SFR Chickens..

[Bhudda]

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.
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Wha…Dave there so cute tho! I’d wait till they atleast d..

 

[Bhudda]

My house I bought has a long history of birding. The previous owner lived here for over 50 years and was into homing pigeons. The detached garage was a bird house, 2 outside coups and bird shit everywhere! They tried to paint over it in the work shed and detached, called it texture paint. We still get a random pigeon flying around like it’s lost. According to the neighbors he used to take them down to Olympia and let them go and they would all fly back to my house. Crazy!

 

[Ceviche]

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

Having chickens around is a calming thing.

 

[Aufwuchs]

About 10-15 years ago I was up in Arlington when a guy pulled up next to me in a pickup with a big cage of pigeons in the back. After he released them I asked him what he was doing and he told me they were racing pigeons. He said he lived in Woodinville and they would probably beat him home.

 

[Aufwuchs]

If you are thinking of getting chickens and letting them roam around in your yard I suggest sticking with standard sized chickens. The bantams fly too much and get into places you don’t want them.

 

[Ceviche]

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.

Cyclone fencing will not stop the predators. A large covered coop with hardware cloth sides is the only way to keep the birds safe. And making sure they’re inside a half hour before sunset will also make a big difference in safety. Bit that doesn’t mean you won’t still lose some. Younger raccoons will show up in the middle of the day on occasion. I lost one hen that way.

 

[Aufwuchs]

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.

When I built my coop I used hog wire and buried it 12” in the ground and backfilled with concrete rubble. Several times I have had animals try to dig under but so far they have all failed. My brother did the same thing with chicken wire but it rusted away in a few years.

 

[bennysbuddy]

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?

Raise Cornish game hens , they keep the bugs down all spring & summer then you eat them.

 

[Mark Yoshida]

I remember when I was 10 a neighbor had chickens in their yard. This was down by Lake Union near the old Seattle Times building 59 years ago. One day they asked if I wanted to help them catch the chickens for slaughter. Sounded like fun to me to go run after them. They were pretty fat and fluffy.
They said to stand there and wait for the first one, and he chopped the head off. Well shit… the head went one way and the body went another flapping its wings and chased me all over that yard. All I remember was falling to the ground screaming.
I don’t think I went back to their house for a week.

 

[Ceviche]

If you are thinking of getting chickens and letting them roam around in your yard I suggest sticking with standard sized chickens. The bantams fly too much and get into places you don’t want them.

I can only imagine. Chickens can fly. Like really high. I was getting my second Covid shot in Kapolei, Oahu, and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a bird fly up to this heavy awning over the window of an unoccupied business. Because my line of sight was through one window and out an opposite one, I had to go around to the other side to see if the bird I saw was what I thought it was. Walked around, and, sure enough, it was a feral hen up 12 feet up.

If a chicken wants to go high, they can and will.

 

[Nick Clayton]

My wife has a pretty legitimate bird phobia. No way she'd allow me to have chickens, even if I wanted them.

We do have a neighbor lady, whom we refer to as crazy chicken lady, who has a handful. They manage to escape their coop area quite frequently and love to come hang out in our front yard and terrorize my wife. I may or may not find that quite amusing.

 

[TicTokCroc]

Its a job to keep them alive, if your in a more rural area. We had a red tailed hawk snag one of ours a few weeks ago, only ate the head!

 

[FishaLot]

My brother raised turkeys in his backyard, his daughter enjoyed tending to them but as mentioned it was a full time job fending off bobcats and hawks. He did end up with a nice bobcat mount

 

[Billy]

We got 4 left. Raccoon attack☹ caught the bastard too

 

[bennysbuddy]

We got 4 left. Raccoon attack☹ caught the bastard too

raccoons got to eat same as the hawks !

 

[Grayone]

Having chickens around is a calming thing.

I bet you know the egg laying song.

 

[Grayone]

 

[Salmo_g]

I raised chickens, along with some cattle, when I was in high school. It was so profitable I had to hold down a part time job to pay less than all of the bills. So my wife and I know that those rural farms signs advertising organic free range eggs at $5 per dozen are a bargain! Same with the cow and calves. When I sold my livestock I finally had enough money to buy a car.

 

[kerrys]

I remember when I was 10 a neighbor had chickens in their yard. This was down by Lake Union near the old Seattle Times building 59 years ago. One day they asked if I wanted to help them catch the chickens for slaughter. Sounded like fun to me to go run after them. They were pretty fat and fluffy.
They said to stand there and wait for the first one, and he chopped the head off. Well shit… the head went one way and the body went another flapping its wings and chased me all over that yard. All I remember was falling to the ground screaming.
I don’t think I went back to their house for a week.

On my grandfather’s farm where he raised chickens commercially they slaughtered chickens the old fashioned way like you described. Us kids would catch the things the men would chop the heads. Sometimes they would kill two at a time and bet on which one would flop the longest. The girls and women would hot bath the dead birds, pluck and clean them. My grandparents backyard where all this carnage took place would be covered with blood and chicken feathers. And after a couple hours of killing, plucking, cleaning and cutting up chickens we had fried chicken for dinner.

 

[bennysbuddy]

On my grandfather’s farm where he raised chickens commercially they slaughtered chickens the old fashioned way like you described. Us kids would catch the things the men would chop the heads. Sometimes they would kill two at a time and bet on which one would flop the longest. The girls and women would hot bath the dead birds, pluck and clean them. My grandparents backyard where all this carnage took place would be covered with blood and chicken feathers. And after a couple hours of killing, plucking, cleaning and cutting up chickens we had fried chicken for dinner.

sounds like fun times, who doesn't like a family chicken slaughter?