Thinking about getting Chickens? Ask me a question.

[Texashiker]

If you thinking about getting some chickens and have questions, post your questions and I will try to help you.

Some of my girls,

 

[Kaido]

I house-sat for some friends who had chickens earlier this year. The eggs were pretty good. Do they pump out eggs year-round on a consistent basis?

 

[Texashiker]

I house-sat for some friends who had chickens earlier this year. The eggs were pretty good. Do they pump out eggs year-round on a consistent basis?

They slow down production during the winter.

 

[NetWareHead]

How many eggs does each chicken produce?

Ive heard you need to get a "flock" of chickens, singles or doubles dont "work" since they cant establish a proper pecking order. Its only 2 of us, my GF and I so we are reluctant to get more chickens that can lay more eggs than we an eat. (We typically eat 8-12 eggs a week although that can rise if we are baking or cooking for guests)

Life expectancy of chickens? I would think you would want to get them fairly young for max egg laying capability. When they get older, I have no problem slaughtering an older hen for a roaster chicken.

Any way to silence a rooster? The idea of perpetuating the flock is ideal, but the obvious crowing could be a bother to neighbors (and us)

Do you need to fence in the yard? I know chickens give all kinds of benefits to the lawn in the form of droppings and insect/pest control. Ideally I'd like them to have full roam of my yard but how good are they about staying put? Is a fence needed?

My grandmother in Italy had chickens and a rooster and at night the rooster herded all of the hens to the roost. it was as if he was on a schedule; my grandmother would go and shut the roost's door to prevent predator attacks as it was getting dark and by that time the birds had gone inside. In the morning she would go and open it to let the birds out and also collect any eggs they had laid.

Your daily schedule? Can you take a vacation with these birds? How long can you leave them by themselves? Can you leave extra food/water and will they self regulate their consumption or will their be competition to devour all available food as quickly as possible?

Do birds usually lay eggs in the roost or do you encounter eggs all over the yard?

I live in NH and winter is a real problem here for outside animals. Do you have any cold weather issues in TX?

I'm sure I'll think of more questions, we have been thinking about chickens for quite some time now. There is nothing like an egg fresh from the nest. The yolk is so vividly orange and its a taste like no other.

 

[Texashiker]

How many eggs does each chicken produce?

If you give the hens high protein laying pellets, a good breed hen should lay "around" 200 eggs a year.

Some breeds lay a little more, say in the 250 eggs a year, some breeds a little less, say in the 175 a year range.

Ive heard you need to get a "flock" of chickens, singles or doubles dont "work" since they cant establish a proper pecking order. Its only 2 of us, my GF and I so we are reluctant to get more chickens that can lay more eggs than we an eat. (We typically eat 8-12 eggs a week although that can rise if we are baking or cooking for guests)

I would go with at least 3.

If you just want a few eggs I would look at some of the older heritage breeds, such as a Dominique, barred rock, rhode island red, buff orpington.

Some breeds are egg producing machines. They have been bred for 200 years for egg production.

At one time the australorp held the worlds record for egg production with a group of 6 hens laying an average of 309 eggs a year. The white leghorn is another high production chicken sometimes laying 280 - 300 eggs a year.

Life expectancy of chickens? I would think you would want to get them fairly young for max egg laying capability. When they get older, I have no problem slaughtering an older hen for a roaster chicken.

I have heard of chickens living to be 15 years old, some die out of the blue.

Any way to silence a rooster? The idea of perpetuating the flock is ideal, but the obvious crowing could be a bother to neighbors (and us)

I am sure there is, but another option is to get a bantam rooster. They are not as loud as full size roosters.

Do you need to fence in the yard? I know chickens give all kinds of benefits to the lawn in the form of droppings and insect/pest control. Ideally I'd like them to have full roam of my yard but how good are they about staying put? Is a fence needed?

Do you have dogs? Does your neighbors have dogs? Do you live in a rural area where foxes and coyotes roam?

I lost half my chicken flock to my dogs, coyotes and foxes.

My grandmother in Italy had chickens and a rooster and at night the rooster herded all of the hens to the roost. it was as if he was on a schedule; my grandmother would go and shut the roost's door to prevent predator attacks as it was getting dark and by that time the birds had gone inside. In the morning she would go and open it to let the birds out and also collect any eggs they had laid.

Your grandmother knew exactly what she was doing.

Your daily schedule? Can you take a vacation with these birds? How long can you leave them by themselves? Can you leave extra food/water and will they self regulate their consumption or will their be competition to devour all available food as quickly as possible?

I have two chicken yards and two chicken houses.

1 house the chickens get closed up at night. When my wife and I go out of town we have my cousin or aunt (who live nearby) close the chickens up and give them food and water.

Other house the chickens come and go as they wish.

Do birds usually lay eggs in the roost or do you encounter eggs all over the yard?

Chickens lay everywhere. They have laying boxes, but will lay under bushes in the yard.

I live in NH and winter is a real problem here for outside animals. Do you have any cold weather issues in TX?

No real cold problems here.

The big problem with cold and chickens is their comb getting frost bit, and wind drafts. The chicken house should be draft free and pick a chicken breed with a rose comb.

Chickens have a body temperate of something like 107 degrees.

I'm sure I'll think of more questions, we have been thinking about chickens for quite some time now. There is nothing like an egg fresh from the nest. The yolk is so vividly orange and its a taste like no other.

Raising your own chickens is a great hobby. It is a great feeling to get fresh eggs and know your chickens are being treated humanly.

 

[NetWareHead]

Do you have dogs? Does your neighbors have dogs? Do you live in a rural area where foxes and coyotes roam?

I lost half my chicken flock to my dogs, coyotes and foxes.

Yes we have predator issues here. Fishercats, coyotes, foxes are definitely present, I think the wolf population has been extirpated from the area. We have bobcats and mountain cats too here.

On those points, I think keeping the chickens cooped up at night would work since most of those predators come out at night. My question about confining them with a fence was more geared towards a hen's daytime roaming range. Is it recommended to fence in the yard so I dont have a runaway chicken? I dont know how my neighbors will react if my chickens are found in their yards. I'd like to keep them out if the street so perhaps a fence is needed after all...

Actually I'm more concerned about my 2 housecats. They go outside and do kill all kinds of critters. Just realized one of my concerns are the cats we keep. Cats and hens are semi the same size, I dont know how evenly matched they would be in a fight but I would give the edge to the cat. Still, the spurs and beak of a chicken can be quite damaging to a cat... Any comment on chickens and housecats?

1 house the chickens get closed up at night. When my wife and I go out of town we have my cousin or aunt (who live nearby) close the chickens up and give them food and water.

Other house the chickens come and go as they wish.

Ok so it sounds like someone needs to take care of them everyday. At least to put the birds in at night and let them out in the morning. How is food handled? Do you fill up a big bowl and the chickens pace themselves or you need to put a set amount out because they will eat it all? Wonder how often you need to put out food and will the chickens self-regulate their food intake.

Raising your own chickens is a great hobby. It is a great feeling to get fresh eggs and know your chickens are being treated humanly.

Agreed. They are cool little animals. I would have to adopt a different policy towards the hens if they are going to be slaughtered at the end of their useful lives. I kinda dont even want to name them or treat them as pets if they are going to wind up as dinner one Sunday. But yes I would treat them humanely and allow them to free roam.

 

[Kaido]

Raising your own chickens is a great hobby. It is a great feeling to get fresh eggs and know your chickens are being treated humanly.

It was actually great to get the eggs every morning. I house-sat my friend's "mini farm" for about a week & tended to their chickens. It was nice. I don't want to get all hippie & say you feel more connected to nature, but it was cool working with live animals, eating the food that was produced off local land, having a daily routine that involved going outside & doing some work in the morning, etc.

 

[Texashiker]

Actually I'm more concerned about my 2 housecats. They go outside and do kill all kinds of critters.

Very unlikely a cat is going to bother a full grown chicken.

I live in a rural area, stray cats come by and never both my chickens. The cats hang around for a couple of days then disappear.

My house cat and a stray cat that decided to stay has never bothered any of my chickens.

Chicks on the other hand. They would make a tasty meal for a cat.