Let's talk Chicken.. The pets, not the food..

[jeeper]

My kids teacher hatched some chickens in class, and now my kids feel it's their life long dream to adopt them. FML.
We've done ducks in the past, letting them free range the yard, but they always end up racoon meal by the end of summer.

I would like to put together a chicken tractor as apposed to a stationary coop for the benefits of fertilizer, keeping the grass in the coop in better shape, and bug control. Is this good or bad thinking? We are talking 4-6 chickens. City says no roosters.

Any do's or don'ts? avoid the whole thing? Go for it?

 

[jeeper]

I'm thinking a tractor like this (ish), sized to whatever we think we need.

 

[ID Bronco]

I spend a lot of dollars on feed and receive a fraction of eggs that would make it a "good deal" I think a tractor like that will make it so your entire yard looks like crap instead of just a portion of it. They also crap a lot and it's messy. Some folks love their chickens like other pets, but if you aren't "raising kids" with them then they are great to stay away from........unless you really really care about the quality of your eggs.

Thanks a lot Teacher.

 

[Gravy]

I've had chickens for the last 9 years. 3 broods. (I even have one left from the original brood!)
Mine free range the backyard most days and mostly eat table scraps but they do need feed with extra calcium to lay consistently.
I used to move my coop around. It's stayed in place the last 6 years.
I like em just fine.

 

[kmboren]

We have them. Love the eggs. We started with 8 and are down to 4 (predators and random one died) I think 6-8 is ideal. If you have enough eggs then you can sell them and break even with the feed. We have a stationary coup. They need 16 hrs of light to lay consistently.

 

[RustEoldtrux]

Make your own chicken tractor from an old trampoline frame and chicken wire. Move it frequently to avoid damage to your grass.

 

[nnnnnate]

Do it.

 

[DesertRam]

We started with a few chickens in 2013 for chick days, just "...to see what it's like." Now the back corner or our property is fenced, with four fully enclosed coops and a large semi-free ranging backyard flock. We now raise show quality Ameraucanas (about 15) and bantam Cochins (another 15ish) in addition to the backyard flock of about 25 birds. If you're doing it for the eggs, stop now. The price of feed probably won't even it out. From all those chickens, we currently get about 15-17 eggs a day. Six weeks ago we got 2 eggs per day. We still had to feed 50 chickens. 50 chickens eat a lot. If you're doing it it so the kids have the experience of raising a few backyard animals, do it. Chickens are fun. I really like the little cochins; they are very friendly and like people. Kids love them. They're not very good layers though. If you want eggs, get leghorns. They're not very friendly though. Wyandottes are generally good to people and lay okay. I'd be happy to help with specific questions if you dive in.

 

[bryson]

We got some bonus chickens when we bought our current house. Kept them (even added a few here and there) for a few years in a stationary coop. Like has been said before, if you think it'll be cheaper than just buying eggs, think again. But, on the plus side, they were also a lot of work! They were mildly entertaining, but mostly just smelly sh!t machines. The tractor coop will just make your whole yard gross - don't bother.

If you want chickens, get chickens.
If you want eggs, buy eggs.

 

[Kiel]

I built a chicken tractor, yep wrecked the yard. Been stationary ever since. I break even on the feed it seems, but feel better throwing all my scraps to them. I usually have 3 to 5

 

[Kevin B.]

mostly eat table scraps

all my scraps

What scraps do they munch on? Pretty much everything?

 

[DesertRam]

Yeah, they're like little feathered pigs.

 

[Brad J]

My Brother got a Baby Chick when he was in Kindergarten and that was the only type of pet that our Dad would let us have growing up. She lived 5 years and we sure loved the thing. Ended up replacing her with a couple more with one ending up being a Rooster. Kept them for several years till we had to get rid of them.

Around ten years ago we had neighbors that got chicks and our daughter would disappear daily over at their house so I was told that we needed to get our own. We have a fully fenced backyard with the only real predator that I saw was a Hawk so they free roamed. We started out with 3 larger chicken breeds and 3 Bantam's. Of the 6 we had 3 turn out to be Roosters so they had to go. They loved to come up on the Deck and watch us inside and leave a mess there and everywhere they went. Of the 3 hens one started eating the Eggs so we were down to 2 and the fun wore off so we sold the coop with the 2 hens. I love watching Chickens and found it very fun and relaxing. They are pain for many reasons and it drove me nuts because everyone wants "free" eggs because they don't realize that you have to feed them.

 

[DAA]

You guys are making me feel bad for all the free eggs our neighbors give us. The chickens do look like a lot of work though, my daughter sometimes feeds them and what not when the one neighbors are away and I've helped her a few times. They are pretty funny too though.

- DAA

 

[Jesser04]

No one wants to talk about the rat/mice problem that comes with the chickens? Can have that much food laying around and not get some unwanted feeders.

 

[Spork]

No one wants to talk about the rat/mice problem that comes with the chickens? Can have that much food laying around and not get so unwanted feeders.

My grandpa had chickens, as a 8 year old kid it provided hours of entertainment killing rats in the chicken coop.

 

[Kevin B.]

Don't the chickens hunt down the mice? Or is that not as common as Youtube has led me to believe?

 

[DesertRam]

No one wants to talk about the rat/mice problem that comes with the chickens? Can have that much food laying around and not get some unwanted feeders.

Sure, we get plenty of mice, and then the snakes that follow them. We've killed a few rattlers and relocated some bull and king snakes (the wife HATES snakes of any kind). But trapping mice gives the kids something else to do, and teaches them about the predator prey relationship. The damn sparrows and other little tweety birds eat way more food and make way more of a mess than mice do though.

 

[ID Bronco]

. The damn sparrows and other little tweety birds eat way more food and make way more of a mess than mice do though.

This. they poop everywhere and I am sure I am feeding every sparrow in a 2 mile radius.

 

[Coco]

I would like to put together a chicken tractor as apposed to a stationary coop for the benefits of fertilizer, keeping the grass in the coop in better shape, and bug control. Is this good or bad thinking? We are talking 4-6 chickens. City says no roosters.

You watched Clarkson's Farm Season 2 didn't you...

I have considered chickens as well, and I know several of my buddies have them. Having eggs and some pest control sounds nice, but also don't want mice issues.