New here! Just moved to the country, weighing the pros and cons of getting chickens

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to the pulse beat of the poultry community, BACKYARD CHICKENS

 

[RebelEgger]

Hello from Nova Scotia and welcome to BYC! You’ve joined a great and resourceful community! Enjoy your journey!
Getting new chicks is so exciting and when they are in the house for the first few weeks you’ll just love having your morning coffee with them. They very quickly capture your heart and soon after your entire soul. Just before mines moved out to the coop I had anxiety like ‘am I still going to enjoy them when they’re out there or will the honeymoon period be over?!’ Well even today when it was freezing cold out and I was in the coop with numb finger tips scraping frozen chicken poop and scooping the poop board I am still completely in love with them. #noregrets

 

[Cj Tracker]

Hi everyone,

I just moved with my husband and 2 young daughters to the countryside in Northern California on some acreage and initially thought, what better way to initiate the new lifestyle than to get 6-10 chickens as pets and let them free range all over our property. Catch is, I get sick if I eat more than 1 egg in a sitting, our family only uses maybe half a dozen eggs a week, we travel A LOT, I’m somewhat lazy when it comes to cleaning, and we have too many birds of prey in the area to free range.

Am I crazy for still wanting to get chickens? I’m beginning to rethink this..

Has anyone ever regretted having chickens, or am I just speaking an alien language to a bunch of chicken fanatics?

I would not get them if your traveling alot. Enjoy your new home and get settled then add some flock would be my suggestion.
I'll elaborate a bit
I started mine in March, haven't left then even for a night yet. It is an investment of time and love if you want to consider them as pets.
I clean daily but I enjoy the manual labor and have been working at home full time for my job since covid hit. I wouldn't have bought them if I was gone like I used to be.
If you aren't able to enjoy the fruits of that labor your putting in also (eggs) it might not be as rewarding.

Everyone is different though. I put more thought and energy into it than most and they don't really need alot but if there are predators there, it will be a heartbreaking outcome to arrive back from travel to see they were lost to predators.

All that you've mentioned though leads me to suggest you wait.

 

[Cj Tracker]

Well, I'll take some of the load off: the correct answer is "poop boards".

I did the same. I was up all hours looking at coop options, run sizes and materials, breeds, feed, etc. The housing really kept me up the most. After all the research, I would recommend if you have the space in your yard, go with a shed that you can convert. Put windows in for ventilation, make some roosting bars and nesting boxes, then think of creating a nice run that you can predator proof.
It took me from March to September to get an these things done so your right with planning now.

 

[Norcalnewbie]

I did the same. I was up all hours looking at coop options, run sizes and materials, breeds, feed, etc. The housing really kept me up the most. After all the research, I would recommend if you have the space in your yard, go with a shed that you can convert. Put windows in for ventilation, make some roosting bars and nesting boxes, then think of creating a nice run that you can predator proof.
It took me from March to September to get an these things done so your right with planning now.

Recommendations on what shed you’d recommend? I’ve heard people swear by Tuff sheds and others say they fell apart after a few years and wish they had something built properly. I’m pretty handy, but no builder, and I found someone who could build me a 4x8 walk in coop with 8x12 run for about $3k fully predator proof.

 

[Norcalnewbie]

I used to travel a lot too! (before covide happened) My solution is just to get bigger feeders and waterers, and maybe have someone watch over them to make sure the food doesn't get moldy and the water stays clean!

Also Welcome to BYC! So glad you decided to join us!

I’m researching 55 gallon rain barrel drums with cup waterers on pvc pipes and pvc feeders (or better options) as we speak. There are lots of chickens in our area, so I’m sure I wouldn’t have a hard time finding a neighborhood babysitter.

 

[DobieLover]

Recommendations on what shed you’d recommend? I’ve heard people swear by Tuff sheds and others say they fell apart after a few years and wish they had something built properly. I’m pretty handy, but no builder, and I found someone who could build me a 4x8 walk in coop with 8x12 run for about $3k fully predator proof.

Contact local shed sellers. They have have old sheds that were removed from customers properties.
Look in CL for people selling used sheds. Then the local shed seller can move it for you.
I converted an old shed on my property into my coop and built the run from scratch. It's a lot faster than building the coop from scratch too.

 

[CHlCKEN]

Welcome to BYC! Small flocks are always great. I LOVE my mini flock of 7! A good family sized flock would be around 3-4, especially if your not big eggs eaters. Chicken runs are a safer, better, and stress-free option for families looking into chickens for pets. I personally love Omelet chicken runs, and I think for a small flock like you might get, it’s perfect!

 

[78753]

Hi, Norcalnewbie,
While you think about it, take time to read up on coop designs (I second the droppings board idea) predator protection, and also read up on the emergiencies and problems thread. You will no doubt encounter at least one of these at some point, and it's good to know that you know what you're possibly in for, and also how to recognize and treat problems if you have them.
BEFORE you get them is also a great time to go visit each of your chicken-holding neighbors and ask them to show you around their operations. DO take a set of clogs or something easy to clean to wear when you get out of your car and wash them with ammonia or bleach after you get home. Don't walk around your place with these, change shoes back when you get to car. Just to be on the safe side. (Coccidiosis gets into the soil).
Chickens are fun to watch, but you'll need a safe run area to be able to watch them in. Before you get baby chicks (really, BEFORE!) you should also read up on and prepare your coop and run so it's ready for your girls. That said, you could totally have chickens even if you don't eat eggs. You might enjoy the luxury of getting some less frequent-laying breeds. You could sell or gift the eggs to friends who would be delighted.
Chickens are fun and if you can keep them from predators, pretty easy and pretty tough. Make sure your outdoor run has a top mesh over it, and make sure your girls go in to their coop and get locked in each night. P.S. Turkeys are fun too, but make sure you get heritage breeds if you don't plan to eat them. Commercial lbreeds are only meant to last the 6 mos or so it takes them to grow to eating size, so they are bread for weight, and don't live long or comfortably once they're grown. True for meat chickens as well.

 

[LaFleche]

Hi everyone,

I just moved with my husband and 2 young daughters to the countryside in Northern California on some acreage and initially thought, what better way to initiate the new lifestyle than to get 6-10 chickens as pets and let them free range all over our property. Catch is, I get sick if I eat more than 1 egg in a sitting, our family only uses maybe half a dozen eggs a week, we travel A LOT, I’m somewhat lazy when it comes to cleaning, and we have too many birds of prey in the area to free range.

Am I crazy for still wanting to get chickens? I’m beginning to rethink this..

Has anyone ever regretted having chickens, or am I just speaking an alien language to a bunch of chicken fanatics?

How about quail in a little aviary instead? Much easier upkeep and the eggs are cute and very tasty.