Home raised chicken----pet or food

**Russ** · 12-13-2011, 08:00 AM

Originally Posted by craftypam

And Russ or anyone else who raises them; what's the good and bad things about raising them.

Thx
Pam

Good... entertaining fun hobby, fresh eggs. And to be perfectly honest, I enjoyed having them. It was fun to go collect eggs and they are comical at times. They eat darn near every scrap you throw at them. I had one little hen that would sit on my knee and eat out of my hand.

Bad... if you're an animal lover like my wife, they can be an expense. She always made sure they had lots of grain, but I think the birds ate more than them. Their coop was expensive to build and I probably over built it.
The wife worried about them (cold, hot, coons, hawks, cats, etc etc etc)

All in all you have to look at them as a hobby that has some benefits... Fresh eggs.

**Russ** · 12-13-2011, 08:02 AM

Originally Posted by nodmicks

Russ I can't find some of mine on the list. Maybe because they are hybrids? I have rhode island red , barred rock and black sex link.

Barred rock = Plymouth Rock

**freebs** · 12-13-2011, 08:03 AM

Broody mean that they get the bug to be a mom...lol. They will set on eggs till they hatch. Of course if they arent fertile they will just get rotten and soon explode..lol.

If you keep them in a run there is less mess. Mine are free range and i have chicken poop everywhere. Food for chickens is pricey, of course if you just have a few it wouldnt be too bad but i can tell ya that those eggs i get cost way more than what i could buy at the store..lol of course also if you free range you run a higher rate of something killing them,i have to replace 10-15 a year due to this. Also if you free range its like an easter egg hunt for eggs everyday

. I love my chickens and wouldnt get rid of them for nothin so i pay the price to keep them

now i would recommend boiling them off the bone or something like that and using them for chicken and noodles. Now i will tell you that cooking them smells totally different than cooking a store bought chicken. The smell is very strong, in fact i have to cook mine outside!

**nodmicks** · 12-13-2011, 08:07 AM

Thanks Russ. Mine are very friendly besides the sex links. Those are so darn skittish. 1 escaped every darn day to lay her egg .

Freebs I let mine range but not until afternoon when they are done laying

So far so good.

**Russ** · 12-13-2011, 08:09 AM

oh, one more bad thing... A rooster "can" be mean, my wife has a scar to prove it.

**freebs** · 12-13-2011, 08:12 AM

Mine free range 24/7...lol they roost in the trees at nite i have a nice barn for them but do they use it NO....lol. I have 20 holes(2 10hole nest boxes) for them to use do they ue them NO...lol. We had a wooden box by the door to the house and my ds called it the EggTM machine..lol A hen layed in it everyday..lol. I find them everywhere...lol

**Russ** · 12-13-2011, 08:15 AM

Originally Posted by freebs

Mine free range 24/7...lol they roost in the trees at nite i have a nice barn for them but do they use it NO....lol. I have 20 holes(2 10hole nest boxes) for them to use do they ue them NO...lol. We had a wooden box by the door to the house and my ds called it the EggTM machine..lol A hen layed in it everyday..lol. I find them everywhere...lol

An Easter egg hunt everyday!

**mndtrp** · 12-13-2011, 09:58 PM

Composting the poop is also a benefit, if you're looking for any "pros" you can find.

**SwirlyThing** · 12-15-2011, 09:19 AM

Gotta be careful about letting them free range though. We lost more than a couple to hawks that way. But it was worth it to have them doing pest control duties in the back yard. We actually had fewer bugs in the house when we had chicken free ranging in the backyard.