Chickens, and things related

[Soundguy]

cleanliness: 0 They will perch on their own water fountain and use it as a bathroom

time: 7 once you get them setup.. it can be fairly automated feeding and collecting eggs not taking much time if they are in an enclosed area

amusement: starts near 10.. drops to about 3-1 as soon as you need a vacation

food: if you keep up with the eggs.. figure 5 eggs per hen per week for 1-2 ys

enjoyment.. again.. starts high.. drops off.. if you keep em managable, and food production is up.. callit a 5

soundguy

For those of you still reading this thread. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being terrible and 10 being outstanding, rate your chicken owning experiences in these areas.

Cleanliness of chickens
Time spent on chickens
Amusement of chickens
Food provided by chickens
Overall enjoyment of chicken owning

I am fully convinced that this will be a fun thing to do, and give me another excuse to get out to the "farm" more. Some family members are not convinced this will be as easy or as fun as I am, so I am looking for some experienced chicken owners opinions.

 

[Ford850]

Cleanliness of chickens-1
Time spent on chickens-5
Amusement of chickens-7
Food provided by chickens-(quality of food=10, expense to provide=3)
Overall enjoyment of chicken owning-8

My family had chickens since as I grew up, and I took care of them with my brother. We hatched, raised, and butchered them ourselves, and had enough to keep us in eggs all year round. Had them as 4-H projects, and after that just for food and fun. Got married and moved in town, so no more chickens for me but my dad still raised them. Bought some land and built a house in the country a couple years ago and I'm finally caught up enough to start thinking about adding a chicken coop. My point is I learned a lot by raising chickens as I grew up. I want my son to do the same. It was a lot of work at times, but hey, here I am wanting to start over with it again. I miss it.

 

[Tororider]

Ford850,
Thanks, I think that gives me pretty good perspective. I would like for my sons to learn from this experience as well. From raising them from babies to feeding and collecting eggs. I appreciate the input from everyone.

 

[davitk]

Kinda like women, forgetting the labor pains of childbirth

 

[Ford850]

Kinda like women, forgetting the labor pains of childbirth

Wow, chickens aren't THAT bad. Dairy cows would be bad though - 2 times a day 7 days a week with no vacation possibilities. At least with chickens you can ask a neighbor to do chores for a few days if needed.

 

[Tororider]

Yeah I already have a neighbor lined up for helping if I go on vacation or need him to check on them, he lives a half mile away so we figure we can work out a free eggs for a bit of help now and again. My future brother-in-law's family has a large dairy farm and they are having fun trying to schedule wedding showers and stuff for them to be able to get to them.

 

[4720 OWNER]

Just remember the 7 P's. Prior Planning Prevents P... Poor Performance.

You could also just have meat chickens and after a couple months you are done with them and do not have to mess with them.

The eggs i get are so much better than at the store. Cannot even eat them anymore plus i know where they came from and how safe they are. That piece of mind is worth it.

 

[Tororider]

Yeah, plus it teaches my kids to be more responsible with resources, self sufficient. Just like I am going to teach them responsible hunting, gardening and energy. When we build out there I will be building an ultra efficient house, using geothermal, and probably some solar as well. I just think it all goes together. Plus when we have our parties out there, there will be one more thing for the kids to do along with the outside games and hayrides.

I had thought about the meat chickens, but I think I will wait until I get some other ones started and then maybe add them during the summer. My thoughts are if I am going to do this I am going to do this. I have some outs if I need to, but I don't anticipate that happening.

 

[DANOCHEESE]

THe wife bought a few chickens, a duck and THE TURKEY last year. I built a little pen and shelter for them. I felt sorry for the Duck, so I dug a hole and put a little kiddie pool in for it to swimn around in. The turkey was the greatest thing to have around. IT took care of the little chicks. The labs would go over and try and sneak a chicken They are bird dogs after all. Well the turkey get out one day and heads for the dog kennel. Looks in at the two labs and I swear I could hear it say " how do you lik me now " That turkey would go for walks with you. He did'nt tast too bad either. ( I like the labs on walks)

Guess what I get to do this spring, Build a bigger fenced in area. I have alrady startd the 8x12 chicken coop in the shop.

 

[4720 OWNER]

Just do not name them, i do name the cows...t bone, sir, loin, booger, you get the idea.