I have to confess, I don't get the infatuation with chickens. They're nice enough animals, but I don't quite understand why they've become so popular as pets. It could be because I'm not very fond of eggs or maybe it's the memory of hearing a neighbor's rooster strutting his stuff way too early in the morning for a teenager to have to tolerate.
I bring this up because several nearby cities are reworking their zoning to allow people to raise chickens in their backyards. (Chickens, not roosters.) And I remember hearing Amy Stewart give a talk about how she got started in blogging when her friends got tired of being shown photos of her chickens and she decided to record their antics online. She has an entire section of her blog, Dirt, devoted to her chickens. You should check out the wonderful paintings she's done of them.
And sure enough, our own Lauren Wares, who writes about small farming and urban homesteading, has a ton of information about raising chickens. She made me feel a little better, because the first section asks "Should You Raise Chickens?" I'd love to hear from any of you who do.
Photo: Getty Images News / Sean Gallup
Comments
I have raised chickens in the past for many years and am now going to start doing it again. They are delightful creatures, many varieties being very tame. My favorite was a hen, Gladys, who would come running when you were out there, loved cooked spagetti from our leftovers and was so personable. They are cheap to raise, easy to keep and the eggs and meat are wonderful, so much better than in the grocery store. I highly recommend raising them.
I currently have a flock of 4 hens. They are anurucans(?) the easter egg chickens. We have had a great time with them. They are not pets by any means. They have a pen and a coupe and we do not play with them. I do however pet and pick them up regularly so they will be tame if we ever need to work with them. They have given us 2-4 eggs a day since about 5 months of age. The only advice I can give is be sure to vaccinate your birds. We didn’t and our flock got avian pox. Yes, chickens get chicken pox. Luckily we didn’t loose any.
I have raised chickens for 30 years and they are good for a lot of reasons. I get lots of eggs, more than I can use, so I give them to family, friends and neighbors. My grandchildren realy enjoy going to the chicken pen when they visit to gather the eggs. I have my chicken pen next to my garden and when my garden stops producing, I turn the chickens in to eat the bugs, stir up the mulch, and fertilize the ground till spring planting.
I think even I could love a spaghetti eating chicken.
I read about someone who built a coup on wheels, so he could move it around and fertilize different areas of his yard. I completely forgot how good chickens are at eating bugs. Two excellent pluses for gardeners.
And Cathy, I never put chickens and chicken pox together. Interesting.
The egg industry is the worse in terms of animal cruelty.
There is a trend among vegetarians or people trying to reduce animal cruelty to raise your own chickens so you can have cruelty-free eggs. Not to mention that they are healthier for you.
Here is a link to illustrate what happens, even by organic egg producers:
The disturbing conveyor belt of death where male chicks are picked off and killed so you can have fresh eggs
well, it was never my intention to raise chickens.
but, as luck would have it one day they just showed up.
someone had moved away abandoneding the poor things.
they were small and starving. there were a few roosters
and mostly chickens. they were fighting roosters. well,
after they ate all my plants and reeked havic in my yard
i finally undersood they were starving to death and gave
them what i had , bird seed. they dont live here anymore.
but they do come over for a hand out and to scratch
around. there was a time when i thought chickens were
sort of stupid but, now i realize they rather smart and can
survive when the going gets tough. i guess i have a new
respect for chickens after seeing how resorceful they are.
Wow, Angell, seeing chickens just show up in your yard is not a common sight. How smart of them to find someone with lots of plants, to move in on. Thank goodness you had bird seed (and probably lots of bugs.)
I was told they weren’t the brightest animals, but I am always amazed at how they will walk along the side of the road, never venturing out into traffic. I know a lot of pets that never learn that.
My company, Teich Garden Systems, builds enclosed raised bed garden systems. We have had a couple of customers have us add a “bonus room” onto the garden to house a chicken coop right next to the garden. It seems to be a growing trend.
Jared, I took a peek at your site and I love your systems. They’re as beautiful as they appear functional. I especially love the pergolas topping them. Those are lucky chickens getting a bonus room like that.
BTW, you can see a large photo gallery of Jared’s company’s designs here: http://www.teichgardensystems.com/
Thank you Marie. We take great pride in our gardens. Our home gardens can be more decorative and our school gardens are usually more bare-bones (although they generally have paved areas to allow for wheelchair access). We have turned many brown thumbs green over the years.