Hens - What, how, and OMG here I go again!

[mrsgreenthumbs]

So I have wanted my own hen's for a long long while now. I had given up on the idea because my yard is open to the ally and I have a communal garden. This morning I came across this

http://santamaria.craigslist.org/grd/1668652466.html

(yes I scan the local CL... I can't even begin to guess how much CL has saved me)

I can SO build that. And I have ONE space left in my garden that is (guessing) 16x8 (maybe) I thought... now if I can build something like this, with a little house inside for the hen's... would they be ok there? Could I let them out (with out supervision of course) in the afternoons and on the weekends? Would they tire of being stuck in there? And about how much would this cost? How much space per hen would I need to provide? (I'm thinking 2 hens.. it's only the DH and myself 5 day's a week and the kiddo on the weekends) What kind of hen should I get? I'm SUPER excited.

[syntheticbutterfly]

Hey,
I have just started keeping chickens, and its brilliant. I get a little thrill every morning when I go and collect the eggs, and once you've eaten just laid eggs you'll never go back to store bought ones.
I had a look at that link, and the only problem I can see with that is they like to have a nesting box to lay the eggs in, but thats easily resolved, I have a couple of crates set up for my girls and they are just fine.
One concern I'd have of letting them out without supervision is about predators- cats, dogs and what have you will take advantage if they can.
As for what sort of chickens to buy- mine are just standard chickens, layers obviously, but there is a whole world of fancy chickens out there if you wanted to try something different.

[cynthia_h]

Raccoons. Please be absolutely certain that the chickens will be safe from raccoon predation.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[mrsgreenthumbs]

that was a typo lol I meant to say "with our supervision". I'm thinking... what if I could figure out how to turn the top portion into a coop, and the lower section as a run. The top would have plenty of space for 2 hens to lay and lid's with hinges for easy access. I'll have to sketch something up.... ohhh my DH is gonna be so... well worried how much work this will be but excited to bust out his new power tools!

[applestar]

Smart lady! I've seen designs like that with coop on the top and a drop down ramp for the chickens to toddle up and down on. I've also seen them with the A-frame coop attached on the end. Coop on the top design allows for shaded/sheltered area for the chickens to be, though full-length means less sun. On the other hand, A-frame design of the run provides for sunlight along the edges.

... can you tell I've been thinking about it for a while too?

[mrsgreenthumbs]

My oh my... not only do I LOVE LOVE LOVE animals, and gardening but I am big on knowing what went into my food. (and I ADORE eggs... can't get enough of em) plus... my step son would get a HUGE kick out of collecting his egg's! Oh I want I want! I'm going to go see how much the lumbar and ect' will be.

[Ozark Lady]

Do you use beds? If you do, you can build it to fit your beds, and then just rotate which bed it is over. That way you don't have to move poop. But, of course, you can't put it over a planted bed.

I had a chicken go poo on a seedling last year, killed it really fast!

But, you can move them around to enrich beds. And the hens will scratch and dig and eat the grubs, and all manners of problems.

Check out Chicken Tractors.

I echo the post about raccoons. This is a little gross, but raccoons like to eat the innards, and waste most of the part of the chicken that you or I would want to eat. If hungry enough the raccoon just might eat more, but not usually. Opossums only like the heads! So again, watch for those also.

Unless your chickens are really big pets, I would not let them out at all.
Have you ever tried to catch a chicken? Even if you clip their wings, think about, they will run, they will duck, they will go under stuff... You get the picture, you will have chicken for dinner in a day or two of chasing them.

[mrsgreenthumbs]

OZARKLADY I'm thinking they would stay in the pen... Iv seen a lot of options and what I have planned out seems to fit the bill. For 2 laying smaller breed hens we could build a 6x8 floor space tractor like structure and build 2 laying boxes into the top area with a ramp up to the boxes and a few roost's across the open area below. AND... if I get to a point where I think they need even more room, I can always create a tunnel like run for them to roam safely in my garden. The nest boxes would have hinges and lids for easy clean up and access to my breakfast! The bottom could possibly be transportable and I could hang the feed from the peak to deter rodents... My neighbors have chickens and honestly.. we NEVER hear or smell them. So I'm not worried about neighbors being bothered by them. All I have to do is make up my mind about being ready for the responsibility. ..... Yah I think im ready lol

[Alan in Vermont]

... if I get to a point where I think they need even more room, I can always create a tunnel like run for them to roam safely in my garden.

At that point you decide if you want chickens or want a garden. If you run chickens into where your garden is it rapidly becomes where your garden WAS!

[Ozark Lady]

There is a reason that all my beds are equipped with chicken wire, ha ha.

I love my chickens, not in my beds. I love to watch the squirrels run and play too, not in my beds.

As long as, they are always in a tunnel or something where you have control of them, then, if they get into trouble, you did it, not them!

Chickens are "helpful". I was outside, filling inserts with soil, and putting them into trays, I had roughly a dozen chickens all wanting to help me.

They knocked my stuff over just once, and I decided it was feeding time for them, and break time for me! Or chicken dinner! They are so nosy!

They ate and went to roost, remember my chickens are free range, so they run, everywhere, except into the house.

My son, has a hen that pecks on his window, he opens it, she runs in, lays an egg, and then runs back to the window to go back outside. They even let her set her eggs in their living room. She runs to the window to go to the bathroom... A house broke chicken. She is a one of a kind, never saw anything like her before.

[mrsgreenthumbs]

Oh that is too cool! I can't do free roaming in my garden because it's open to the ally and it's a communal yard, plus we have an opposum and cat's and dog's in the area so I was thinking more like.. well have you seen those cat tunnels? for indoor cat's that are allowed to roam outside? I was thinking I could create a tunnel system (yes I realize I'm eccentric... I like it that way lol ) with chicken wire and stakes to let them out into. This would go from the movable tractor/hen house around the back of my 3 sister's planting box and where ever else I wanted it to go. Then if they need new stuff to go check out or more grass to nibble on I could always re arrange the tunnel. They would have no access to any of my plant's that I would not allow them to have access to. I would not let them into the tunnel unless I could watch over them and it would be easy to give them more places to go and things to do rather than keeping them cooped up (pun always intended).

[mrsgreenthumbs]

So I checked with my city code enforcement office and he is sending me out a packet with the info on exempt buildings. I wouldn't even call this a building... lol I guess it has to be at least half the leingth for the width, check and at least 5 feet from any other building, check and no more than 6 or 8 feet high... I plan on this to be about chest high MAYBE shoulder so... check and... I think that was it. Now if it's portable.. would that even qualify as a "building"?

[DoubleDogFarm]

Iv seen a lot of options and what I have planned out seems to fit the bill.

That's it you said bill, here are several







When ever I stick the shovel in the ground, it's like ringing the dinner bell. It's hard to work the soil with 27 ducks at your feet. That's 54 little feet that could easly get severed by the shovel. They think their job is to eat ever worm they see. Each bird probably has 50 worms in their stomach. Make me shiver, it's like have 50 little snake in your stomach

[Ozark Lady]

That is cute double dog. I have seen chickens do that, never before muscovy ducks.
Our big muscovy is still being insistent about sitting on our shoulders... was cute when he was tiny, not now, now it about knocks you flat when he wants a ride!

That mob right there, is why my garden is in cages, once the soil is disturbed, to plant or whatever, here comes the helpers.

[applestar]

I've switched to digging with a fork (garden, long or short handled... not table ) for the most part. There are worms everywhere! I guess it doesn't matter as much when the ducks are eating them anyway, but I'm trying not to chop them up.

But really, whether I move a leaf or a rock, poke a little hole to pop in a transplant or dig out a path -- worms, worms, EVERYWHERE!!

Love the photos, Double Dog! Not only the ducks but the "rich chocolate cake" in the foreground!