck eggs are great, the ducks do a great job at keeping the slug population down.:)
Cheers!
Cody Wellard

[miles.o]

I had a chicken roaming in my backyard.. it killed off the silk worms that were threatening our cherry tomato plants..

but one day.. he just disappeared.. ): I still miss him.

[klevelyn]

I started raising backyard chickens about 10 years ago and loved them. I kept my mouth shut about having them in my residential backyard and no one bothered me.

Now chickens are excepted in most places. I have a nice coop and run with 5 hens. We get 4 to 5 eggs a day in the summer and 1 to 4 a week in the winter. Chicken are very nice to have and are relaxing to watch after a long day at the office.

Our chickens eat our scraps and weeds from the yard.

[cattail]

First had chickens 20 years ago for a couple years, and just got them again - yay! We picked up 2 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Araucanas and 2 Dark Brahmas today and moved them into our new chicken house that we just finished building. Thrilled to have chickens again. Looking forward to the fresh eggs. Considering adding ducks soon for slug control. :)

[GhettoGardener]

No, but yay for chickens, their fresh eggs, and their poop! Wish i had chickens. =(

[melonmama]

We've had chickens for several years. I just love them! They have great personalities! We love to have our own eggs and they are very easy to care for. We have Golden Comets--great egg layers!

[cattail]

We've had our six chickens for about 2 months now, and got two ducks as well. The chicks are really enjoying their new hen house (http://vegetablegardenhub.com/hen-house) that we built for them. :) Chickens and ducks are still learning to get along, and it's very entertaining to watch them all.

We got about 3 more months until the chickens start laying, but already get eggs from one of our ducks. :D

[AdamBorzy]

Too bad I only have a limited backyard that’s why I can’t raise chickens for eggs. But isn’t gardening and raising chickens can be a very entertaining? That’s hobby farming.

[wiseolegoat1]

Most cities will allow a few laying hens and they are easy to keep in a coop which can very easily be cleaned under with a shovel...it makes great addition to the compost bin if you are gardening...maybe not so hot of an idea in the patio deck of a high rise condo.....but most cities have ordinances against roosters crowing.....so probably best to only keep hens in the city.