What tips do you have on keeping chickens?

Näkki

Näkki

kiwifarms.net
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Oct 4, 2020
I can finally get some. Will learn the basics from my family, they've been keeping them for two decades.

I do have two asshole dogs though. We're working on the impulse control. Shelter and all.

What says the chicken keepers? Tell me about enrichment and things. I have plenty of space.

I'm lost on all the breeds too. Apparently Sulmtaler are a big thing here. Or brahma? I'd rather focus on eggs rather than meat though..
 
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The house you need for them will honestly be much smaller than you think it should be. You don't want to heat it, in winter, because if the power goes out, they will die of shock. Stack them up two levels with the boxes, and cut out extra space in the house. They can run free in the daytime. Fence off your pen, and bury the fence at least two feet to stop coyotes.
E- Get some Rhode Island Reds. Really common. Good for egg production, even into the winter.
E2- Are you prepared to clip their wings?
 
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Orion Balls said:
The house you need for them will honestly be much smaller than you think it should be. You don't want to heat it, in winter, because if the power goes out, they will die of shock. Stack them up two levels with the boxes, and cut out extra space in the house. They can run free in the daytime. Fence off your pen, and bury the fence at least two feet to stop coyotes.
E- Get some Rhode Island Reds. Really common. Good for egg production, even into the winter.
E2- Are you prepared to clip their wings?
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Very good to know. I have some space in a shed I'd fence off with an automatic door. I'm probably thinking way too much space for them inside.

There'll be a fence, though the area is known for free roaming chickens. We don't get coyotes here, but foxes. That's why I'd like them in the shed over night with a programmable door.

I honestly have my eyes on some plymouth Rock at this point. Though they're close to being extinct over here. Else maybe some German wyandotte. A farmer close by will have chicks, or is willing to give me his breeding flock.
 
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Please for the love of God, Jesus and all that is holy and good in this world keep them in a pen. You ( or anyone else really ) might be thinkin' in the near future, "Golly how about we let the chickens roam free in our yard?" DON'T. DO. THAT.
These little bastards might be as dumb as retarded bricks but they suddenly gain sentience upon learning where they recieve food from. If you feed them on your front door, you can expect them to camp like gypsies there: Waiting. Watching. Most of all S H I T T I N G.
Oh God the shit.
Do you know what warm, mouldy human excrement smells like? This is worse. This is ten times worse. And do you know what human excrement feels like when you step in one? Well what about the shit from a chicken? Not a pleasant experience either way.
There a good reasons why we keep hens in battery cages. One reason is to prevent me from MURDERING THEM ALL. (In minecraft.)
 
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Thebag$$$ said:
demon animal. they should all be killed.
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Sped Xing said:
Goats hate everything that isn't edible, and I don't let her commit anthropophagy.

Kikos. They're a meat breed, though they're also very good milkers. I'd give the full commercial, but I'd wind up powerleveling.
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It's not power leveling if it's on topic and not gross personal information.
Unless you mean self doxing.
 
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Get used to the smell of chicken shit.

Näkki said:
Very good to know. I have some space in a shed I'd fence off with an automatic door. I'm probably thinking way too much space for them inside.

There'll be a fence, though the area is known for free roaming chickens. We don't get coyotes here, but foxes. That's why I'd like them in the shed over night with a programmable door.

I honestly have my eyes on some plymouth Rock at this point. Though they're close to being extinct over here. Else maybe some German wyandotte. A farmer close by will have chicks, or is willing to give me his breeding flock.
Click to expand...
If you are concerned about predators I HIGHLY recommend adding a roof over their outdoor yard especially if hawks live in the area. I have taken care of my neighbors chickens when I was younger and one season I lost three chickens to hawks. At Christmas this year I learned that they have lost tons of chickens to hawks and now just keep them housed inside during the winter. If you don't want to put a roof over the yard an alternative is use strands of silver tape tied to poles to scare the hawks away or build a net of it over the yard.

Going off what @Orion Balls said about heating, my neighbors had a raised shelf in the coop where all the chickens would huddle together at night to stay warm during the winter. They know how to stay warm when it gets cold. You should also get some kind of heating pad to keep their water dish warm so you don't have to change out the water every day when its below freezing.

They also love lettuce. So any old lettuce or any other veggies you would normally throw out give it to them. Those little birds will tear at each other over a scrap of lettuce. Most important get used to the smell of bird shit.
 
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I'm a big fan of chickens. Between predators and the simple fact that they've been bred to be egg producers at the expense of their health, expect to lose one every so often. Just try to be sure they have plenty of room to to chickeny things, that's more than most folks would give them.
 
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