The Chicken Club (The Flock)

Comment

Comment by Kate Clark on March 9, 2010 at 11:35pm

I just spent last sunday "fencing" in a large area outside the chicken coop for my girls, so they could travel yet stay away from the beds. I got some flexible plastic fencing at Lowes and these 4 foot fence posts that go in easy, and the fencing just clips onto the posts. It would all be easy to move or take down at some point, but it seems to be working fine. They are thrilled to have more room to peck around. By the way, I noticed they prefer the dry, loose dirt under the trees to the grassy areas...its easier to kick up and get the bugs underneath. I could watch them for hours...and sometimes do.

Comment by Alys Kennedy on March 9, 2010 at 10:15am

Hey, thanks for the clairfication, Joshua and Donna, regarding the number of chickens (or other farm animals) one is allowed to have in the city. I was going by what I had been told by others who live within the city limits.

Roberta, I can easily understand your dilemma regarding having gardens that are everywhere, as I have a similar situation. I think the best thing in a case like that is to just let them out for short time periods, when you are there with them, and in winter, as Alicia stated. That way you can kind of monitor what they are getting into and not lose all that you have grown to eat.

I must add though that I think Alicia has "well trained" chickens to not go over the fencing, as I have tried that here and it doesn't work. I have some young chickens, 7 months old and tow of them are flying over a fence that is about 7 feet high in almost all areas. The visualization idea is a great one, and I am working on that, so far with no luck though. I have clipped her wings twice now, within a time period of 3 days, and so far that too has not worked! I am currently considering lead weights on her feet ; > )

Comment by Alicia Wills on March 9, 2010 at 9:15am

PS. Your chickens will also eat the weeds you pull and clean up kitchen leftovers. They'll clean up garden waste and dig new beds if you let them. Can't really imagine gardening without chix. I have ducks, too, but I won't wax rhapsodic about them here. If anyone ever wants to know about the joys of ducks and their care, just check in with me. Enjoy! Alicia

Comment by Alicia Wills on March 8, 2010 at 11:28pm

Hi Roberta. All you really need to keep gardens safe is a roll of 1" chicken wire (2 ft tall) and some skinny stakes to circle the beds. I've found that - from a chicken's point of view - a wire fence with nothing at the top to perch on could be 80 ft tall. For some reason they don't seem to fly over wire - only if there's a rail at the top. And you can step over it! It also helps to tell them (visualize!) that it's 80 ft tall - just to reinforce the idea. Your yard will look slightly fortified but your veg will be safe and the chickens can then eat the bugs all around your beds. And produce compost/manure for the next season, as well, as get in (when you let them) to clean up the beds of grubs and bugs and little slugs in the fall. Chickens and gardens go together.

Do be sure that you have a very secure place for them to be from dusk to dawn and a fenced in area for their daily foraging. Raccoons and stray dogs are an ever-present danger. Alicia

Comment by Kate Clark on March 8, 2010 at 11:06pm

I'm hoping to get the Hohl's folks to provide a chicken info area at the Great Unleashing. Any of The Flock who is willing to hang out there a while during the day to answer questions...that would be awesome!
kate

Comment by Roberta Owen on March 8, 2010 at 9:01pm

Oh wow, guys ... thank you! For so much information, so much feedback and welcoming into a whole new world of chickens (i believe it takes a special kind of person to fall in love with these feathered friends). I went back to Hohls today and admired the chicks with my two year old and 4 year old sons - I want to make sure I have everything ready before committing myself to such an exciting adventure! For instance, I've been browsing through those websites the Hills mentioned and wow - great sites. I'm now thinking of how I can concoct some sort of device from the chickens to munch on my veggie gardens. We have a lot in areas of our backyard ... it's not just one square lot that could be easily covered. So ... we'll be doing a lot of "hmmmm-ing" in the backyard this week. (And I'm sure I'll have more questions!)

Comment by Joshua & Donna Hill on March 8, 2010 at 10:15am

In regards to Robertas posts.
2. Janaki is right about handling the chickens. In our search for the most docile breed we found the Faverolles to be the winner. They are hard to find though. Got ours from MPC.
Check here for details on chicken breeds:
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
3.There is no limit. The important factor is distance from nearest dwelling and the noise they make. Check out COB municipal code here:
http://www.cob.org/web/bmcode.nsf/srch/43B307322FE896668825615C007A...
Donna :)

Comment by Janaki Kilgore on March 8, 2010 at 9:47am

Hi Roberta,
If you wish you are welcome to visit our chickens and see their home and fences. two of my neighbors also have chickens. Of our flock the Rhode Island Reds are the most aggressive. I once had the sweetest Buff Orphinton except when she went 'broody' and defended her nest. In my experience the more the birds are handled and petted as chicks, the more tame they will be.
Janaki 758-4165
2812 Iron St.,Bellingham

Comment by Alys Kennedy on March 7, 2010 at 11:37am

Hello Roberta, and welcome to the wonderful world of chickendom!

Here are my answers to your chicken questions:

1. I have a decent medium-sized yard with veggie gardens galore - do chickens peck at vegetables? Absolutely, chickens love vegetables, and given the chance, they will eat them ALL. So fencing them away from you veggie garden would be wise.

2. I have two small boys (2 and 4) - what would you recommend to be the most docile and people-friendly chickens? In my experience Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orphingtons, Wyandotts, and Americaunas are the most docile...course it also depends on the individual chicken...and I am sure other chicken people have other experiences.
3. I was always under the impression there were certain "zones" in cities that wouldn't allow backyard chickens? Is this true? Or is it a city thing, and Bham allows it (I see so many chickens! roosters! turkeys! ducks! in backyards). Legally Bham allows you to have 3 chickens, no roosters. However, as you have observed, many have more and many have roosters, and I think Bham just looks the other way as long as the neighbors don't complain...so, I would talk to my neighbors about your plans.
4. I have a mature cat - obviously as chicks I would keep them well protected and introduce the cat to the chicks through "look only" procedure, but after that (when chickens are in backyard) how are they with cats? I think it depends a lot on the cat....I know lots of people with cats and chickens, and I have neighbors with cats who hunt wild birds, but have had no problem with my chickens....I think a cat would be a bit intimidated by an angry chicken.
5. There is a small area of the backyard that is completely shrubby as a "fence" but there isn't an actual fence - how curious are chickens to explore and escape? Oh yes, chickens are very prone to exploration and they WILL escape, a shrubby area will be no deterrent for them, nor will it keep out predators, dogs, raccons, etc. I would very much recommend you have a good fenced in area for them, unless you are planning on being right there with them, and even then it could be a real hassle to have them loose in an area where you can't get to them, but they can freely roam.

Hope all that helps, and I am sure others will add more! Alys

Comment by Roberta Owen on March 7, 2010 at 9:48am

I think I have fallen in love, all over again. I went to Hohls Feed And Seed and saw that their chicks have arrived! I've been toying around with the idea and doing extensive research regarding raising chickens, and this year is the first year I'm seriously thinking about it. I see that HFS has "shipments" of chicks all through to June, but I'd like to start NOW. Any feedback from you Chicken Experts (which sounds like all of you!) would be entirely helpful. Here are some things I'd like to know (and I'm sure the list will grow):
1. I have a decent medium-sized yard with veggie gardens galore - do chickens peck at vegetables?
2. I have two small boys (2 and 4) - what would you recommend to be the most docile and people-friendly chickens?
3. I was always under the impression there were certain "zones" in cities that wouldn't allow backyard chickens? Is this true? Or is it a city thing, and Bham allows it (I see so many chickens! roosters! turkeys! ducks! in backyards).
4. I have a mature cat - obviously as chicks I would keep them well protected and introduce the cat to the chicks through "look only" procedure, but after that (when chickens are in backyard) how are they with cats?
5. There is a small area of the backyard that is completely shrubby as a "fence" but there isn't an actual fence - how curious are chickens to explore and escape?

Okay. I think that's about it (for now). Any more additional feedback would be great! Thanks guys!

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