Chickens are only annoying sometimes

[clare]

To deal with the chicken derail in the annoyance thread..





These were a couple of mine, actually the rooster was on loan, but the hen was ours. The girl in the background with the rooster is a Wyandotte.

[The_Tourist]

was the rooster for breeding? it's illegal to keep them around here because of the noise.

re: the egg question

bob dole is supposed to be an "easter egger," but we haven't gotten any eggs yet. we raised all four from about 2 weeks old and they should be laying by the end of the month.

right now they're just causing all the trouble they can.


rawr.

[Thermofusion]

Man I want chickens. Very jealous of y'alls chickens.

[ellaguru]

Here is a song by a band from my hometown, about our policy allowing four legal chickens per household within the city . Our neighbours had chickens.

[Anne the Man]

Aw, cool! I'll have to tell Mother to hurry up and get new chickens so I can post photos. (Also so I can scrounge eggs off her.) She's thinking of getting Plymouth Rock ones. Ooh gosh I didn't know they were so pretty!

[Bernard]

I want fresh eggs so flipping bad but worry about the mess/noise/smell of chooks -- off to see the other thread for poss info on this topic.

[clare]

was the rooster for breeding? it's illegal to keep them around here because of the noise.

The place I was living then was next to a laneway (so no near neighbour on that side), massive house blocks, and understanding neighbours. I'm not sure of the actual laws, but I know of a lot of urban roosters in Canb. I'm pretty sure that roosters are not allowed in other cities here though.

I haven't got chooks now. Larry'd eat them before we even let him out of the house.

[The_Tourist]

I want fresh eggs so flipping bad but worry about the mess/noise/smell of chooks -- off to see the other thread for poss info on this topic.

i haven't noticed any smell unless i literally climb into the coop, and even then it's kind of like an oversized hamster cage with the smell of wood shavings and a little poop. as far as noise, when they're actually popping out an egg, they can make some crazy noises (as i'm sure any of us would), but it's not nearly as loud or annoying as a rooster crowing or a pissed off dog. i generally enjoy the normal chicken sounds they make when i'm out in the yard. ours have free reign of the backyard during the day, so they do poop on the cement areas and enjoy hanging out on the steps by the back door (more poop), but the rain or a quick sweep takes care of it easily. portland just has a lot of flies, so that's a little annoying.

maybe just get a couple big layers (you'd end up at about a dozen eggs a week at their peak, i think)? there wont be much mess or stink and little kids love chickens.

[Bernard]

when they're actually popping out an egg, they can make some crazy noises (as i'm sure any of us would)

been there, done that

am looking into the social needs of chickens to find out the minimum number

[clare]

Two. More is better up to about 6 or 8 and then you basically sacrifice a couple to the pecking order.  :-(

[Bernard]

Aw, man! 

[dumbfish]

Yeah, we have a chicken tractor with three, and they seem as happy as or happier than the main coop with six. Had to isolate those three because they were raised with a rooster and adopted his aggressive ways. They're placid with one another, but complete assholes to the others. Mutually Assured Pecking, I guess.

Folks considering chickens: Make sure you have a plan for the birds' old age. Chickens live for up to 7 years, but they lay the great majority of their eggs in the first two. Our birds are all 2+, and we get ca. 45 eggs/week overall when the weather's good. I'd be inclined to cull, but my girlfriend has veto power, so we have some pet birds.

We don't let them roam the yard much. When we do, hawks line up in the trees at the edge of the yard, waiting for us to leave. One time a hawk got impatient and nailed a chicken with my girlfriend standing 10 feet away. She shooed it off, but the chicken was seriously hurt.

[Bernard]

Yeah, I looked into that. 45 is way too many eggs. I'd perfectly happy with an old lady who gave only the occasional egg here and there, she could live out her life as a pet. In fact I have wondered about looking for an older gal to adopt for that very reason, to keep production manageable.

[clare]

B, you could get an older one and a younger one (they really do need company). friends are always happy to take your eggs if you get too many, but with only 2 birds of varied ages you'd be looking at under a dozen a week... I say do it!!!

[Bernard]

Just gotta get the house locked down! They're being kind of shady, We're not sure if we're going to back out or what. 

[clare]

Oh no... I hate that bit of house buying. Here, there are no laws to protect buyers or sellers from the other party backing down, or selling to a third party EVEN AFTER YOU HAVE A VERBAL CONTRACT. (so, as a buyer,  you've got inspections done, gone to your lawyer with the contract, and they're negotiating with the vendor's lawyer, and the vendor sells the property to someone else, leaving you out of pocket for your expenses, and without a house). As a result, a lot of properties here are sold at auction, as the real estate agents realise that the practice makes them look bad.

It has improved slightly though.

[jess]

Someone should get a Polish Frizzle or two:




Bernard, you can tell your daughter it's Big Bird's miniature cousin.

[jess]

(Note: I know nothing about Polish Frizzles except they look awesome and apparently small as far as chickens go.)

[Bernard]

Small Bird!!!!! 

We had to pass on the house. Bummed, but also relieved. Just too many problems.

[dumbfish]

I don't know what's in the chicken feed in Poland, but I like it. Find a photo of a weird-lookin' chicken, and chances are, it's a Polish breed.

[Thermofusion]

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Cause he was TAKIN IT TO THE STREETS

[Thermofusion]

get it? cause the chicken kinda looks like michael mcdonald?

I hate you guys

[The_Tourist]

i rofl'd.

a dude was telling me a story about how he had a polish frizzle and 3-4 regular chickens. the regular chickens the the frizz was dumb (or were just jealous) and would pick on it by pulling out it's afro feathers.

they had to send it to a farm that has a special sanctuary for frizzled chicks.

[Dick]

frizzles have a tendency to get pecked the shit out of them by other chickens.  Plus also they're real popular with roosters who tend to tear out feathers when they doin they thang.  So they get it both ways.

When I was a kid it really bothered me how thoughtlessly murderous chickens were. 

Guineafowl I've always admired, they are ridiculously great at warding off snakes.

[Antero]

(Note: I know nothing about Polish Frizzles except they look awesome and apparently small as far as chickens go.)

and also sound like a quasi-fictional sex act.