Raising Chicken!

Yup, exactly as the title says.
I was wondering if any here raise chickens and could share a few helpful tips and the things one must know also.
My husband and I want to raise a small amount of chickens, and dont know much about it.
But really think having our own birds, also knowing what they eat, so we can eat their eggs and them also, would be a healthy choice.
So if you raise chickens, plase share any good tips or the must know info you have.
Also considering turkeys, but not ready yet for them.
Thankyou all so much.

God bless
pickles

I have to ask do you live in city limits? If you do then chances are its not allowed.

Raising BackYard Chickens, Build a Chicken Coop, Pictures of Breeds

My in-laws raise a bunch of chickens at their home out in the country. We go over to their house every week to visit and we get a bunch of eggs from them. You can give them pretty much any kind of veggie produce...they typically aren't picky. They will be more likely to lay if there is a rooster around...but only get one or they'll fight. One rooster is sufficient for dozens of hens. You have to collect the eggs daily or else they will go bad or be fertilized (if that happens, the hens will be VERY protective and won't let you get to them). You have to put them in every night to protect them from predators (coyotes, chicken hawks, etc). The rooster will protect them during the day. He will also try to attack you if you come near. You can usually just whack him with a stick or something, and eventually he will learn not to mess with you. He will also crow at random times during the day. You must also clip their wings from time to time or they will fly away.

Is there anything else more specific that you'd like to know?

Are chickens capable of flight - I never knew that. Better keep the fridge door firmly closed.

I need to clear up some misinformation here, just for the record. No offense intended.

Hens are not more likely to lay if there's a rooster around, that's an old myth.

Eggs are fertilized before they are laid, and it's impossible for them to be fertilized after the hard shell is in place.

Some roosters do attack people, but plenty of them don't. Roosters can't defend against any and all predators.

A mature hen can generally be kept in by a 6 foot fence. Wing clipping does help keep them from clearing fences, but they can't 'fly away'. The world's longest verified flight of a domestic chicken is only 300 feet.

Also, some more general info for my friend Pickles:

You can expect roughly 5 eggs per hen per week, with breaks in the fall and winter where they lay fewer. They love to eat weeds, which can be a help, but they can also eat tomatoes lettuce etc., so most folks don't turn them loose in their gardens. A good supplemental diet of grains helps keep them in top form. Most people have a smallish coop and roofed safe run for night time, and a larger enclosed (but often not roofed) run for daytime. Sowing various cover crops in sections of the run all year long provides them with entertainment and nutrition. They also love to eat worms and grubs.

Make sure you build a good crate mover that protects the chickens from outdoor predators like coyotes. A Movable one also helps to keep them moving around the yard. They are notorious here in the south and they are becoming a bad problem worse and worse every year. Also be sure to avoid feeding them corn. That's just to keep them fat. They do just fine with bugs and other things like they do in the wild. If you have any gardeners, they appreciate the chicken manure if you get enough.

No, we live in the country, have thought about having chikens for a while.
But were busy raising kids.
I love real fresh eggs and would like to have our own chikens to save money, as the fresh eggs are $$$.
Thankyou for the refrance.

God bless
pickles

Thankyou, we plan to make the run large and covered top, bottem and sides as we do have a problem with great horned owls and hawks.
I dont want to have a rooster, mostly because we have close neighbors and they may get grouchy with the morning noise made, also afternoon and eve.
I thought we might borrow a friends rooster once a year or more just for the occasional fertal eggs and to keep the chickens happy.
But wondered if this may cause the chickens to stop laying after the rooster leaves?

Thankyou and God bless
pickles

Ive been told they they love to eat slugs and snails as well, that would be great as we have plenty.
I also have been told you can feed them leftovers, melon rinds, lettuse scraps, breads, almost anything.
But I have also heard that the eggs can take on the taste of certain foods if they eat alot of it.
Wgat about banana peals? can they eat those?
We plan to keep a large run with chiken wire all sides bottem and top.
Mostly as we have alot of preditors where we live.
I am concerned about racoons. we have a large population, and those little buggers are smart. Im sure they will find a way to the eggs if they can.


Thankyou and God bless
pickles

We have a large yard that is well fenced already because ofthe coyotes, lost a few pets in the past.
The coop is being built over a place where I had a compost untill reciently, so lots of grubs and worms there.
I figured on planting clover, cowslip and some wild lettuce, maby even some squash plants.
The plan for the coop is very nice, those chikens will have a good place to rest, even heat and light in the winter.
Not a large coop, but Im a softy when it comes to any living thing.
I do have a small pond with fish, will they go after the fish?
Also, a very large garden, I am concerned about them going after my garden plants, but Ive been told if we keep the chickens well fed, the garden should be ok. Or was I told wrong?
I understand they need some gravel in their diet, do I need to give this to them, or will they find it on their own.
We have alot of rocks and gravel , there used to be a gravel mining pit near us.
I know they do not need a rooster to lay eggs, but I would like to have a clutch of chikens once a year or so.
Will I need to separate the chicks and their mother, from the others, or do I need to incubate the eggs myself?

Thankyou and God bless
pickles

That's an awesome idea!! but I wouldn't even try to raise one, I'm afraid of chickens, seriously, one day I was playing in my Grandpa's backyard and I was followed and attacked by a Rooster!! With no mercy at all!!, xD
Chickens poop everywhere aswell !!

Good luck with everything! xD
God bless!!

Slugs and snails are indeed a chicken delicacy. They don't seem to have a taste for citrus or banana peels, but the lettuce melons bread etc. will be enjoyed greatly.

I can't say for sure about the flavor of the eggs. I would guess if they gorged on onion greens it might impart a flavor to the eggs, but there's no one food to avoid giving them.

They do love to get to the earth and scratch, and there's a way to save some time and money and still let the chickens get to the dirt while keeping predators away. It's a little hard to describe, I'll PM you when I have a little more time. -JIM

I was reading that chickens who are not allowed to eat in the natural way produce eggs that our body cannot use correctly. Sane goes for cattle.

The taste of eggs from what they call free range chickens is wonderful. They even look different.

The taste is really better, we were able to save and buy half a cow this year.
The cow was organicly raised and grass fed.
The taste is amazingly better, and none of the funny tast beef can sometimes have.
Even the hamberger was better.
Organic eggs taste wonderful, that is why we want to have chickens ourselves.
We also have a vegie garden, which we use through the year.
If one can, being able to raise even a small amount of ones food, is worth it!

God bless
pickles

How lucky you are! I finally found a way to get "real" chicken, here. The tiny chick cost only $.50. Then they charged you for the feed and time to raise it, and after 6 months they let you buy "your" chicken. The cost! That is what the farmer would have to do so though I couldn't afford it, it wasn't unreasonable.

I shop on Craig's List for grass fed beef, I live in cattle country. I haven't found any I could possibly afford. I finally found someone who sells milk, just plain without doing anything to it but make it into kefir.

It is amazing how hard it is to get real food, plain. I used to shop at a hippie type market where no food was changed much from how it was on the farm. And on a trip to Europe I found a cheese shop where no cheese was in plastic and most even had mold on it. My granddaughter who lived there was outraged, I was in heaven.

My chickens love banana peel, and any other fruit or veg, they like boiled potato peel. If you put a heater and light in their coop they will lay over winter.

I am not 100% certain you will manage to save money by having your own chickens but you will have nice eggs. We had 4 Cockerels at one point and they didn't fight, they just crowed at 5am. We ate 3.

It has taken time, but we live near farms so have found places to buy milk and other items.
The cow was raised by a coworker of my daughter, so we were able to get a good deal as the person who was supposed to buy half fell through.
But you are right, it is sometimes hard to find real food.
I just found a pharmacy that supplies natural meds for treating illness, just see the naturalpath andif she perscribes, one can find the product.
I had an ear infection for over a year, kept recuring as soon as the antibiotic was done.
The infectionswere severe and sweeled up horrible.
Drs had tried everything.
Went to the naturalpath and she perscribed two simple natural treatments.
The infection was cleared up in a week and never returned.
Something to what God provides.

God bless
pickles

Well the pice of organic eggs here is now over 4$$ a dozen now, alot of demand for them here.
I figure the fresher the better, and it will be worth the effort.
Also great fertilizer for my gardens.
And, like you, chiken to eat as well.
We have a butcher who will butcher the chikens for us if we want, but I hope to have the courage to do it.

God blessp
ickles