Pros and cons of chicken ownership

[Mary]

My hope in starting this thread is to clarify the issues surrounding chicken ownership and debate the pros and cons involved in being a responsible chicken owner.
I'm considering purchasing a chicken not only for egg production but also to expand our pet numbers from the current one red-earred slider and one newt that we presently own.
If you've ever owned a chicken, please let me know your experience.

 

[Bina]

Mary, mary, mary, you silly girlie. Facebook farming got you all excited....? hee hee

 

[Mary]

Mary, mary, mary, you silly girlie. Facebook farming got you all excited....? hee hee

Bina,
I want to hear your experience. Tell me all about those cocks you've kept.

 

[Bina]

Okay, seriously. Here is my experience.

Pros:
when raised from babies, they are super friendly.
fresh eggs daily if the temps are right.
Chickens eat a large amount of bugs in the garden, and
give you instant fertilizer.

Cons:
Noise
Lice, sickness, disease, coccidia bacteria
Cannibalism
The grain etc. will attract mice, squirrels, or rats
droppings SMELL and are messy.

Cocks/roosters are a whole nother story....
I'll dig out some of my chicken pics.

 

[Bina]

This was my very first group. 3 Hens and 1 Rooster.
The 2 black hens were called my "Black B-tches" as they were very aggressive.

 

[njean]

As a kid, my parents used to raise chickens for eggs & chicken soup!

However, my mom was always getting after my dad when the chickens got out of their coup because if she had a flower garden or a veggie garden growing, the chickies would gobble everything up!! All gone!

So if you still want flowers, shrubs, gardens, etc., growing either have a good enough pen for the chickens or fence in whatever it is you don't want the chickens eating.

 

[njean]

This was my very first group. 3 Hens and 1 Rooster.
The 2 black hens were called my "Black B-tches" as they were very aggressive.

Ummmm, winter coming along, a good, homemade chicken soup sounds perfect!!!

 

[Bina]

This is the gazebo type extension that we built onto the barn so that they could go outside during
the daytime and be safe from predators.
It has floor to ceiling wire and we added a tin roof.
The framing and wire is buried at least a foot deep into the ground.
We had problems with stoats, raccoons, fishers, foxes, etc.

 

[njean]

What are stoats Bina??

 

[Bina]

NOrma, yes, the Black B-tches ended up at the neighbour's place and I think
he made them into soup. I surely couldn't.

 

[Bina]

Stoats are like small ermines, weasel family. Deadly vermin, they ripped out the neck of my best hen.

 

[njean]

Did you know that pigs will also eat chickens???

Yep, having been raised on a farm, we also used to raise some pigs.

Well, one time, the chickens got up on top of the pig pen & were walking the rail & one of them accidently fell in & the pigs ate it!!!

 

[Mary]

What if I only want to raise one chicken?

 

[Bina]

The next spring I bought these Bantam Silky breed chicks. Super friendly and more delicate. Not super smart either.
When I got them they were tiny and sat in my hands.
Spring was cold so they were kept in the house basement in a rabbit cage for a while.
The cream coloured one was amazing, I could carry her around even as an adult.
Their eggs are smaller, but very tasty.

 

[Bina]

You could have 2 chickens, both hens, but one alone would be very sad.

 

[njean]

and...you wouldn't have any eggs & like Bina said, "it would be lonely!"

 

[Mary]

You could have 2 chickens, both hens, but one alone would be very sad.

http://www.zootoo.com/petnews/mrcluckygetscourtdateassupport-1373
This is what I have in mind.
So I'd need two hens, or one hen and one rooster?

 

[Mary]

I'd have trouble with a rooster crowing. Anyway to get eggs without one?

 

[Bina]

Yep, at the store.....LOL LOL

 

[njean]

I'd have trouble with a rooster crowing. Anyway to get eggs without one?

Maybe you could get away with a make believe rooster....nah, no can do!