Chook Me!

Keeping Chickens......questions?!?

Me and my friends are POSSIBLY getting chickens. What do I need to know about: -Prices? -Food? -Food prices? -Coops? -Do I need fences? -What if they get sick? -How many should we get? -Should I get a male, too? -Is there a limit of land we MUST have? And most importantly, how many eggs will each chicken lay a WEEK? And at what age will they start laying? Thank you verrryyy much! :D

Public Comments

1. Before you look into any of that, I would check with the local home owners association, in most places chickens are not aloud.
2. To keep chickens you will need a chicken house for them to roost in and lay their eggs but also to protect them from foxes (which eventually got all my chickens). I fed my chickens corn and a mix called layers mash. You shouldn't get a male in less you plan to have more chickens in the future. Chicken aren't that expensive and the best laying breed are black rocks which cost about £12 ($8). Also you should 'clip' their wings with a pair of scissors which involves cutting of the tips of their wing feathers so they cannot fly more than a meter of the ground. hope this helps
3. You must check with local zoning laws first to see if you are allowed to have farm animals where you live. Even though I live in a rural area, we are not allowed to have farm animals. so do the homework first.
4. okay, the prices are like 200 dollars for every chicken, because BIDS ARE VERY EXPENSIVE, as my Conure is,. anyways, you can always get them in the south for WAY cheaper, like for 50 dollars. feeding them isn't expensive, if you are middle class, it's like 15 dollars for a month and a half. They eat normal bird pellets that you pick up at the pet store, and yes, even walmart, LOL.! haha. if they get sick take them to the vet, just make sure you call and ask for an EXOTIC vet, and make sure one is in, they cannot be around REALLY drafty or cold places, bring them inside if it even gets below 60... only get 1 to start of, unless the place you are keeping them is big. because they will FIGHT and even KILL for domenancy, but that's usually only for males. make sure you get one bird at a time, so they have time to get used to their new environment (which will take ATLEAST a month, they will be mean to you untill they get bonded, which is about a month) so let each one get used to eachother first. if you want ALOT of chickens, that's great!! :) breed them, but NEVER put 2 males in the same area, they are the ones that mainly kill for domenancy. if you really want more than one, make sure there are PLENTY of female chikens, they will fight for them. lol. and, no there is no limit, unless you get the breeding ones, (just don't let the government know you have chickens, or ull have to pay stupid taxes on them, if they breed). and I would get a fence just tobe safee, but only get one if they will always be outside, Good luck withh you random idea of having Chickens! :) lmao.
5. ok i got chickens 8 weeks ago so im all about them now -Prices chickens are very cheap the most is $5 -Food if your getting chicks you need medicated chick starter -Food prices a 20lbs bag is around $7 -Coops You definitely need a chicken coop you can either purchase 1 which is the easiest way or you can build 1 which is the cheapest way -Fences you will need a fence around your coop to keep any unwanted visitors out -Sick Chickens You can by medicine for your chickens BUT BEWARE if you can tell your chicken is suffering PLEASE DO NOT let it suffer!!!!! if its suffering you need to put it down -Roosters If you live in the city and you don't want to be the bad neighbor i would not buy a rooster but if you want and endless supply of chickens a rooster is the best way to go BUT if you get 2 roosters they will try to out crow each other leaving you with a very noisy coop -Land you just need to have room for a big enough coop -Eggs It depends on what kind of chickens you get to find out you can look it up on the internet Usually they start laying around 20-24 weeks For more info. you can purchase Raising Chickens For Dummies Good Luck
6. -Prices? Chicks can range from $5 to hundreds of dollars -Food? Ask the person you are buying, they SHOULD supply it -Food prices? ... -Coops? You could use a dog house, or even a box. We built ours, though. There are places you can buy them as well. -Do I need fences? It's the best idea the have a COVERED fence so hawks, raccoons, foxes, and other animals can't get it. You don't NEED one, but it's the best idea to have one. Plus, if you let them roam around you won't get the eggs or they may not come back -What if they get sick? ... -How many should we get? I suggest at lest three, but probably five. Chickens will prefer companionship over food. If you get one, you need to give her plenty of attention -Should I get a male, too? Roosters can be loud. And aggressive if you don't handle them every day, but the hens will lay more if there is a rooster around(supposedly) -Is there a limit of land we MUST have You do need some space for each chicken, like fish. If it's too crowded it might not end pretty. I think it was 100 sq feet for AT LEAST one chicken-you may be able to put 3 in that area- but I'm not sure. What type of chickens are they getting? Bantams are 'half-sized' chickens and don't get nearly as big as regular chickens. We currently have two. (We have about 8 regular chicks though. :P(And a duck) Not all roosters crow, our little guy doesn't :D
7. Wow- you do realize that there are hundreds of books on chicken care that could answer all your questions and more... The very first thing to do is check to see if you are allowed to have chickens in your area. You really might not be allowed to. if you are, there may be "rules" like not letting them roam, keeping them so far from neighbors houses and boundaries, if you're allowed to have rooster, how many birds you can keep, if you need to pay for a permit, even how you feed them, blah, blah, blah.... So contact your local authorities and ask because the fines are often not worth breaking the regulations. yes, there may be a limit on how much land you are supposed to have before getting birds, you will need to check. To go on, chickens kept mostly in confinement need roughly a metre square of indoor and outdoor space (forgive me I find it difficult to think in feet) for health and natural behaviors. If you end up choosing a very large or very active breed, you should provide more, if you free range them mostly during the day you can get away with less and bantam breeds can generally get away with about half that. So if you intend to build a coop, go measure out the area where you are happy enough to build it and see how much space that is- that will show you how many birds you can house comfortably. If you intend to buy a coop, take your tape measure with you and measure them- don't believe them when they say "suitable for x amount of birds" because often manufacturers go off the amount of roosting space and not the amount of floor area. A pre-manufactured coop is going to cost a few hundred dollars- run a search engine, there are some great manufacturers online and you can also buy plans if you intend to build your own. A chicken can be as cheap as a giveaway from a friend with excess birds to $1000 for a champion at a show auction. It will depend on the type of bird you decide you want. The best food to buy depends on the age of the bird, chicks up to 6 weeks require a "chick starter", from then they need a "pullet grower" until they start to lay, after that then you should feed than a laying mix (or mash)- these feeds have been specially formulated to provide idea nutrition for the birds. You can also feed them some of your household scraps and left overs- the rule is if you consider it healthy and you would be prepared to eat it yourself, you can give it to the birds- so nothing mouldy or rotten, and without added sugar, fat or salt (especially salt as it can reach toxic levels in a bird and kill them) Do you need fences- most likely. Fences as well as specific heights for fences may be in your zoning regulations, and you certainly will be expected to keep the birds contained and away from the neighbors or your chickens may become a local nuisance. Even if you chickens are confined mostly, fences will help keep away any potential predators that even if they can't get in the coop itself, will certainly frighten and stress out your birds! If your birds get sick, it's the same as any other animal- if you don't know what is wrong you take them to a vet. It's best to find a vet that is experienced in Avian treatment as vets that are knowledgeable about chickens are actually very rare. How many should you get? At least two- chickens are highly social animals with a complicated hierarchy, they don't cope very well on their own. If your main purpose of getting chickens is for eggs I strongly recommend getting one bird per person plus one extra- PROVIDING you have the space to do so. Should you get a male? I would say no. You may not be permitted to. If you are only planing on getting the one coop it's not a good idea to have the rooster in with the hens permanently- they can be very rough maters and even a gentle rooster will see hens have "wear and tear" if they are exposed to him for a long time. Roosters are only good for breeding, and although that seems really cute and nice, remember that every time you breed you're going to end up with around 50% males in each clutch- unless you have somewhere to sell your extra stock and particularly your excess roosters (very difficult to get rid of!) don't bother. How many eggs a week will depend on the breed of hen you get- a commercial laying hybrid lays on roughly a 23-25 hour laying cycle, so you should get at least one egg a day from each bird with a skipped day here and there. Most purebred birds lay on a much longer cycle so you won't get as many eggs. Chickens lay best in their first year- in each subsequent year production drops off at about 20% a year- it seems to drop off faster in the commercial hybrids than the purebreds for some strange reason, so the older the hen, the less eggs you'll get each year. Its also best to remember that once the birds reach their first year, egg laying becomes very seasonal- they will often stop laying altogether during the annual moult (usually autumn) as it takes a lot of energy to grow new feath
8. Hey Julia, To answer all of these questions and to look after your chickens, and even build the right type of chicken coop for you and your friends, you can find a good blueprint over at http://www.BuildAChickenCoops.com . This shows you everything you need to know about looking after your chickens and the exact steps you need to take to build a chicken coop for your new chickens (and any more in the future!). I hope I've helped :-) - James.