Chickens?

**sammie** · 07-09-2007, 02:35 PM

Anyone have them? We are almost done with a small house for 3-4 chickens. Was wondering a few things if anyone can help

-do you let them roam in the day?
-what is the daily routine for keeping chickens?

thanks!

**sdrjeolsen** · 07-09-2007, 04:56 PM

hey Sammie,

I have 60 in my garage now, just 9 days old. They are in an empty 12' swimming pool temporarily and will be moving to the great outdoors soon! I had 28 roaming in my backyard at our last place they are so much fun to have around. I do let them roam during the day, just make sure that dogs etc. can't get to them, as they will make dinnner out of them quick and they wont stop at just one. Chickens thrive on routine. Every morning when I feed mine I call them "Heeeeere chick, chick, chick" so they come when they are called...that can be handy at times. Then I open the door and let them out. They just wander pretty much all day and they will generally come back to roost at night in their house on their own. I feed again and lock up the hen house. I try to do the same thing at the same time every day. If for some reason you need to bring them in earlier, training them to come when called is helpful. Only other thing I can think of is to make sure they always have plenty of water and a shady place to rest when they are out of the hen house. Have fun with em!

**angeljzmom** · 07-09-2007, 11:07 PM

We used to have 4 chickens when I lived on a 3/4 acre. They are great to have around for eating bugs and snails. I used to let them roam during the day and lock them up at night. The very first time we brought them home, the dog pinned one of them down and we yelled at her, she never did it again. We also had 2 pigmy goats, so in the summer you would go out to the back yard and under the palm tree, would be the 2 goats, 4 chickens, the dog and cat all laying in the shade. I wish I could have gotten a picture of that.

**sammie** · 07-10-2007, 09:37 AM

thanks everyone! are your yards fenced in? we have hawks here so i think i may have to cage them when i am not home...thoughts?

it sounds so wonderful i cannot WAIT to get going!

**Jeanna** · 07-10-2007, 10:10 AM

I have raised chickens for years. If hawks are a problem you better keep them in a pen when you are not around and make sure there is wire across the top of the "yard" part of the pen. I had free range chickens for years and never had a problem with hawks getting them but then I had dogs and cats around also. Good luck if you are anything like me you will love them.

**redmaples** · 07-10-2007, 10:22 AM

My heavy breed chickens are not free ranging as much lately because they won't stay out of my neighbors garden. There are 4 rhode island red hens & 1 rooster in that bunch. I still let them out of their run a bit every day, they put themselves to bed at night back in the house.

The silkies get out every day, they stay close to their run & never even get to the garden. The hawks seem to stay away from the yard. I have 4 3wk old chicks in a trampoline frame pen w/ no top. The cat likes to watch them & the bunnies inside of the pen, but nothing has bothered them yet.

What kind of chickens do you have? Good luck!

**sammie** · 07-10-2007, 06:06 PM

hi thanks everyone i dont have any chickens yet and we have an old yellow dog but she isnt as quick as she used to be - she is a sweetheart tho! and my cat stays in so i think i'll take the advice of a large cage around the coop with a top on it

i will let them roam as much as i can when i am home. just not while away (at work - the 4 letter word

)

**MarshHen** · 07-11-2007, 02:34 PM

Keeping chickens is great fun and you will love it. I can't wait till this spring to start raising more myself. I always allow mine to free range during the day and they return to the hen house each night on their own. We have hawks here too, but I've never lost a chicken to a hawk. I have lost chickens to possums, fox and snakes, so I always secure netting (used shrimp boat nets) over the top of my pens. We also make sure nothing can dig under the pen as well and see to it that the hen house is closed up tight each night and is snake proof.

**Missy** · 07-11-2007, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by sdrjeolsen

hey Sammie,

I have 60 in my garage now, just 9 days old. They are in an empty 12' swimming pool temporarily and will be moving to the great outdoors soon! I had 28 roaming in my backyard at our last place they are so much fun to have around. I do let them roam during the day, just make sure that dogs etc. can't get to them, as they will make dinnner out of them quick and they wont stop at just one. Chickens thrive on routine. Every morning when I feed mine I call them "Heeeeere chick, chick, chick" so they come when they are called...that can be handy at times. Then I open the door and let them out. They just wander pretty much all day and they will generally come back to roost at night in their house on their own. I feed again and lock up the hen house. I try to do the same thing at the same time every day. If for some reason you need to bring them in earlier, training them to come when called is helpful. Only other thing I can think of is to make sure they always have plenty of water and a shady place to rest when they are out of the hen house. Have fun with em!

MAn, if you lived close i'd try to shcedule a visit so the kids could see chickens!! (I LOVE chickens, but hubby is freaked out by em, so he put the nix on me getting a coop)

**sdrjeolsen** · 07-12-2007, 12:08 PM

ya, my husband wasn't fond of mine either....not at all. Being in the city, they pooped a lot in the yard and ate the grass down, which he hated. After much protesting on his part, I gave them away to a frinend at church one Sunday night. On Wednesday she brought me thier first eggs! Go figure!! The eggs were huge, no pullet eggs there! I tried to put a picture in here, but can't figure out how to yet. If you were closer, it would be fun to have you over. I think I'm about a 3 hr drive from you.
Ya know, I never had a coop when we lived in the city, I just trained them to go into a box in the garage every night. They waited by the garage door to be let in, and then in the morning they hopped out when I opened the door. I just got a coop for free here. I saw a neighbor down the road doing so me remodeling and tearing down and they had a coop, so I asked if it was being removed and yep it was. He said I could have it if I moved it, so I had a friend with a trailer move it for me. So now my chicks have a home waiting for them when they age old enough. I just hatched out my first clutch of eggs too. They hatched 07-07-07, five half-bantams, they are tiny and so cute. I have 23 eggs in the bator right now, scheduled to hatch on July 30. I candled them for the first time last night and can see the little chick embryos...yeah! They are just so much fun to have around, maybe you could talk him into a couple of bantam hens?? they are smaller and less messy. Bribe him with eggs!