 We chatted about backyard chickens live on CNN Newsroom with Suzanne Malveaux this afternoon. Here are a few of the most frequently asked questions about the growing trend. Q: Will having a backyard chicken reduce the cost of eggs for my family and me? A: This varies wildly depending on the way you decide to house them (a do-it-yourself coop or pen versus a fancy Egglu) and if you decide to feed them chicken feed, organic chicken feed, kitchen scraps or allow them to be free-range. You should also factor in how many chickens you or your neighbors have, since buying bulk can reduce the cost a tremendous amount. Read: Can You Actually Re-coop the Costs? and Urban Chickens: Frugal Fad or Pricey Pastime? and Are backyard chickens profitable? A cost per egg comparison for more insight. Q: If I'm not saving money, why would I bother? A. What you're really paying for is the knowledge of exactly what your chickens are eating (and what's going into your diet), assurance that they're both humanely treated and not as susceptible to conditions plaguing factory farms (poor hygiene, battery cages, and infection that leads to salmonella), and better tasting eggs that haven't traveled hundreds of miles to get to you. Chickens also produce excellent garden fertilizer and provide an incredible lesson for the young people in your life about where their food comes from. Q: Who else is taking this crazy ride with me and who can help me when I get stuck? A: You're hardly alone in this effort because there are 128,012 members of the forums at backyardchickens.com, a chicken hotline at mypetchicken.com (or 888-460-1529), publications like Backyard Poultry (distributed nationally in an average of 75,000 copies per issue) and Chickens magazine. Not only are local chicken raising communities popping up in towns and cities around the country - there's also Andy Schneider, better known as The Chicken Whisperer, just a click, "like", tweet or podcast away. Q: So what are some other things to consider? A: Your local laws (and neighbors) may not be chicken-friendly, and it's vital to check beforehand. Consider your attention span and level of commitment. Are you willing to keep a hen after her egg-laying years or are you ready to humanely dispatch her or eat her? Does your lifestyle support having chickens? Do you have children, pets, a sitter or feeder for when you're gone? Can you afford to feed, house and keep up their quarters? A few fun facts: Chickens come in an incredible variety of breeds, plumages, sizes - and they produce eggs of all different hues and sizes. Some chicken breeds are so tiny, they can be kept in an apartment. Chickens have personalities, just like dogs and cats, and they can live well over a decade. Nope, contrary to popular misconception, chickens do not need a rooster to produce eggs. While they're not totally silent, at least they won't be crowing at the crack of dawn. Previously – Backyard chicken farmers say egg harvesting is all it's cracked up to be and Backyard chicken farming makes a comeback See all egg safety information on Eatocracy Watch CNN Newsroom weekdays 9am to 3pm ET and weekends. For the latest from the CNN Newsroom click here.
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My husband want to buy chicks this year. We live in a community and are not allowed to have farm animals. (Even though chickens are not considered "Farm" animals). If we get caught with chickens we will get fined.
You sure those are the kinds of chicks he wants to buy?
Raising chickens at home is not a good idea. Just in case, in times of bird flu epidemic, etc; culling and control of spread of disease will become very difficult and could become very dangerous for people. Having animals, meant for food, in a centralized locations is a sensible thing...
This response sounds like it comes from a person with NO experience in the subject matter; rather, a phobia that they wish to pass on to others. If I am wrong, please post some sources or let us in on your extensive credentials in farming and virology. What, no experience in either farming or virology? Noooo, you don't say. No really please DON'T say.
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More and more communities are allowing people to have a few hens for eggs. Fresh eggs are much better than the ones that have been sitting in the grocery store for weeks. Some of you city folks sound like you might have to start seeing a therapist once your neighbors start raising chickens.
Classic! This post cracks me up for all the right reasons! Amazing how many people with no idea of what they are talking about or experience at all in the subject matter feel we need to hear their opinion. Simply Amazing!
My chickens are great company and they furnish me with good fresh eggs. I am a widow and I enjoy watching my chickens every morning while I have my breakfast coffee. I live in the country so my chickens do not bother other people. Try it you will love it yourself.
check out your community's laws and regulations about farm animals ... you'll find out that in many communities you can't have chickens or goats or sheep or horses.....
Most places don't consider chickens farm animals and are not put in the same category as, well, everything else you mentioned. Nice, um, try...not really.
My county requires a minimum sized lot and a minimum distance of the coup and chicken yard from the property's boundaries: that means I can't do chickens. My neighbor and I looked into doing them together until we found we were out of luck even if both of our 1/4 acre lots were treated as one lot.
I have often found that asking for forgiveness afterward is more effective than asking for approval beforehand.
Be prepared for your neighbors to hate you. In a rural setting they are no problem. In a city they are a nightmare. I've been around chickens working on farms and ranches, but would never have them in town. If I had a neighbor with those things going off at 4 in the morning expect noise complaints to the cops. Aside from that, chicken crap smells like nothing else. I have been in coops that had not seen a chicken in 50 years and they still smelled horrible. Plant a garden instead, you can grow crops in spring, summer, and fall.
I agree wholeheartedly. AFAIAC, if my neighbor decided to raise chickens, he would run out of chickens well before I would run out of 12 gauge shotgun shells.
I've promised my hens they'll never have to get a job as a drumstick or sandwich. (I eat meat but don't eat my friends.) I live in a middle class suburb – houses close together- but no one is the wiser about the lovely large hens in my back yard. They're quiet and don't smell. I get nutritious eggs because they also eat fruit, meat and vegetable scraps (instead of the dismal feed used in battery cage ranches) and they're friendly too. No rooster = infertile eggs but no incessant cock-a-doodle-doos either!
I would love to have backyard chicken but they are illegal here and I'm pretty sure my Border Collie would maul them to death trying to play.
On the bright side, you could also cancel your cable subscription.
Ahhh good old Chicken TV...truly is better then the junk on the boobtube
While on a posting to Lusaka Zambia from 1986-89 I decided to get some chickens for eggs, as the local eggs were of some poor quality-white yolks that broke. The day old chick place only sold in the hundreds were so kind as to GIVE me I think 20 day old chicks for the backyard coop. Because they were so young and the nights do get cookl in the spring I had to put them in a cardboard box and keep them in the kitchen near the oven for several weeks. Each night before dark the gardener would herd them into their coop, but one night in the dry season it suddenly rained. The chicks just stood there and got wet, so I had to bring them back into the kithcen and blow dry them wit the hair dryer. They all survived the soaking and went back to the coop the following day–anotehr night in the house.. Around this time my husband and I found we were covered with itchy red spots that had a little bruise. Not being too familiar with tropical diseases I headed to the medical clinic for disgnosis. The Doctor immediately identified the bites as chicken mite bites. Lovely. It was also essentail to ensure the chickens were in the coop before nightfall or else they would take to roosting up in the tall tress in the yard.
Bought a rooster at the local market as we were under the impression that he was necessary fro egg production as well as 6 Guineau fowl to alert us to presence of any predator and supply additional eggs for cooking and baking.
The rooster would also crow all night duringt the full moon and the Guineau flowl would make a noise like rusty bedsprings.
I must say I thought raising a few chickens in the backyard would be a piece of cake, not so! But it was an experience I will never forget and fodder for a few laughs when we recall the trials and tribulatiions just to get decent eggs.
Who knew urban chickens could be so polarizing?
Chickens will also keep a lot of the nasty sorts of bugs out of your vegetable garden, reducing or eliminating the need for pesticisdes, not to mention that chicken manure is good for organic fertilizer. I seriously considered getting some chickens (my city allows them as long as you don't have roosters) but then it occurred to me I'd have little use for them outside of the bug control and fertilizer domain since I almost never eat eggs, LOL!
There are probably co-workers or friends that might like the eggs.
If you outlaw urban chickens, only outlaws will have urban chickens.
I'm a Rebel...I'll take my chances.
Well played gentlemen, well played.
You should see the size of my pec ker. The ladies love it.
He's lying.
we saw it an we are still laughing!
Chickens are wonderful companion animals. I work for Animal Place, a sanctuary that rescues abused and neglected farmed animals – we have around 200 chickens at our 600-acre sanctuary. But there is a dark side to the backyard chicken-hatching industry. On the top producing hatcheries supplying the backyard chicken movement, breeder birds are housed inside cages in large sheds. They never go outside. They are slaughtered when they are only 18-mos-old, despite the fact most of them could live another 5-15 years, breed depending. And don't forget male chicks. Two hatcheries in Ohio were recently charged with violations because they were suffocating to death the male chicks – now they gas them. For the most part, male chicks are killed the day they are born.
And 24-72-hour-old chicks are still being mailed through the postal service. It is not uncommon, particularly in the winter, for these sensitive baby animals to die. Guess what else? When we contacted several of the hatcheries, they readily admitted to using rooster chicks as "packing peanuts" (their term) to keep pullet chicks warm. It's why we get so many calls about hen chicks suddenly starting to crow around 4-6 months of age.
We encourage people who are interested in providing life-long care to these intelligent, funny animals to make all attempts at adopting or rescuing some. We have a program called Rescue Ranch in which we work directly with egg farmers who relinquish "spent hens" (they're often less than 2-yrs-old) to us instead of slaughter. We find them permanent homes. Since 2010, we've rescued more than 7,000 hens. Our hope is people find adopted chickens as engaging and interesting as their dogs and cats (perhaps more so at times) and also rethink their own dietary habits to avoid contributing to unnecessary and needless suffering on egg farms.
Marji, this is such a great post. Thank you. Chickens definitely deserve better. Sometimes the depths of our cruelty (ala, the chicks being used as packing material) stuns me. But it's encouraging how many people have posted here about how much they love and enjoy their chickens.
"packing peanuts" is tongue in cheek. Extra chicks, usually males, are included if you don't order a minimum number (usually 25) because the number of chicks is important to keep the group warm. They are packed in a box surrounded with hay.
I have ordered chicks through the mail 3 or 4 times and have never received any dead.
Our heritage includes raising our own food. You need to know where your food comes from. I have no qualms about raising and slaughtering chickens to feed my family. They are happy and treated humanely right up to the end.
Oh, I see, sorry! I did misunderstand. LOL. But it sounds like a bad practice anyway, if folks don't want the males, what happens to those chicks? I think it's great to know where your food comes from; good point. Or know where it comes from and choose to deal with compassionate farmers rather than industrial-sized farming operations, which have such terrible conditions.
I don't have chickens now (I recognize I don't have the time), but plan as soon as I take my early retirement to get some. I'm already making contacts, doing breed research, housing/fencing research and so on. Along with them (well, housed separately) will be a few Angora goats and Shetland sheep. At that point I'll be living on some additional acreage to support them and me, and a decent-sized veggie patch. I like the idea of knowing what goes into food I eat.
That's very cool, Thinking things through. Ask around too - local farmers are usually happy to share information, as are hobby farmers. Just know that, along with the joys of having your own small farm, will be a lot of work, but well worth it. Neat to hear about someone making plans like this :).
Hi - thanks! I've contacted two or three chicken farmers in person, and you are right. Immediate sources and info is the best.
That's great! Have fun with it. My neighbors have a small herd of goats (who have become pets :)), and they're milking them and make goats' milk soap. (Sorry if I said that in a previous post; I can't find it as I'm typing this, LOL.) Anyway, good luck in your endeavors.
A co-worker of mine who works full time keeps a few chickens in his back yard. I don't think he spends all that much free time with them. So if you want chickens, maybe you do have the time. Good luck
whats the fuss all about ? i have 30 or more of those pretty birds. i live far from town, im free to do what i like so you city slickers who hate chicken go live on the moon so we woudnt bother you .
Your post is basically incoherent.
First you say you live far from town....then you say "city folks" should go live on the moon so you won't bother them....but I thought you lived far from town and the "city folk" so how would that be an issue?
Please explain yourself.
We have 3 hens. They are 7 years old and still laying eggs. They are sweet, funny, learned tricks and are our pets. They will live out their lives at our home. We were told they can live well into their teens. We feed them an organic diet and they get a variety of foods as well as lay mash, flax seeds and other things to make their eggs more healthy. We used to live in town but now live outside the city. We had to build a special pen with a roof to keep hawks, owls, bobcats, etc. from getting to them. We let them in the yard (supervised) to forage for bugs. Their "house" is comfortable and can be closed in the winter months to keep them warm at night. In the summer we put ice blocks in their pen. They stand on them to keep cool. The outside area is 3 times the size that was noted as necessary in literature we read. We found those measurements far too small. So, we have 3 very spoiled hens that give back so much more than just eggs.
Turkeys are funnier than chickens. They have more intelligence witch oddly enough seems to get them into more predicaments. They have a personality, too.
And they taste good.
Correct, we have kept both chickens and turkeys and turkeys turned out to be more like pets. They have a lot of personality and they make very good 'watch dogs' as they do gobble very loudly whenever someone approaches. We still ended up eating them, but it was a sad day.
Are turkeys good egg layers like chickens are. I have never had a turkey egg. Are they good to eat?
And turkeys are like a watch dog!
If anyone is allowed to have live chickens in our area of the city, hunting chicken with an AK47 will follow.
Philly or Detroit?
Wow, really?
In texas, if you shoot at my chickens, i can legally shoot you (defense of property).
In India, they have vegetarian zones and a house can't be sold if you eat or cook meat. Looks like an idea we need to consider in the States.
Eating eggs is NOT the same as cooking or eating meat.
I really have to agree here. If you raise chickens at home without a rooster and you know they're humanely raised (because you, say, do it yourself), I really find it difficult to raise a moral (not dietary) objection to eating the eggs. The birds lay the eggs, they can be well treated and even become pets, and if there's no rooster around, then the eggs are infertile, so you're not taking a life by any stretch of the imagination.
Eggs make farts stink real bad.
More control over what people do, say and ingest, it appears is what you want? .
I'm guessing that mandatory veganism for all is what he wants.
I have 12 chickens and one rooster on 15 acres but I don't see why you couldn't keep some chickens on 1 acre possibly without a rooster. The eggs we get are much more flavorful than store bought and we know what our chickens are eating. Since we have a rooster, if we want more chickens we just let some of the eggs hatch. They are not much trouble at all. We keep them in a fenced in pen with a coop inside. The pen has chicken wire over the top so no critters can get in. Once in a while we let the chickens out to roam around during the day and they always come back to the coop at night.
Grew up in Africa. Kept chickens, goats and cattle. Grew our own food. Talk of food security!
Grew up in Africa. Raised our own chickens, goats and cattle and oh, grew all our food. We were completely independent. Did not need a government. I am excited to see so many Americans setting themselves free!
My neighbors had three of them. I thought they were cute. After a while the chickens ripped up the yard pretty good. They were starting to fly around, and my dog would have killed them if they came over. The neighbors got bored with the chickens and gave them away before that happened. I miss them. Not enough to get some for myself. By the way don't even bother unless you do a really nice job on the coop, making it big enough for the birds, but secure enough to keep out predators. Raccoons love to munch on fresh chicken meat.
I live on .9 acre, and my county says I have to have 3 acres. Why? Why can't I have about 5 hens with almost an acre? Not roosters, although I can hear one somewhere in the neighborhood.
Let me tell you why you need more acreage moron. Because what this article does not tell losers like you is the real work and disgusting habits of chickens that goes into raising them. First of all, their feces contain the same bacteria that can kill children. When it rains, that crap runs off to your neighbor's property, especially you idiots who think an acre means you have something real. Then there is the dander that can make small children extremely sick. Then there is the noise, then there is the mess and the unsightliness of it all. You need more property so that your neighbors won't see it, hear it, smell it (and it smells, even with a few). So moron if you need a hobby, try reading.
Why did you feel the need to call this person names for asking a question? Can't you just provide an explanation and leave it at that?
I sorta gather she would prefer people didn't have dogs or cats, either. I hope she lives in one of those super-controlling gated communities.
You seem to be the moron. I hope you aren't planning to reproduce. If you already have, give them up for adoption. They will be much better off.
I live in central Austin (not the burbs). Plenty of people have chickens in their backyard. Most limit it to 2 or 3. The "Austin Funky Chicken Coop" group has an annual tour, and many of the homes that keep chickens are not what you'd expect–that is, they are high end homes with incredible landscaping. There is no problem with noise or hygiene.
Also, why be rude?
Love your response. The bottom line is that hens can be pets, so why not a pet that can produce organic eggs?
YOU, ARE A SADLY MISINFORMED OLD BITTY..DRIED UP OLD BITTY..CRY THE BLUES WITH YOUR ILL INFORMED BS
@lilgtogrir. He was asking a simple question and you felt the need to show how SUPERIOR you were by your snotty "moron" this and that commnents. Folks like you need to find a nice quiet place to curl up and die.
Do not listen to a word this shill says..she has NO dea what she is talking about..ask an expert, not this hater with zero truth..
Do not listen to a word this shill says..she has NO dea what she is talking about..ask an expert, not this hater with zero truth..folk who dont understand sustainable lifestyle are doomed to die..
Actually, that isn't entirely true. Dog poop contains bacteria that can kill people, and their dander is bad. Chickens are not an unhealthy pet to keep, and do not smell bad if given enough room. Kept in a small coop, yes, they will stink bad. Allowed to free range through a large yard, they do not cause stink. They are clean, funny, and good to raise around kids. They also give back, in the form of delicious eggs. Hens are not noisy, and are certainly not unsightly. My hens are quite beautiful, and look very nice walking around the yard, foraging for bugs. As a matter of fact, I believe my hens are cleaner, quieter, and prettier than many humans. Don't get a rooster, and noise is not an issue. There is no need for a rooster, as you don't need the eggs fertilized.
Terribly disappointed in your response. You are simply put, RUDE, and I bet you don't have the nerve to talk to people face to face that way, lilgtogirl.
County rules differ. With a full acre here, I could have as many as 25 hens, and it is private enough no one would see them from the road, and far away enough from the next house that no one would smell two or three. . This would not be true for all one acre lots, of course. At any rate some communities are getting more enlightened about allowing some hens. It takes neighbors getting together and talking about it, and making sure the proper safeguards are in place.
Lilgtogirl, I can probably guess at the fruitlessness of explaining anything to a woman with hormonal anger issues, but nonetheless I feel I should tell you. I raised black rock hens in my city back yard when I was in high school. I fed them corn, bag feed and grass mulch, which produced the tastiest, richest eggs I have ever eaten. In order to raise healthy hens that will be the most productive for the least cost, you have to keep them and their environs clean, that meant cleaning the pens every day and shoveling the drained runoff into a compost heap, which is wonderful for flowers and garden veggies. As for the neighbors, they were pleased to recieve periodic gifts of surplus eggs (which they relished) and would hardly complain, as my backyard was fully fenced. I would have abstained from being so generous with to a neighbor as foul-mouthed as you, though.
U are a w hore and a bit ch.
You can express your ideas to someone without being so unkind and rude!
Sounds like you have a stick up your butt.....
because they are insane – they think you are a bioterrorist intent on destroying the food supply of the US! Read up on natural methods, and just get the chickens. No one will even know if you do it right. (No roosters!) Move them around, a lot, in a pen and there will be no stink. Your lawn WILL be very fertile, however. Check out Joel Salatin for some education, as well as Food, inc. That may make you energetic enough to bring up to the county 'overseers' a little sanity, as well as just who's in charge of YOUR county.
@lilgtogirl
Wow! Such negativity and hatred! @Dave and the others who were positive, thank you!
That's a bummer. Who knows why the county says that? Could be you're too close to town. I guess you'd have to move further out into the sticks for the chickens. I live deep in the boston mountains 5 miles from the nearest paved road. I can do whatever I want out here. The only rule here is no more than 3 septic tanks allowed. I'm about to get my first chickens.
For me chicken raising can't occur in places where your neighbors are going to be bothered by the noise of crowing roosters and your chickens are going to get out and wander free. Chickens should only be allowed in rural communities where they won't be a nuisance to others.
Chickens are not great escape artists. Kept in coops with pens or movable arks, they can be kept well in a backyard. For decades, almost all families kept chickens.
Chickens "They don't plot, they don't scheme, and they are *not* organized. "
Love that movie. :)
Who said anything about roosters? You don't need them. Come to Austin for the annual Funky Chicken Coop tour, and it will change your mind.
Same rules should go for dogs too then.
Nope, no roosters needed! I don't understand why so many people seem to equate backyard chickens with roosters. Unless you are *breeding* chickens, you do not need fertilized eggs – therefor, you don't need a rooster.
Also, chickens don't tend to get out. I have a 4 foot fence, so very short, and my hens don't bother. They like to stay close to where the roost and nesting boxes are. They've never gotten out, actually. They're also not noisy or stinky or any of that other stuff.
We thought about chickens but went ducks instead. We are up in the Portland OR area where it rains a lot. The ducks don't seem to care about the rain and spend their days mucking around looking for bugs and slugs. They are quiet, lay big tasty eggs from early spring thru late fall and don't cost all that much to feed. One of my wifes better ideas.
This is a no brainier and anyone one can raise chickens, as long as the laws provide for same. I raised chickens all my young years in the Caribbean; those colorful ones we call common fowls; the white ones we called day old, because they take 24 hours to hatch, instead of 21 days.
The eggs are better, stronger and the yellow looks like almost orange. We feed them crushed corn, coconuts etc and they were free to roam as they please.
Last year I moved to the country and my son brought me two dozen chicks. Even though I kept those babies in an enclosed pen they somehow would get out and or other critters would get in. Before they could reach laying age they were all killed by owls, hawks and who knows what. I litterally could watch the hawks circleing the pen. It was so depressing to wake up everyday and find feathers in the yard. Unless you have a chicken pen like Fort Knox (at least where I live in OK) it is almost inevitable they will be wild animal feed.
Read Joel Salatin books – Pastured Poultry Products being relevant here, but they are ALL good! You can raise chickens with the proper model, and it sounds like you didn't have that. It is definately a learning curve, and you have to want it, but it is so worth it to get ther results!
According to the story Dr. Sanjay Gupta reported on the Last Heart Attack, we should only eat a plant based diet if we want to avoid heart disease. Plus most of us live in suburbs or cities so we do not need be around dirty farm animals and hear rooster crowing at all hours of the night (or day). Then there is the threat of bird flu. And finally you can buy 18 eggs at Costco for about $1.69. The cost of feed for the chickens excuse my pun is hardly chicken feed these days. Unhealthy, expensive and annoying. Why would anyone want to raise their own chickens???
I respect Gupta, however studies often fail to account for the enzymes in a properly raised egg white which counteract the cholestorol (not much in a pastured chicken) in the yolk. Properly raised animals are not "dirty". You want dirty, check out the CAFOs from which we eat today – filthy, disguting , unnatural, abnormal places. Not too long ago, people have great respect for farming, because the actually understood about where food comes from. A society (like ours) that considers farming "dirty" low level work for unintelligent people is in very big trouble. "Bird Flu" in not a threat with properly raised birds – air, sunshine, and proper feeding eliminate the threat. The econimics can work with a good model, but that's not the point. The point is you can grow MUCH healthier food yourself, be it animal or vegetable, than you can buy. Further, we all seem to agree that "you get what you pay for", but not when it comes to food. Our food is cheap for some very bad reasons, and it is unraveling as we type! Do what you can to learn about your food. Food, inc in a good film to start with. Eat well!
Dolly you are a goof
Dolly, if we want to stop having heart attacks, we should stop eating processed foodoid substances. Pastured meats are fine. It's those dang Pop Tarts and Fast Food things of uncertain origin we need to cut out.
Chickens are fine if you live in the country. If you don't and move next to me be prepared to lose all your chickens. I don't need the noise and the smell at all hours of the day and night along with your child noise and the bouncing basketballs and all the other noise issues. in heavily populated areas.
In our neighborhood, you have to get your neighbors to sign off on your coop. I'm not certain what the exact requirements are, but at least all neighbors who share a property line with you have to agree before you can erect a coop.
The noise, fwiw, isn't an issue. Roosters are loud, but they aren't needed for egg production; hens are barely noticeable. I agree that odor can be a problem if keepers don't stay on top of maintenance, which can be a real problem when a whim becomes a chore.
Wow, Paul! Friendly fella! Sounds like somebody needs to move out of the city. Paul, please be aware that properly cared for hens are neither noisy nor smelly. They'll make a lot less noise than those awfully pesky neighborhood children (how are those even legal?) and they'll probably smell better than them too.
Hey paul, you should move to the noiseless county, where the of my children bothers you, but don't come around asking for a cup of sugar, your anti social ass may be grass...
Paul your an idiot, go move into a old folks home where you can live out the rest of your boring life, and let the rest of us have some fun.
Wow, Pee-Boy, you iz 1 eveel eff-er! Glad you don't live near me. Or anyone I know. Or in my state.
Fa-hoo-dor-ee, baby. Grow a heart.
Paul,
If you put one foot on my property to help me "lose" my chickens, be prepared to have your gonads nailed to my chicken coop.
I think raising chickens is out of most Americans reach because of HOA rules. And besides, most people probably wouldn't want to eat anything that's been ingesting lawn pesticides, herbicides and industrial fertilizers in the grass.
Why is that nonsense IN the grass, then?
Very true about HOA's. However, I doubt that the people who want to raise chickens and the people who pollute the water with toxic lawn chemicals are the same people.
When you have chickens running around your backyard, you don't need pesticides or fertilizers. You have natural bug killers running around looking for bugs, and pooping out natural fertilizer. I have 5 hens and don't use any pesticides or fertilizers, or anything similar anywhere near my lawn, vegetable gardens, or home – for that matter.
There are pros and cons to have them. Free range are great for flea and tick management, but they poop everywhere. I loved my free range flock until they decided to turn my hosta's into and all you can eat buffet. Stripped four of them to the ground in one day this past weekend. So they are no longer free range and I will culling the flock by half this weekend. Forty birds running around the yard had gotten too messy anyway. Now I just have to make sure the freezer is going to have enough room.
Why did you have so many chickens?
You don't want roosters around. It's just a matter of time until your lazy neighbors start letting their chickens run free then you'll have a feral chicken epidemic like in Miami and New Orleans.
I had myself all set to start with a few hens in the backyard and then someone told me that keeping chickens will make you fertile!
I know, that sounds stupid. But I've reached the age where even the "p" word is so horrifying to me that I'm not willing to take any risk. I decided to wait a few years until I was safely over the menopause hurdle.
I buy my eggs from a local elderly lady, who has a child in elementary school :-)
are you retarded?
Not at all. Are you always this unkind?
Kathleen, unfortunately I fear he is congenitally unkind and trollish. I liked your post.
An elderly lady with a child in elementary school?
It was not all that un-common (some time ago) when women were in menopause (around 50 or so) to get pregnant. They were called miracle babies. Because the women thought they couldn't get pregnant. Some of you people are just so annoying, you think you're being cute, when you are really being quite presumptious. And the younger you are, the stupider you sound.
thankx, for making my day brighter, I am a backyard chicken keeper and haven't laughed this hard in ages......
Thank you , Karen, for making me see the funny side of some of these crazies! I have 7 chickens and I love them! And the beautiful eggs they bless us with every day. Our family and friends like the free eggs we give them, too. We live in the country, but in a subdivision. We havent had any complaints about our girls. Someone here has a rooster. i can hear him when Im outside. Love the sound!!
I always read comments, on articles like this, in amazement. How have we, as a nation, come so far from our roots and lost our common sense?
I have 5 hens in my suburban back yard. No smell, less noise than the wild doves make and so much fun to watch.
That was just cute. Thanks for the giggle.^^
You know, I hear that scientists might have figured out what actually causes pregnancy.
I got a chicken as a pet in second grade. Two available to the class as part of a ongoing lesson in which chickens were hatched from eggs in an incubator. My name was drawn first, and mom said to pick the younger of the two. Good move. The other chicken turned out to be a rooster, and that kid had to give it up under threat from neighbors tired of the early a.m. greetings.
Mine, however, turned out to be a very well-behaved hen. We gave her excellent care, and she gave us eggs for five years. I would pet her, carry her around so she could eat the bugs off of the fence, etc. The yolks in her eggs were an amazing orange. Nothing I've ever purchased at a store has ever come close to the quality of those eggs. We also used to compost her manure into gardens, which worked very well, too. She finally died when I was a freshman in high school. Great pet. Never regretted having one. I'd have some now, but where I live, there are simply too many wild animals to harm chickens, and protecting them from the wild animals would take a virtual fortress.
we live out in the woods with the wild animals. i have been raising chicken for 7 years and lost a few to foxes, hawks, and such. about a year after i started, i got 3 (outdoor) cats and a dog and for the past 6 years have only lost one chicken to a wild animal. i am attributing that to my cats and dog.
I object much more to outdoor cats than to my neighbor's chickens. The free-roaming cats in our neighborhood kill the songbirds (this is actually a huge problem–google it), poop in my garden beds, and hunt rodents on the native prairie we are creating on 5 of our 80s acres. Plus once I came across one of the poor things that had been ripped up, probably by the coyotes. Very sad. Outdoor cats in rural areas are a bad idea, for their sake and the sake of the songbirds.
My roosters crow at 3:00, 4:00, Or 5:00 or whenever a GD fedex plane flies too low to suit them. I love the sound of them crowing and hate the planes.
My rooster crows even when I turn on house lights in the middle of the night. It's a good thing that I'm surrounded by neighbors who also have chickens.
There is a rooster in my neighborhood that is a lazy city rooster because he crows whenever he decides to get up, which sometimes isn't until 9 or 10 am.
Florida54's reply points to the question I have. If you live in an incorporated area with close neighbors, how do they react to the crowing? We actually have an ordinance in our area that chickens are OK, but roosters are taboo. Just wondering how you handle this facet of chicken ownership.
I live in the country. I came here for peace and quiet and I get fed-up-ex planes from 11:00 pm to 4:00am. I would like to know how they can rattle your windows and shake down your walls but someone can't have a rooster? We have everything in this country backward.
Chris, thanks for the reply. Now that I know you live in the country, it explains why the jets are annoying. In the city, that's just one more noise added to the daily din. Sounds like you have acheived a nice life. Congratulations and I hope it stays as you like. Enjoy you chicken(s)!
You bribe the neighbors with eggs and you don't keep a rooster! You can sell them or give them away on CL or something like that. We are technically not legal, but the neighbors like the free eggs enough to not complain!
As far as I know, is IS legal to give away any damn food product you please. It only becomes a toxic substance requiring government intervention to protect your neighbors from the bio-terrorist backyard chickens you have when money changes hands.
You just don't get roosters!
i live in a small town in a neighborhood and we have back yard chickens.. i love my chickens... ruby and annie... they give us eggs.. provide us with hours of fun just watching them and feeding and playing with them... they were very timid when they first arrived, but now they will jump on your lap and eat from your hand and hang around with you.. i love it..
They're kind of soothing, aren't they? I love to watch chickens and also hear that soft clucking. Not that they can't be slightly violent amongst themselves, but in general, small flocks of chickens are peaceful and fun to watch for sure. And they produce those lovely eggs too! :)
Raising chickens in your backyard may be a great idea – as long as you are not Andrew Wordes of Roswell, GA (Google it). I can't believe that CNN would run this "puff piece" on the heels of that tragedy. Shame on you CNN!!
I think you just have to check local ordinances. No one, I would hope, would want their chickens to be a nuisance or have them upset neighbors. But this isn't a puff piece, as you call it. People are doing what they can to either save money or have a better quality of food. It's not a puff piece to write about a current phenomenon like this.
LIKE your reply!
Tholidor, you BRAIN is a puff piece.
Most of us city slickers rely on a industrialized food supply & are dependent on what profiteers want to feed us. Increasingly we are fed a steady diet of hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, animal by-product fertilizer, fat, sugar & high fructose corn-syrup – in reduced size packaging at increased cost – all FDA approved of course. Cancer can't be far behind – but don't worry, the $$$ health folks got or backs :-O
DON'T give in to them! City-slickers can do something! Check out Growing Power in Milwaukee for some inspiration.
We have 6 chickens. We sell enough eggs to pay for the food and after a 6 months it paid off building of the coop. Our eggs are completly free our dogs take care of them and we love watching them mind there own business eating ticks and other insects..... By the way our yard is green and healthy without buying any fertilizer.
Hens only! No Roosters allowed, unless you want FERTILIZED eggs. Then your hens will gladly set on their eggs and produce adorable chicks. When there's no Rooster crowing at 5am, most neighbors will agree that a few hens are less annoying than a couple of dogs. The problem in my area is Hawks. A coop with a covered pen is necessary or the Hawks will swoop down and grab your birds.
What's wrong with fertilized eggs? If they're picked up daily, you'll never know. You have to apply constant and consistent heat for a chick to even start to form. You can even wait 2 weeks before you start incubation and nothing will happen until you start with the heat.
Hawks are the problem here in Austin too. One of my neighbors let his chickens roam freely during the day for three years before a hawk found them. In the ~two years since the hawk found the chickens, he has shown up almost daily. My neighbor can't let his chickens out unless he's in the backyard with them now.
Nuttin like a good ol yard bird!
When I was a kid we had pet chickens, they were really cute. Someday I want a few (still as pets) that can give me some eggs.
No mention of the histoplasmosis you can get from bird droppings, and even from the dust from bird droppings that have been disturbed?? Histoplasmosis is an infection from breathing the fungal spores that grow in bird droppings or soil contaminated with bird droppings, particularly chicken. It can't be killed with ammonia or bleach. Talk about a bad life once you have a systemic histoplasmosis infection!
Joe, that disease is more spread from people cleaning chicken coops and stirring up the dust, if the conditions are right. Medical experts say you can prevent exposure before cleaning the coop by spraying the area to be cleaned down with water (to keep the dust down) or wearing a filter. I don't think there's anything about it that should worry people about having a few hens in the backyard. But they can easily find more information on medical sites online.
You can also catch diseases from the droppings of, say, cats (toxoplasmosis). On the other hand, people who simply own a few cats recreationally are unlikely to have a problem with it, which is why not every article that mentions cats is required to make special mention of it.
Dan, that's a good point, never even thought of that. I wish I'd made that point! Also, I would imagine the threat of disease is high in factory farming situations, where chickens are just piled on top of each other in battery cages. And the same would go for let's say, a hoarder, living in a house with a zillion kitties. Everything in moderation so to speak.
Farmers' profit margins are slim even when they use the modern methods of production and have massive scales to their operations. The idea that you can save money in a backyard operation is a fantasy. You'll pay several times the market price of eggs with your time alone.
Save money on medical bills?
Don't forget that a lot of the cost of supermarket eggs includes the processing, transport, and store markup after they leave the farm. A dozen organic eggs can cost $5 easy, so it's possible to incur some savings depending how you do it. But I agree with the author that trying to reap huge monetary savings should not be the main motivation for a project like this. There are other benefits.
The reason those margins are slim si because "modern" CAFO farming is an abnormal, expensive, and unsustainable model. One tiny little problem with it is that the 'farmer' gets to drop upwards of $250k on a 'chicken house' for the priviledge of being told what to grow, when to grow it, what to feed it, who can work there, and how much they will be paid for the product. Period, no negotiating. Tyson, et al, do not pay chicken poo for the eggs or birds. A backyard model is WAY more sensible from all angles. Watch 'Food,inc' for an eye opener on just how food is produced in the USA.
Maybe so, but at least you'll know where your eggs come from, and what kind of conditions the hens that produce them are living under.
Hawkchik (I hope I'm not misunderstanding what you mean, if so sorry) - CAFO operations are not necessarily cleaner or safer than backyard operations. You're certainly not allowed into their operations to see whether things are sanitary or not, and I guarantee you they're not anyway. Most local farmers are pretty transparent about their operations. If they're not, buy your food elsewhere.
"Time alone" is an interesting concept. If you view them as pets, the time is worthwhile. Chickens raised by people who regularly hold them and pet them are affectionate. I don't have chickens, but my neighbors do, and they are a lot of fun. And the eggs are out of this world.
I have 5 free-range hens. I spent $16 on feed 3 months ago (and it's good feed in a smaller bag than most) and I am almost out now. When they go around the yard and find bugs, and when you feed them your healthy food scraps, they don't eat a lot of feed. We built their night roost and nesting boxes ourselves with $50 spent (used some wood that we had left over from our house). We get 5 eggs per day. If you do the math, you can see that we are saving a great deal of money - free-range, organic eggs are not cheap!
My very first pet was a chicken. I love them!
Did anyone think about the rooster that will be crowing at 4am?? I wouldn't want that every day. I'll buy the eggs!
yes they did. if you'd bother to read the comments, you'd know that.
Chickens can lay eggs without a rooster. A rooster is only needed to fertilize eggs if you want to raise chickens. Most cities that allow backyard chickens don't allow roosters for noise reasons.
Only rooster crows. If you raise chicken for eggs, then you do not need a rooster. You only need a hen.
We had three hens in our backyard for a year...one of them could "BGWAAK" loud enough to wake the dead...but the fresh eggs were nice.
Jojo didn't even bother to read the article.
it's like the guy said about city noise...you don't even hear them crowing after awhile. our crickets, peepers, and other assorted insects out here in the country are a LOT louder than a crowing rooster!
Sorry. When someone puts a rooster in next to residential homes, it's going to cause problems.
Why are so many people ignorant of basic biology? You only need a rooster if you want FERTILIZED eggs, which if incubated will become chickens. Hens that do not mate with a rooster still lay eggs, namely the unfertilized kind that 99.99% of people prefer to eat. Hence no need for a rooster for most backyard farms.
Biology ftw.
That is true, but from my (granted, limited... see below) experience, it starts with a chicken, but eventually the rooster follows. I'm sure that is not the case every time, but it was in my case.
Beth, you have to come to the realization that on CNN boards, there are people not intelligent enough to raise chickens. :)
I'm in the 0.01% . I like to eat my eggs after they have been fertilized. As long as the feathers have not started to develop the taste is so much better. Also the protein content is higher. Of course, you can't allow them to be incubated for too many days or you can easily get grossed out when you crack them open in a hot frying pan.
you have not done much in your life........................................................................ i am joking have nice day
sorry wrong reply
I have beck yard chickens and I love it! Best thing I have done by far!
People should be able to get a slice of the country in the city. If you have enough space I don't see why not. We need to keep in touch with our roots. They can be just as fun of a pet as a dog or other animal. Probably less harmful then a dog even, no worries of getting tooo attacked by a chicken, well maybe a rooster but you can control him.
No way man. I had the unfortunate task of trying to sell my mom's estate when her back neighbor had two chickens. Many lost opportunities (few people want chickens for neighbors), and thousands of dollars I wasted trying to sell the house all so that woman could save a few bucks on eggs. Now she is pushing for a goat. Listen, if you want to keep farm animals, do it on a farm. Most city folks don't want to look at the trash (chicken crap everywhere) and listen to your noises (really, a rooster at 5AM). Be considerate to others.
also, no one wants to eat the eggs you produced in your backyard. Stop trying to push these off on your neighbors.
Right... because who would want eggs from free range birds with more taste and better for your body when you can have pale eggs from beakless birds in confinement operations full of hormones and antibiotics and fed a steady diet of corn, more corn, and only corn.
Just look at the golden yolk of a free range egg and you'll never want to eat the unhealthy yellow mass produced eggs again... I know I don't.
Why not? Fresh, free range eggs are delicious and much healthier than factory eggs. Where I live fresh eggs are so sought after folks sell their homegrown eggs for $2-4/dozen.
Just telling you what people think. Most like to know/think that their eggs are safe to eat. There is a certain yuck factor involved to these home produced eggs. I'm sure your eggs are delicious, I just don't want them. Nor did any of my mom's neighbors.
Speak for yourself. My coworker used to have chickens and was able to get over $2 a dozen for her eggs here at work.
Actually, there's a real serious YUCK factor with factory-farmed eggs. Give me a backyard egg any day.
A "yuck" factor to home raised chicken eggs? You obviously have never see a mega-chicken farm. That will put you off not only factory-raised eggs, but chicken meat as well.
I agree, but "out of sight, out of mind." Thinking about your food isn't always pleasant.
There's nothing wrong with a little *rooster* at 5am. ~_~
I like where your head is at.
You aren't the first man to say that to me. ~_~
...and starting a sentence with "listen," is just rude.
Telling people they're rude is rude.
What is rude is having these animals next to my mom's house so that when I was trying to sell the house I couldn't. No one wanted to hear that rooster. No one liked all the chicken crap which was clearly visible in their yard (the back neighbors are lower than my mom's row of houses). That is rude.
Depends where you live. In Seattle it is extremely common for folks in the city to keep chickens. Practically everybody has some for neighbors if they don't have chickens themselves. They really don't make much noise or cause issues - a yard with a typical dog causes way more "disturbance".
I used to live near Seattle too. And it's true that very many people, even in the city, had chickens. They were practically undetectable.
I don't even understand what you're saying, your whole story seems like a lie. Do you work for foster farms or something? What person in their right mind would prefer store bought eggs to home grown? Do you think with your brain or does it just sit in your head and rot?
My story is not a lie. My mother died in December of 2010. The house has been on the market since. Granted there are other issues involved (housing issues, economy, etc), but on several occassions we heard that one of the biggest concerns with buying the house were the chickens in the back door neighbors yard. I don't care if you believe me, but I take issue with your insults. I use my head every day. I am a PhD psychologist, not just some dumb shill as you imply. If you want to believe everyone is thrilled with having chickens for neighbor, you really should open your eyes and realize that not everyone around you thinks as you do.
I'm sorry for the difficulty selling your mom's house. It may depend on who's trying to buy it - some people may be afraid that the chicken-keeping neighbors intend to have more livestock. And, unfortunately, many people are simply uncomfortable with farm animals, which is sad. I'm thinking your potential buyers are over-reacting, which, unfortunately affects the home's being sold. But, I do disagree with you re the backyard eggs - people love them and they're quite safe, or safer than the CAFO eggs.
I'm also sorry that you had such difficulty understanding such a short, straight-forward story. Maybe next time drawings might help you.
You are a doofus. I think you had trouble selling the house because you seem like an unlikeable person. No one ever didn't buy a house they liked just because 2 chickens lived next door. Two chickens? Two chickens are barely noticeable. I don't have any animals, but I'm really glad I don't live near you.
Right. I am a doofus because of the situation. I have evidence to the contrary of what you are saying. I HAVE HAD ISSUES SELLING THE HOUSE BECAUSE OF THESE CHICKENS. That piece of evidence rules out your comment that no one has had issues. Additionally, I don't live in the state where my mom's house is. It is her estate, i.e., she is dead and the house is vacant. I am not a jerk and I have yet to meet any of the potential buyers. If you knew me you would like me. I am an animal lover, having owned many animals over the years. But thanks for your uninformed judgment.
Well Jimbo, I guess it sucks to be you. But that neighbour had the right to her two chickens. She can't be expected to change her life just so you can sell a house in a crappy economy.
I bet if you lowered the price of the house you would find a lot of people who would suddenly not mind two chickens. :)
Thanks for the unsolicited advice. I'm very happy that she has saved a few bucks on her eggs, while I have bled thousands to keep the mortgage current. I know it isn't all the chickens fault, but it certainly hasn't helped.
I agree that a yard full of chicken poop would be a turn off. If you're mother had trouble keeping up with her chickens due to mobility issues, I can see how that would be a problem. However, that does not have to be the case, at all. My neighbors and I are always happy to get eggs from the couple of neighbors who own chickens. Demand far exceeds supply. Of course, they give them away instead of selling them.
Sorry...your mother's neighbor, not your mother. I didn't read the post well.
TWO chickens scared off potential buyers???? That's ridiculous unless the neighbor had true unsanitary faults that went beyond owning chickens.
I'd rather have chickens next door than dogs that bark all night long. (And I do like dogs, but I note some of them are much louder than any chicken.)
I think it also has a lot to do with the condition of her yard, which is clearly evident as my mom's house was elevated. The yard looks extremely dirty and barn yard like.
Okay, so it is really not the chickens but how she maintains the yard. Got it. There's a really good chance that if she didn't have the chickens, the place would still look like a pit or something.
Can someone at CNN please include Eggzy.net in this backyard chicken conversation. We're a service/platform for small holders of backyard flocks and in addition to providing flock management tools for flock owners, we're also a platform for sharing/selling surplus local eggs by the same small holders. We're a small start-up with big ambitions, see: http://www.eggzy.net/why-eggzy/
Very interesting! I'll take a look right now. Thanks so much.
My parents have a backyard chicken coop. Eggs galore.
F.A.Q?!? F.A.Q.?!?
F.A.Q.
Fast Acting Queens?
Farms Acquiring Quail?
Focused on Aggravating Questions?
Found Attempting Quips?
Forgot About Queefs
Fast Acting Quaalude
Foreva A Queen