JavaScript is disabled
Our website requires JavaScript to function properly. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser settings before proceeding.
We got some last year. If they are chicks and you are raising them indoors under a heat lamp, they start to stink. Bad....

With that said, what we found to work best was a large metal dog crate.
 
Once they are out of the chick stage they can be pretty low maintenance. If you have a fenced in yard or area that they can free range on then you don't need to feed them much. They sure keep the bugs under control.
 
Once they are out of the chick stage they can be pretty low maintenance. If you have a fenced in yard or area that they can free range on then you don't need to feed them much. They sure keep the bugs under control.

Hell, if you have enough space, you only have to put feed down once a week. That is what I do and I'm at a little over 40 hens and 2 roosters.
 
we were up to 6 hens at one point... all heavy breed layers, provided a whole lot of eggs. racoons got them, one at a time.
we're getting some again, miss the fresh eggs supplementing our normal purchasing of 'em. (we go through at least 4 or 6 dozen/week)

past the eggs, they were entertaining animals. almost pet like. the kids could pick them up, the dog was fine with them...
 
We raised Chickens when I was a kid had 13 Roade Island Reds I hated the things. We kept them in a large pen and a coup. bubblegum all over the place and I had to clean the roosts out every so often. Then they drew rats. So that was cool I would stand outside the coupe at night with the .22 and shorts and snap on the flashlight and shoot at the hole in the coup floor the rats came up in. I'd get 4-5 a night. I'm sure their buddies ate them.

Finally dad got rid of the chickens and we bombed the underside of the coup and killed all the rats.

ONLY way I would have chickens now is if they could be free range and well away from the house
 
coons killed all my chickens also, and the rats got terrible. skunks hung around all the time. kinda miss having them around, but at the same time i am glad they are gone.
 
We have 6 hens now, had them just about 2 years now. They have their coop inside a dog kennel and our youngest daughter loves them. They are pretty tame and dont mind being picked up or carried around. We lock the coop up every night and let them back out early in the morning.

usually get 3-4 eggs a day, we have a mix of birds. 3 all black, 2 tan/light tan and a brownish black that lays the green shelled eggs, the rest lay the brown.

They are pretty good most of the time..not to much squaking from them, I wouldnt miss them if they were gone. I didnt want much to do with them but it seems I do most of the work....checking food/water. Our youngest daughter does quite a bit but over looks the food/water even though she is reminded......kinda the same with the dog..I gave the go ahead but kids were to feed/water, walk and clean up after..well I seem to be doing the cleaning up after.
 
I'd like to have chickens someday, but I'm a little nervous to...... My Grandfather's from the midwest and was raised around chickens, and when he was about 50 he lost vision in several areas of his eyes and developed a detached retina. It was caused by a fungus called histoplasmosis, which can be spread by chickens. At the time the only way to treat it was with laser eye surgery, which left him with several permanent blind spots.
 
We have 6 hens now, had them just about 2 years now. They have their coop inside a dog kennel and our youngest daughter loves them. They are pretty tame and dont mind being picked up or carried around. We lock the coop up every night and let them back out early in the morning.

usually get 3-4 eggs a day, we have a mix of birds. 3 all black, 2 tan/light tan and a brownish black that lays the green shelled eggs, the rest lay the brown.

They are pretty good most of the time..not to much squaking from them, I wouldnt miss them if they were gone. I didnt want much to do with them but it seems I do most of the work....checking food/water. Our youngest daughter does quite a bit but over looks the food/water even though she is reminded......kinda the same with the dog..I gave the go ahead but kids were to feed/water, walk and clean up after..well I seem to be doing the cleaning up after.

The all black ones are probably Black Australorpes, the tan Buff Orpingtons and the one that lays green eggs is an Araucana.
 
I did some serious damage to the Raccoon population around my place and keep a trap baited near the chicken pen. No rats yet but we have lots of predators around for them.
 
We've had Barred Rocks and Black Australorps for some time now - and they're like pets to us. Every one has a unique personality, and they're amazingly curious and responsive. I chalk it up to the freedom and varied environment that they have around the yard.

The key is to lock them up securely at nightfall, because every varmint out there spends all night scheming for a way to get a fresh chicken dinner. Our coop/cage arrangement is built better than my old California house, and it's a heckuva lot more secure, too.

We're down to nine birds, because a Redtail got one a couple weeks ago. She was the biggest hen in the whole flock, but it took the hawk like two seconds to finish her. It seems that the only 'daylight raiders' we have to worry about are the hawks, and they're only a danger in the Winter months, when the trees are bare.
 
I have Brahma's which are a big bird and I keep a Rooster around. So far I've been lucky with the hawks - I'm amazed that they haven't got one . . .yet. I think having a Rooster around helps. He's a big bird - even though I don't really enjoy his attitude. We have an understanding about keeping our distances. ;)
 
I can tell you this, if you have a tick or chigger problem and bring in a cluck of chickens you no longer have a tick or chigger issue, they do a heck of a number them that is one reason to amount that you feed them down, the will will self sustain and even keep a lot bugs out of your garden, but have a safe place for them at night, because as said above they are not on top of the food chain.

Having a few good dogs around that raised or trained to tolerate or protect the chickens helps as well, the other crittens do not want to mess with a decent protect dog, plus the dog will alert you and you can kill the critters, eat the critter and extend the life of your food stores
 
My wife and I have kept chickens for years. Don't have any at the moment, though. We found Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds to be some of the best for production. I'm not a fan of the Aracauna or Americauna breeds. The California Whites are good though.
Everything loves to eat chicken. I've had coyotes, foxes, dogs, cats, opossums, racoons, skunks, and hawks get my chickens at one time or another. We kept upgrading our fortifications. We ended up with a cube of chicken wire fencing to keep 'em in overnight. That was set within a larger area with 4' welded wire fencing to contain them during the day. We'd let them out to roam the rest of the yard when we'd be around. That put a stop to the losses.
Great for bugs, but they'll tear up your garden without too much effort. They're great garbage disposals. They eat everything. Their favorite food seems to be chicken! All our food waste went into the chicken yard (in the morning, or you'll attract more pests) and they'd eat every scrap. That's recycling!
 
good point on the garden, I should have said keep them away from the plants, but let them roam around them, this keeps the bugs population down.

Never had any myself but grew with friends who that I spent a lot of time with, and through life have had friends that have had, as 97321 says, everything likes to eat them, but I found a good watch dog that is trained to let them be and once the dog, figures out that they are part of of its territroy they are responsible they will go after anything that tries to get them, when you the dog do this, reward the dog and tell them what a good dog there and and play with, just like they drug dogs when the find something, a good watch dog will lay down its life to protect your property just out of loyalty.
 

Upcoming Events

Tillamook Gun & Knife Show
Tillamook, OR
"The Original" Kalispell Gun Show
Kalispell, MT
Teen Rifle 1 Class
Springfield, OR
Kids Firearm Safety 2 Class
Springfield, OR

New Resource Reviews

New Classified Ads

Back Top