Garden Chicken

[RU482]

We have a ~20x12 foot garden that is fenced in with chicken wire (mostly to keep rabbits out). I was thinking about getting a couple of chickens to live in there, eat bugs, provide fertilizer, ect.

anyone here ever done such a thing?

 

[Iron Woode]

its not quite as simple as you think.

there is a lot more involved in having chickens.

bylaw issues need to be looked into.

I would suggest some research first.

 

[sjwaste]

We had chickens in the 'burbs before. Well, my dad did, when I was younger and still at home. They do require some work, it's not like getting a cat. They will need shelter, and a chicken coop requires cleaning. They will also need protection from predators. Despite ours having an enclosed, heated coop for shelter, inside of a larger, fenced/chicken wire pen (like 50ftx20ft), ours were eventually eaten by a wild animal. It was sad, because they do become pets.

If you do end up going for it, do some research first. Make sure it's legal where you live. And do not get a rooster - ours was noisy and there was some fighting with the hens. We had to give our rooster away.

On the upside, they do eat just about anything - we added leftovers, vegetable scraps, pretty much anything with their regular food and they loved it. If you have 3 or so hens, they will provide enough eggs for a normal family, and possibly more.

 

[highland145]

My friends have 4 in their back yard coop. Chickens o.k., roosters not in their neighborhood. I asked about the garden and he said you couldn't leave them in 24/7. They'd damage the plants too much.

 

[Farmer]

You plan on keeping them for eggs or eating them?

 

[bignateyk]

Our township allows 4 hens per half acre of land. You have to have 10 acres to have a rooster though.

 

[mmntech]

A neighbour of mine had one when I was in high school. It used to constantly escape and wander the block. Didn't bother us, but I was always afraid it would get hit by a car.

The foreman at my dad's company also used to keep them, but he lived on a large country lot.

Lots of cities outright ban urban chickens. They're also apparently a very high maintenance pet. Check with your city and do more research. I'm sure there are organizations of urban chicken owners you can talk to.

 

[highland145]

Lots of cities outright ban urban chickens. They're also apparently a very high maintenance pet. Check with your city and do more research. I'm sure there are organizations of urban chicken owners you can talk to.

Sound like that subversive group The Daughters of the Confederacy.

 

[alien42]

chickens will devour almost anything that is green and their poo is way to high in nitrogen and will probably burn the plants.

 

[RU482]

I was actually going to use them to eat bugs in the garden and poop for fertilizer (which it sounds like might be too powerful for a garden without mixing something with it).

Then, in the fall, if they made it that far, I was going to turn them loose as a treat for my Jack Russel Terrier.

 

[Six]

My parents have a variety them in their backyard. The Thai chickens are easier to care for than the rest. At dusk, they all return to their own coop. Roosters will kill each other...eventually. Chickens eat bugs and greens. They like to dig too. Rats like chicken crap. So will some dogs.