SFR Chickens..

[Bhudda]

A documentary on Netf..x about chicken people, like the Westminster of dogs… I was entertained to say the least, and learned some too. I draw the line at dressing chickens up tho, that’s wacky! I’m not gonna lie, I’m sorta kinda interested in raising birds, but not chickens. More on the lines of pheasants for me. You a chicken person?

 

[Triploidjunkie]

I had chickens until August. Stupid racoons chewed through two layers of chicken wire and slaughtered them...

 

[Deansie]

We’ve got 7 of them, my wife manages them but they seem pretty low maintenance. I built the Ft Knox of chicken coops and 5 years ago and we have yet to have any intruders. Pretty odd animals but good at keeping the bugs out of the garden!!

 

[Evan B]

We have four backyard dummies

 

[Aufwuchs]

I've had chickens now for about 15 years. We had 25 at one time, now down to 5 which is about right. They keep us supplied with all the eggs we need and more, the manure is great in the garden, they keep the slugs under control, and they're fun to have around. They don't require much of a time commitment and we can take off for a week without needing anybody to watch them. Predators can be a problem, mostly hawks but we have also had problems with other critters like raccoons, bobcats, and a coyote once. Something attacked them yesterday. Fortunately my wife was home and heard the commotion and no fatalities. Chickens are stupid but they definitely have individual personalities.

 

[Dr. Magill]

From 6 down to 1
Owl I think

 

[kerrys]

My grandfather raised chickens commercially. I worked on his farm during the summers when I was a kid. I wouldn’t eat chicken for years. Dumbest most disgusting creatures on the planet.

 

[Big K1]

I have had chickens for the past 10 years. They are quite enjoyable.

 

[Aufwuchs]

A friend of mine took this photo in her backyard a few weeks ago. It had just eaten the head off one of her chickens.

 

[Aufwuchs]

I asked my son in law if he wanted to name one of our hens. He is a big Packers fan so he named it Erin Rogers. Erin Rogers got eaten by a bobcat.

 

[chief]

We have 14 of them. They are my wife’s project, so she takes care of them. But they are pretty entertaining and the fresh eggs are great.

 

[Anyfish]

We have a whole barn yard full of birds. Chickens, ducks, and geese. They are all cool in their own ways. We give away eggs to keep things manageable but they keep the bugs, slugs, and other such things at bay.

 

[Griswald]

I want to get some this year. We will see if I can pull it off...Never had chickens. We have a SERIOUS raccoon problem. The raptors are around too. I think I will put up cyclone fence.

 

[Dloy]

Ever since a pair of local Bald Eagles started frequenting one of our trees the rabbit problem diminished. Go figure. The eagles would love it if we kept chickens.

 

[Old Man]

My father in law raised game birds. Mostly Pheasants, The ring necks, Golden, and Silver. He also had Jungle cocks. Had a few Chickens and one big red Rooster. Which got it's neck wrung when it chased my mother in law. She said it was tough to eat.

 

[Ceviche]

I’ve been keeping chickens for over ten years. Started with four, have had as many as six, lost some to predators or age along the way, replaced them, now down to two.

There’s nothing wrong with keeping birds, except for when you want to be away from home for more than one or two days. It’s the food and water thing. Their feed set up can easily last for several days, but making sure they have a good supply of clean water is more important. That’s the ball and chain factor.

Coop construction is very important. Do not rely on chicken wire for ground level protection. 1/2”(or smaller) hardware cloth is the way to go. As a matter of fact, go top to bottom with that stuff. It’ll help keep rodents away from the feeders. Maybe not 100%, but it will help. Also, larger the coop enclosure the better. Tall enough for you to move around in there and enough square footage for the number of birds you’re keeping to stretch their wings. Maybe even put in a roost or two. Note the pictures.

If you’re keeping hens—chickens or otherwise—a henhouse shelter is mandatory. Chickens, like pheasants, are predominantly ground birds, meaning you find them more in the ground than in the air and trees. For that reason, a shelter that suits them is important. A henhouse large enough for the birds to fly up to roosts and nests is what they need. Chickens favor a vertical structure, with nests up high, to provide them with a psychologically safe place at night. While I do not know about what pheasants prefer, I can say that chickens do fly up to roosts at night.

The coop and henhouse in the pictures were built over ten years ago. They’re rather weathered but still holding up well. I would’ve made the coop larger, if I had planned to keep them inside all the time. As it is, they get to roam the backyard when I’m at home. I really need a summer at home to rebuild or refurbish the builds. Ugh!

Since you mentioned pheasants, it’s obvious you’re in it for the feathers. Chicken hens are great for soft hackle patterns. I’ve found Rhode Island Red feathers are effective for stillwater cutthroat patterns. Barred Plymouth Rocks provide grizzly hackle. Some Amerucanas have feathers brown at the base of the feather barbs and gold at the tip. Lots of tying options.

 

[Dloy]

Very informative, thanks. I’m not interested enough to go through the effort. How many eggs per bird per week do you get, and (pardon my ignorance but) is a rooster involved or necessary? I didn’t grow up around farm animals. I do enjoy the free ranging chickens visiting Kauai.

 

[Richard Olmstead]

John Gierach wrote a funny story in one of his books about his attempt to raise chickens to produce his own feathers for fly tying. Needless to say, in the end he decided it made more sense to buy feathers!

 

[Ceviche]

Very informative, thanks. I’m not interested enough to go through the effort. How many eggs per bird per week do you get, and (pardon my ignorance but) is a rooster involved or necessary? I didn’t grow up around farm animals.

Don’t need roosters for the hens to lay eggs. Two hens, in peak season, can lay 10 to 14 a week—especially depending on the breed. Off peak season (winter) production for two hens can drop down to zero to near zero. Also age is a big factor for egg production. Young hens typically will lay nearly every day. As they get older, that slows down. However, egg size increases.

 

[Ceviche]

John Gierach wrote a funny story in one of his books about his attempt to raise chickens to produce his own feathers for fly tying. Needless to say, in the end he decided it made more sense to buy feathers!

I’ll bet dealing with roosters played a big part in his story.