Anonymous wrote:Don't chickens draw rats?

Anonymous wrote:Agree that chickens are effing dumb. But that makes them wicked fun to terrorize.

In my late 20's, I moved to a tropical island that was overrun with feral chickens. My next-door neighbor would feed them. I loved pulling in the drive and seeing them in my yard. I would run at them while flapping my arms and corner them as they tried to ram their fat bodies through the holes in a chain-link fence. Once I chased a chicken into the path of an oncoming car driven by a speeding teen.

Now I have sons. Oh the fun we'd have if our neighbors started raising chickens.

Anonymous wrote:Agree that chickens are effing dumb. But that makes them wicked fun to terrorize.

In my late 20's, I moved to a tropical island that was overrun with feral chickens. My next-door neighbor would feed them. I loved pulling in the drive and seeing them in my yard. I would run at them while flapping my arms and corner them as they tried to ram their fat bodies through the holes in a chain-link fence. Once I chased a chicken into the path of an oncoming car driven by a speeding teen.

Now I have sons. Oh the fun we'd have if our neighbors started raising chickens.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have chickens on your property?
Are they hard or easy to maintain?
How much time a day do you spend caring for them?
How many do you have and how many eggs do you get a week?
Do you have them for the eggs or another reason?

TIA

Urban chickens are becoming super popular in cities across the country. Lots of blogs and articles written about it -- do some research and you will come up with all the info you could possibly want.

We have two hens and they lay about a dozen eggs a week (they each lay one egg most days.) They need very little attention -- take them food and water once a day. It takes about three minutes. Then, rake out their house about once every 2-4 weeks. Mine have a small house with an attached run, and it is filled with hay so it doesn't really even smell bad. When I clean it out, the hay goes into the compost pile.

Why do we have chickens? 1) organic, soy-free eggs from pastured chickens (we move the run or allow them to roam the yard), 2) good compost material (we also have a small garden so we love to have great compost each spring) and 3) they eat all of our food scraps and 4) I like having pets, but not needy ones, so chickens are a great fit. It's kind of peaceful to watch them scratching in the earth and running around.

Anonymous wrote:I wish! Rockville has a no poultry within city limits ordinance.

First look up your city's ordinance, then go buy the book, "The Urban Farm Handbook". It is written by urban farmers in Seattle. My husband thinks I'm crazy because now I want a goat. Lol

Anonymous wrote:In the Great Depression, having chickens was a sign that you were on hard times.

Funny how things come full circle.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just make sure you're OK dealing with chicken end-of-life issues, and that you know what you'll say to your kids. Alternatively, make sure you're OK with caring for some fairly messy creatures who aren't smart enough to make good pets, for a number of years after they stop laying. Chickens only lay eggs for the first few years of their lives.

Chicken end of life issues: dinner. Kids have seen and heard that for millennia.

Holy crap, we can't do anything anymore.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pp: then they become stewing chickens.

Yes. But does OP want to wring, pluck, and then explain to DCs that this was Fred?

Oh, my view on this is if you do it, you have to be all in. And the dcs better be involved. They can do the plucking after DH lops off the neck and drains the blood.

Anonymous wrote:Just make sure you're OK dealing with chicken end-of-life issues, and that you know what you'll say to your kids. Alternatively, make sure you're OK with caring for some fairly messy creatures who aren't smart enough to make good pets, for a number of years after they stop laying. Chickens only lay eggs for the first few years of their lives.

Anonymous wrote:My aunt and uncle had chickens growing up. They did it for the eggs. Chickens are f-ing dumb - they'd always have to run home if it started to rain unexpectedly so they could get the chickens into their shelter, otherwise the dumb birds would look up at the rain and drown.

They had a ton of land, and a pretty large area for the chickens to wander. Big mistake - when the chickens stopped laying eggs, they ate them and I never laughed so hard in my life - the chickens were SO tough it was like chewing leather.