For a while now we've considered raising chickens in the yard. Not only do some people claim they make better pets than dogs, but they lay eggs that you can eat. We finally have a backyard, so that's a start. We've read so much about it and then yesterday, we visited a friend's ranch.
We took a trip up to Santa Paula to visit an old friend who now lives on a lemon ranch. And among other animals they have close to 15 chickens. We took a trip down to the Hay and Grain to grab some ear tags and they were selling chicks, adolescent chickens, and almost ready to lay chickens (for $12/each). They were so knowledgable about the chickens and how to raise them that they totally built my confidence. I was super tempted to take home 2 or 3, build them an Ikea hacked coop and call it a day. Of course, we want to be more thoughtful about it than that, since it does mean more work to care for more animals. But the opportunity to have fresh laid eggs and animals for the kids to discover is pretty tempting.
In Los Angeles you can have unlimited chickens as long as they are at least 20 feet from owner's residence, and must be at least 35 feet from any other dwelling. Check out this site to see what the laws are in your city.
Here are some of the links we're looking at for research:
News To Us: Pet Chickens
An Angelino Raising Chickens gives advice and tips.
DIY Chicken Coop Plans
Cool Coop Makeover.
Do you raise chickens? Were there any major surprises? Do you raise them in a small space? Urban? Suburban? Countryside?
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I raise 6 chickens in an urban setting in Buffalo. I LOVE IT! No big surprises, they are always a delight to watch and I've grown such an appreciation for the animal themselves. I would just suggest that if you are raising chickens in an urban area, you should not get a rooster. We've had two and they crowed all day every day. Also, hens will follow the rooster anywhere so if he's bold you'll end up with all your hens following him into other peoples' yards or the street. This is not really a problem if you clip their wings, but without the rooster it really isn't necessary. Plus, nothing beats fresh eggs and a 48-hour turn around on your compost!
Check with your cities zoning board to see if you can legitimately raise chickens. Ya gotta keep the pens clean cos they can stink, especially in the hot summer heat.
Some fifty years ago before I went to school, I had to put on waders and go into my grandpa's chicken coop to feed the chickens and gather the eggs. The smell was gross. We also had some of those chickens for dinners.
My sister has 5 hens in her back lot in Santa Barbara. Beautiful pastel-colored eggs every morning and they make the most mellow clucky sounds. Haven't noticed a smell but they are in the open air and have a egg-laying shelter. I'd love to raise them if I ever have more outdoor space.
Google "chicken tractor" for a great idea for backyard chickens. I can't have chickens in my location unless they've changed the laws in the last 4 years. I always thought of just telling my neighbors they were a rare breed of pigeon if anyone asked. Don't have my chickens yet, though, so haven't been able to test that theory.
One day, i would love to have a few chickens, thanks for the write up
My town in Mass. just passed a bylaw permitting hens only. I don't have time to deal with chickens right now; maybe when I retire. We had a hen and a rooster when I was a child in small town S.Carolina. They were very affectionate animals, the rooster would sit on our shoulders and eat out of a spoon. But he made SO much racket in the a.m.!
Portland allows chickens, (but not roosters) in the city limits with some restrictions. Every year, there's a really cool tour of some of the more elaborate structures, the Tour de Coup on July 24th
check out this cool city chicken blog:
http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/
I'm a farm girl who likes the smell of stables, goats and dairy farms, but chicken yards make me gag. Also keeping a variety of predators away is a daunting task. Chickens can be charming pets, fun to watch and provide superior food, but the chicken keeping experience was not my favorite.
My preschooler son saw nature in action when a snake went into the chick cage. By 7, he was a committed seafood/vegetarian.
The blog, "Coal Creek Farm" has a section on farm life and chicken keeping that I highly recommend. April is very funny and her instructive photo sequence on how to "spoink" is hilarious and grotesque. Not for the squeemish. It's the one about being a chicken doctor.
I have six bantam chickens in my brooklyn backyard. People who remember a smell are probably remembering either a coop with lots of chicken and/or a coop that didn't get cleaned out. I clean out my chicken's nesting box every few days and put it in my compost. It doesn't smell (and it's great for the compost -- turns everything to soil so quickly!) And I love having them! (But they can be a little noisy here and there.)
We live on a 50-acre farm and are currently raising 150 chickens. There are 100 being raised for meat, and 50 laying hens; a mixture of Araucana (blue/green eggs), Rhode Island Reds and Black Sex Link (brown eggs) and Leghorns (white). Fully organic and free-range. :)
We do have plenty of predators (coyote, fox, raccoon) but over the past two years have lost 3 chickens to stray dogs.
As rosejj pointed out, if the coop isn't cleaned out weekly, or at the very least some fresh hay isn't laid down, in the summer the smell can be overwhelming. But so can a cat's litterbox -- and people keep them in their homes.
All in all, it is such a joy to keep chickens. The eggs are better than any I have ever had and the hens are as sweet as can be.
Surprises? A few:
1. Fresh eggs are not very good for baking. They need to be at least a week old it seems to make a good cake, etc.
2. If raising day-old chicks, you will lose about 2-3% of the flock. Even if you are following directions to a "T", some of them just don't seem to have the strength.
3. Start telling people you are raising fresh eggs and you have just made new friends -- hungry ones!
As a city gurl my answer is a delightful "no". If I have to ride the subway I"ll be getting my free range organic grain fed eggs from Wholefoods.
Ok, I’ll ask the question no one wants to …, after the chickens stop regular egg production ( 2 – 3 years) how do you go about turning them into a meal? Plucking a chicken sounds like a long and tedious task. Or is it?
Rysis, it's not such a hard task if you plunge the bird into boiling water (after slaughter). Gutting the chicken is the part that takes finesse.
Hmmm checked it out on YouTube. Although interesting I don't think it is for me. Thanks for the comment Clampers!
I have 5 chickens in my urban backyard in Los Angeles. It is one of the "funnest" things ever. They are a blast to watch and are actually very affectionate. I have a dog and a cat and the hens are actually so much easier to take care of.
I got my girls mailed from mypetchicken.com and ALL survived from day old baby chicks. It is a great place to research what breeds you want to "design" your flock.
There coop and run do not smell at all, I rake out the coop and run like once a week, give them new water every other day and just make sure there feed is always full. surprises?
1. They poop EVERYWHERE! In one end out the other all day. So if they are free in the yard you will have land mines. Not pigeon size land mines , my cochin drops Terrier sized loads.
2. Some hens can be loud. I had to re-home 3 hens because they loved there own voices and would BAK BAK BACACK! during the day. Wasn't terrible but I didn't want to bother the neighbors.
3. Mites. My girls got mites last year before I knew about the food grade DE. Just dust around with it and you are mite free.
4. I was really surprised how FUN they are, it is really like a hobby. But one that gives you breakfast every morning.
Laure, you live in Pasadena, right? The city ordinances are pretty relaxed, but your neighbors might not be. Also, if you rent--your landlord will have to approve the hen house first.
NO rooster if you have neighbors within a mile! Not kidding. I live in a suburban neighborhood and someone had one that would wake us up at dawn on the weekends. I'm guessing someone found it and took it out like I would have done. :) Your neighbors will despise you if you get one.
Also, make sure you KEEP it cooped; don't let them out for fun- they can fly. We had a chicken that no one would claim hanging around our house for weeks. Animal control couldn't catch it, it drove the dog crazy and it crapped all over the place.
Be prepared for scratches. My aunt has a farm with a bunch of chickens; one time we visited and my cousin had scratches all over her body. She walked into the coop to feed them and they got kinda mean. And learn how to properly handle them.
This raising your own chickens thing seems to be really becoming trendy right now, but I wonder if there's gonna be a bunch of homeless chickens in a few years. Personally, I never liked the eggs from my aunt's chickens, store bought works for me.
I recommend reading Minnie Rose Lovgreen's Recipe for Raising Chickens. I picked it up on the island I live on, which is where the author lived when she was raising chickens.
I visited a home in Chicago's West Rogers Park neighborhood last night with a chicken coop in the back yard. It looked great, and it seems like a great way to be more self sufficient (and the chicks were cute too).
Tate
http://www.strangeclosets.com
they are a lot of work and it can be smelly of course the noise should not bother you or anyone and think who can take of the them while you are on vacation!