Uncle Sam Expects YOU to Keep Chickens and Raise Hens

Funny how things change, isn’t it? These days, people have to fight and petition and beg and plead in many municipalities to get their government to let them keep a few backyard hens. And even when city leaders permit it, they lay out complicated rules about how many, where and how the birds must be housed. And please! No roosters!Read more: www.motherearthnews.com...

Mother Earth News

As the poster so rightly points out, two hens per person will keep a family in eggs. The flock will take minimal effort, cost little and provide plenty of enjoyment, because chickens are fun to watch.

Odd how times have changed since the WWI and WW2. I remember when I was little and visiting my grandparents I always wondered why they kept so many chickens and rabbits. I understand now that people in those times were more prepared for the unknown. They were self reliant, and grew their own food.

Today we have a grocery store on every corner and the average citizen has no clue what to even do should the SHTF scenario occur. Most of them think that the government will rush in to rescue them with food and save the day!

I personally have a small flock of about 10 chickens and a rooster. Of course I live out in the country and nobody minds the rooster . The start up cost can cost pennies to a couple hundred and the feed is pretty inexpensive, or if you let them roam, they can find most nutrition just from your backyard. Hens are not loud, and are actually quite interactive with mostly pleasant personalities. Their excrement can be used for fertilizer and when they reach the end of their egg laying years, you can have a nice chicken dinner.

I received my baby chicks from a local tractor supply company but I know others who have used www.mcmurrayhatchery.com...

My opinion is, if something bad happens to this country or our infrastructure, why not have a couple chickens?
Uncle Sam says you should!
I know people who live in town and keep a few chickens and nobody knows. Whats the worst that can happen if you get a couple? Eggs can be used daily or kept for weeks. They can be used to barter with too.

Because lets think about it, do you really trust others to provide for you and your family? I don't. One day when the grocery store shelves are emptied, you will have some kind of peace of mind knowing you will have at least a fighting chance to provide for the ones you love.

its illegal in denver to own them.
second line.

Most cities/towns have ordinances against them. If you're renting you can be thrown out. If you're an owner you can be cited. Chickens aren't exactly QUIET. Particularly not if you get a rooster (eggs won't be as reliable without a rooster).

But my dog would just chase them around and eat them after they died of heart failure anyway.

Originally posted by AllUrChips
its illegal in denver to own them.

I imagine it is illegal in many cities! Its such a shame really. But honestly who would really know if you kept 2 hens in privacy fenced back yard? NOBODY! Yes lets make providing for yourself illegal...Good Grief

Originally posted by Schkeptick
Most cities/towns have ordinances against them. If you're renting you can be thrown out. If you're an owner you can be cited. Chickens aren't exactly QUIET. Particularly not if you get a rooster (eggs won't be as reliable without a rooster).

But my dog would just chase them around and eat them after they died of heart failure anyway.

Yeah roosters are loud, but my chickens are pretty quiet, my neighbors didnt even know I had 10.....
As far as reliability with eggs and a rooster, that is incorrect. Mine laid all the time without a rooster. Its a myth that you need a male for eggs. You only need the rooster to fertilize the eggs if you want babies...

I've traded city living for country living for the foreseeable future. My pop and I built a nice big walk-in coop with roosts and bought chickens at trade day.

But some predator was literally pulling them to pieces through the chicken wire! We have fox, coyote, and coons around here and I'm guessing weasels too from the bloody utter chicken armageddon done that day.

The once proud coop is growing grass inside it and even a year later there are stray chicken feathers about. Them advertising cows from Chick-fil-A don't know real terror.

Any advice? I want some chickens.

Originally posted by The GUT
I've traded city living for country living for the foreseeable future. My pop and I built a nice big walk-in coop with roosts and bought chickens at trade day.

But some predator was literally pulling them to pieces through the chicken wire! We have fox, coyote, and coons around here and I'm guessing weasels too from the bloody utter chicken armageddon done that day.

The once proud coop is growing grass inside it and even a year later there are stray chicken feathers about. Them advertising cows from Chick-fil-A don't know real terror.

Any advice? I want some chickens.

OH NO thats sad!
I built my coop using 1/2 inch hardwire cloth and not chicken wire. At the base I buried the cloth into the ground then covered it with rocks and pebbles. Nothing can get in. The outdoor run is 12 x 12 and 7 ft tall completely enclosed using 4x4s and 2x4s. The coop part is off the ground and premade from Leonard . Pictures ...


The grass on the inside is good to have as the chickens love it, but once its all dead I filled in the entire run with sand and pebbles.

Why not try again. The hardwire cloth is expensive but I think your chicks will live if you use it. I got mine in rolls from Lowes.

reply to post by The GUT


Double fence.

We dug our chicken wire fence into the ground by about a foot and then it stick out underground about another 2 feet. That way the predator can't dig under.

Best of luck.

Thank you! I'll start looking into it and mebbe we can give it another go. The killing did make us sad and took the wind out of our sails a bit.

Them little brainless buggers are so ugly they're cute. Can't beat fresh eggs either.

reply to post by Schkeptick


It will probably be pointed out before I am even done typing this reply, but to say "Particularly not if you get a rooster (eggs won't be as reliable without a rooster)." Is completely wrong! I have 4 hens that lay an egg a day and have done so since they started laying about a year ago...The only reason a person would want / need a rooster would be if they wanted to fertilize the eggs the hens lay...No rooster doesn't mean no eggs or unreliable eggs, it just means no baby chicks will be in the eggs

Regulating, prohibiting and outright banning measures for self sustainability keeps the mass dependent.

What good is the king if the mass isnt dependent?

We have a small flock of Araucanas. They are also known as Easter egg chickens because their eggs are either blue, green, brown or white. It's extremely satisfying to raise your own food and the chickens are quiet and personable. I got my originals from McMurray hatchery also. We refer to them as our "cyber chickens" because we ordered them online and picked them up at the post office. That was many years ago and now we keep a rooster so that we dont have to buy any more.

s&f op

Originally posted by Neysa
We have a small flock of Araucanas. They are also known as Easter egg chickens because their eggs are either blue, green, brown or white. It's extremely satisfying to raise your own food and the chickens are quiet and personable. I got my originals from McMurray hatchery also. We refer to them as our "cyber chickens" because we ordered them online and picked them up at the post office. That was many years ago and now we keep a rooster so that we dont have to buy any more.

s&f op

My rooster is an Araucana. HE was supposed to be a SHE!! I was so looking forward to those easter eggs....

reply to post by Starwise


Lolz
Gotta hate when that happens.

Originally posted by Schkeptick
Most cities/towns have ordinances against them. If you're renting you can be thrown out. If you're an owner you can be cited. Chickens aren't exactly QUIET. Particularly not if you get a rooster (eggs won't be as reliable without a rooster).

But my dog would just chase them around and eat them after they died of heart failure anyway.

Dogs aren't exactly quiet, either, but they are most likely allowed. I'd prefer chicken (and their eggs) to a bunch of loud butt barking dogs. My neighbor has 7 of them. I can't even walk my driveway without those dang dogs raising a storm, not to mention at night time.

I doubt chickens would do that, bark at me and such.

Plus, chickens are pretty cool and provide food, dogs are just annoying.

But yeah, most places have ordinances against chickens and other animals considered "farm" animals, likely due to sanitation issues, especially in urban and suburban environments.

Glad i live in a rural environment outside of city limits.

Long live self-sufficiency.

ETA:

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
Regulating, prohibiting and outright banning measures for self sustainability keeps the mass dependent.

What good is the king if the mass isnt dependent?

True. This is why it is almost impossible to live off the grid and entirely be self sufficient in the USA. Even if you own a large amount of property and can provide for yourself 100%, you have to pay property taxes at minimum, get permits to build a barn or other structure, anything you might need that you can't provide, taxes....

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
Regulating, prohibiting and outright banning measures for self sustainability keeps the mass dependent.

What good is the king if the mass isnt dependent?

A good king should want his people to be happy and productive, not slaves. Then the kings a tyrant in my eyes.

We moved out of the city years ago. I live in rural, Virginia. My neighbor has gineas which are great watch birds and some chickens. I have to laugh because once when I still lived at home we found about a dozen white chickens ...they looked like they had fallen off a truck. Well we caught them and put them in a pen and started having eggs. Then a weasel got in and kiled them one night. Well, we got some more and they all gave eggs but none would clutch. from what I understand that many chickens don't clutch and have chicks even with a rooster ..... I don't know but this is what I have been told ....

I'm thinking about building a chicken tractor this spring.

Look it up on the internet.

Then you can take it from place to place. The chickens do bug control and also fertilize at the same time.

i just keep mine inside, you can train them to use a littler box or a news paper.

NORMALY you dont need a rooster for hens to lay. Our recent bunch of hens lay without one. In the past we have bought 25 chicks, all were hens and none of them laid untill we traded 5 of them for a rooster. It is the exception in my experience, but it can happen.