Backyard urban chickens

[Kiel]

The wife really wants some backyard chickens. Translation "I want you to take care of everything for said chickens." Anybody have any? I'm looking at a typical chicken tractor setup maybe for 3 to 5 chickens. Maybe something like this? What am I in for as far as total time investment for care? We are doing it for the eggs, and ease of cleaning the coop will be the main objective of the design.

 

[mesha]

We had chickens for a couple years. They were ridiculously easy to take care of. We were getting about 4-5 eggs per day with 5 chickens. We fed them and would let them out a few hours before dusk and they would all return to the coop at dusk. We never had any spiders when we had chickens

I loved having chickens. Then the raccoons ate them all.

 

[Skylinerider]

I had 6 chickens for a couple years. Pretty easy, and got 5-6 eggs a day which was great. After a few years they stop laying, then you eat em and get new ones. I'll probably get more this spring.

 

[Coreshot]

I have 8 hens at the moment. They're cool, and I did I as a hobby. If you're only in it for the eggs, just go buy them. Even the expensive free range eggs would be a huge savings over raising chickens. As a hobby, I love it. I go through probably 20 bucks of feed a month, but I lose a lot of it to sparrows and doves that have learned where I live. Figure out how to keep them supplied with fresh water all winter, and it's pretty easy. They go through a surprising amount of water. Also, if you get the chicks when IFA or CalRanch brings them out in the spring, it'll be about September before they start laying. Check out backyardchickens.com.

 

[Kiel]

Thanks for the replies. I'm hoping with the chicken tractor design and moving them around and maybe letting them free graze the rest of the yard sometimes, I won't have to buy much feed. Any suggestions on breeds for the utah winter?

 

[jeeper]

A lot of cities have strong chicken ordinances in place, and may restrict what you can and can't have. We have often opted for ducks instead. They lay good eggs, and don't have the city restrictions. They are also good bug eaters.
However, expect poop, and responsibility. Who's going to feed the chickens and gather the eggs while you go camping? While you go on vacation?

 

[Skylinerider]

For me, even more rewarding than the eggs, etc. it has been giving my kids the opportunity to care for them. When I had mine, after a few weeks, they would follow my daughter around, she would feed them from her hand, gather eggs. my son helped me build the coop, and clean it out when needed. When we would leave for a few days, I'd just tell my neighbor to help herself to the eggs, and let the chickens roam the fenced backyard. I just put an old worklight in the coop and turned it on at night in the winter. An incandescent bulb puts out plenty of heat to keep em alive and the water from turning to ice.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I have 8 hens at the moment. They're cool, and I did I as a hobby. If you're only in it for the eggs, just go buy them. Even the expensive free range eggs would be a huge savings over raising chickens. As a hobby, I love it. I go through probably 20 bucks of feed a month, but I lose a lot of it to sparrows and doves that have learned where I live. Figure out how to keep them supplied with fresh water all winter, and it's pretty easy. They go through a surprising amount of water. Also, if you get the chicks when IFA or CalRanch brings them out in the spring, it'll be about September before they start laying. Check out backyardchickens.com.

Agreed, we looked into some laying hens but it just doesn't make sense from a financial standpoint, especially when we can buy fresh fertilized farm eggs for $3 a dozen in West Bountiful. If we had kids it might be different as others have mentioned, it's a great way to teach them responsibility.

 

[Brad J]

My daughter ran over to the neighbors every day after school to play with their chickens so my wife made us get some. We started out with 6 but ended up with 3 roosters. We ate one & that was just too much work for us city folks. We put the other 2 on ksl & later sent one hen that loved to eat eggs to meet with Jesus. They were always free to roam in a fully fenced yard. We got 1 egg a day on average and they stopped during the winter & slowly start back up with warmer weather. I hated cleaning the coop & all of the poop. Ours would come up on our deck every time they were hungry or bored & poop all over it. Poop brought in on shoes was not fun to clean up. I finally put the coop & 2 remaining chickens on KSL & got $750 for them & was very happy. Buying eggs is much cheaper & easier. They are very enjoyable watching & hearing them though. We did get a dog that they liked to beat up so that was another reason to get rid of them.

 

[Coreshot]

Thanks for the replies. I'm hoping with the chicken tractor design and moving them around and maybe letting them free graze the rest of the yard sometimes, I won't have to buy much feed. Any suggestions on breeds for the utah winter?

Any breeds you get at IFA are going to be cold hardy. For me, the Reds are the best layers, but have zero personality. The Campines have been my favorite, they're spunky, but they lay a small white egg. I like my Brahma Buff too.

 

[Kiel]

do you guys have permits for your chickens in sl county?

 

[CobraNutt]

I miss raising chickens...sometimes. lol! We used to raise 75-100 a year when I was a kid on our 20 acre corner of the world in Colorado. Our rural post office loved us when we'd mail-order our chicks! They'd call us as soon as they arrived because they were so noisy! haha! They weren't a ton of work, but we had a lot of fenced in room (~ 1/2 acre) for them to run around outside the chicken house where their feed/water and laying nests were, so that eliminated a bit of the clean-up part of raising them. Crickets and spiders were nonexistent in the area!

Urban chickens would probably be ok for me, it's almost as much work to raise 8-10 as it is 80-100 of em, so may not be worth it economically, but you know where your eggs and drumsticks come from! Big plus in my book! Besides they're kinda fun. You'll learn about the right grains to give em...and oyster shell! Not the brightest bird out there...but better than turkeys! Our favorite breed was the Araucana. Friendly, hardy birds that tolerate cold very well, and they lay pretty much year-round. Their eggs are also conversation pieces..usually a light blue to green shell...sometimes brown. We had one that gave us very light pink shelled eggs...pretty rare, but they're out there. I almost want to find some for myself if I get back into my house!

 

[Kiel]

any problems with mixing types of birds? Plus what about noise, as long as I don't get a rooster?

 

[mesha]

If any of them get injured you need to isolate that chicken or the others will peck it to death.

 

[Coreshot]

West Jordan ordinance says you can have up to 6 birds, no roosters. Noise isn't bad, just cackling as long as you don't have a rooster. You can mix birds, they'll just work out the pecking order amongst themselves.

 

[N-Smooth]

If any of them get injured you need to isolate that chicken or the others will peck it to death.

Whoa.

 

[Gravy]

I have some. I was moving our coop every 5-7 days with 3 chickens to keep them from "burning up" a spot on the yard.
Got sick of moving it and chasing it with the water heater and cord during cold months.
They don't produce during winter months. Not enough hours of light.
Great animals we love them.

 

[Chevycrew]

Some things I have for my dogs would apply to a winter coop. I have a heater on thermostat and an auto filling water dish. Makes life pretty easy for them. Water never freezes and the oversized insulated dog house stays a balmy 60 degrees.

 

[kmboren]

We had Chickens for a while when we lived in American fork. For water use a 5 gallon bucket with nipples that they peck at to get water. Keeps the water algae free. Also keep the feed bucket hanging so they can't scratch it out. We let ours free roam but lost a couple to predators. Maybe raccoons or skunks but we know a Hawk got one for sure. During the winter we had a light on a timer come on so they got 10 hours of light year around. That is the biggest reason they stop laying.

 

[SAMI]

Great info, I'm also looking into chickens right now. The home we bought in AF has a big chicken coup, 12x12x6, in the back that I want to utilize. I'm going to split it down the middle for chickens, and the other half rabbits.

Many of Kiel's questions were some things that I've been wondering.

Is it normal to have the nesting boxes 2-3' off the ground? That's how my coup is set up right now.

I'll think of more questions.