Back yard chickens?

GARANDNUT · 08-29-2011, 12:44 PM

We have decided to try raising a couple(2 at first). We need chickens that are quite, docile, hardy and good egg layers. They have to be able to deal with wet cold winters and hot summers of east TN. We have narrowed our selection down to the Australorp and Orpington(hens only). We will coup them with limited free ranging.

We are looking at this coop:

I know it is expensive but it is small, discrete, durable, gets good reviews and looks like my kids play ground equipment so it wont raise eyebrows like a hen house or some other home made structure and I don't have room for a make shift tool shed or dog kennel.

I am in a neighborhood so they need to be confined. Do you guys have any suggestions? Do any of you have any experience with these breeds?

Any advice would help.

thanks

Sanders · 08-29-2011, 01:04 PM

That's a fancy coop!

Just know that they get noisy when they squeeze out their eggs.

aviator · 08-29-2011, 01:19 PM

Any suggestions?....sure......chicken and rice cuban style..

hangfire · 08-29-2011, 01:37 PM

I have Rhode Island Reds. Good layers and hardy in the winter. If it gets really cold like below 20 degrees, a small heat lamp is all they need. Also get a heated water fount for winter. Just don't let 'em drink beer frickin lushes.

Czubek · 08-29-2011, 01:56 PM

There are really no quiet chickens, but some are quieter than others. We have a Barred Rock that seems pretty quiet and the one Buff Orpington is quiet. Although, they do make noise when laying. Whatever you do, don't get a Rhode Island Red rooster...

I'll message you a link to a good poultry forum.

Brian

Pogo · 08-29-2011, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Czubek

Whatever you do, don't get a Rhode Island Red rooster...
Brian

I was getting ready to suggest that or Leghorns.

hangfire · 08-29-2011, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Whatever you do, don't get a Rhode Island Red rooster...

You don't need a rooster if you just want eggs. My city doesn't allow roosters.

Czubek · 08-29-2011, 04:05 PM

We bought a bunch of chicks that were supposed to all be females, but one turned out to be a noisy rooster. We kept him after debating on whether to get rid of him. Owell, he gives the girls something to do in their off time.

G'Nut, you do realize that you have to move that tractor every day, so they can tear up the whole yard equally and not just one spot.

Brian

hangfire · 08-29-2011, 04:11 PM

Quote:

We bought a bunch of chicks that were supposed to all be females,

Same with me. got a rooster in the bunch. Had him for about 8 months till I got rid of him, then the neighbors bitched cause they liked hearing him in the morning. Go figure.

Sanders · 08-29-2011, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Czubek

We bought a bunch of chicks that were supposed to all be females, but one turned out to be a noisy rooster. We kept him after debating on whether to get rid of him. Owell, he gives the girls something to do in their off time.

G'Nut, you do realize that you have to move that tractor every day, so they can tear up the whole yard equally and not just one spot.

Brian

Got one like that, too. Trained him to roost on my shoulder while I sat out on the porch in the evenings. Lived in town, at the time, so when he started crowing, I gave him to my sister. First day there, he beat the hell out of a chicken hawk.

Czubek · 08-29-2011, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hangfire

Same with me. got a rooster in the bunch. Had him for about 8 months till I got rid of him, then the neighbors bitched cause they liked hearing him in the morning. Go figure.

I'm getting used to hearing him crow first at first light. I could understand why they miss it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanders

Got one like that, too. Trained him to roost on my shoulder while I sat out on the porch in the evenings. Lived in town, at the time, so when he started crowing, I gave him to my sister. First day there, he beat the hell out of a chicken hawk.

I've heard of others that have trained them for that. The one we have is a coop only boy and he seems quite content to stay that way. I could understand how he could hurt a chicken hawk, just by the size alone.

Here's a great link to use, too: http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenders...ks/chooks.html

Brian

GARANDNUT · 08-29-2011, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Czubek

G'Nut, you do realize that you have to move that tractor every day, so they can tear up the whole yard equally and not just one spot.

Brian

I am going to build a boxed in raised bed area near my garden to put the coop and run on. I am debating on a substrate but for now I will use soil covered with aspen mulch. I am thinking about something like this:

or this

10 Bears · 08-29-2011, 09:05 PM

GARANDNUT? I just don't know what to recommend.
Aside from a coop style that I've never encountered.
I reckon your hens will be the most pampered in the neighborhood.
I hope they lay long and are very hardy.

I still have a big hen house.
Told the wife that I had no desire to tend critters in the Winter any more.

Czubek · 08-30-2011, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GARANDNUT

I am going to build a boxed in raised bed area near my garden to put the coop and run on. I am debating on a substrate but for now I will use soil covered with aspen mulch. I am thinking about something like this:

or this

I see what you're doing. The only problem I can see is making sure the bedding is kept clean and as odor free as possible.

s stink to high heaven if the bedding isn't right. We use a system where the bedding is pine shavings layered so it only needs cleaned out once or twice a year. We put a bed of about three inches to start and build on that as needed. Right now it's about a foot deep. It will self compost the manure and there is almost zero odor, even in the heat of summer. It's healthier for the birds, too. A side benefit is that it helps warm the coop in winter, if it's started in the spring or early summer. We'll clean it all out in spring and start over.

This is just something to think about and a big reason for the tractor idea. Moving it around will keep the odor to a minimum.

Here are some tractor ideas. Sometimes, with a little creativity, you can hide them quite well.
http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/tractors.html
http://www.backyardchickens.com/chic...p-tractor.html

Portable chicken tractor coop or duck pen - Duckingham Palace - YouTube

Brian

Preacher · 08-30-2011, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GARANDNUT

We need chickens that are quite, docile, hardy and good egg layers. They have to be able to deal with wet cold winters and hot summers of east TN.

Our climate is similar to yours and we always did well with Golden Comets. They are a Rhode Island Red crossed with something else, which the name escapes me right now. Gentle & friendly, quiet, and the colder it gets, the better they lay.

We had a winter a while back where it was -36*. We had 24 hens and got 25 eggs that morning. I guess the rooster laid one.

Large, huge brown eggs!!!

Easy to tell apart, even from chicks. Roosters are white, hens are red. They definitely fit the criteria you are looking for.

08-29-2011, 12:44 PM	#1
GARANDNUT Pontificator Maximus Join Date: May 2006 Location: between the hills Posts: 8,733	Back yard chickens? We have decided to try raising a couple(2 at first). We need chickens that are quite, docile, hardy and good egg layers. They have to be able to deal with wet cold winters and hot summers of east TN. We have narrowed our selection down to the Australorp and Orpington(hens only). We will coup them with limited free ranging. We are looking at this coop: I know it is expensive but it is small, discrete, durable, gets good reviews and looks like my kids play ground equipment so it wont raise eyebrows like a hen house or some other home made structure and I don't have room for a make shift tool shed or dog kennel. I am in a neighborhood so they need to be confined. Do you guys have any suggestions? Do any of you have any experience with these breeds? Any advice would help. thanks

08-29-2011, 01:04 PM	#2
Sanders Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 66,512	That's a fancy coop! Just know that they get noisy when they squeeze out their eggs. __________________ "The truly dangerous man dresses inconspicuously and is soft- spoken. He walks away from most confrontations. The only time you learn that the truly dangerous man is mad at you is a split second before you die, for he never fights. He only kills. The truly dangerous man knows that fighting is what children do and killing is what men do." - Charley Reese 1986 3

08-29-2011, 01:19 PM	#3
aviator unum de multis Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bunker's Headquarters. Posts: 52,456	Any suggestions?....sure......chicken and rice cuban style.. __________________ "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Pesident Ronald Reagan

08-29-2011, 01:37 PM	#4
hangfire Home on the range Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: S. Indiana Posts: 17,283	I have Rhode Island Reds. Good layers and hardy in the winter. If it gets really cold like below 20 degrees, a small heat lamp is all they need. Also get a heated water fount for winter. Just don't let 'em drink beer frickin lushes. __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure of the universe" -Albert Einstein-

08-29-2011, 01:56 PM	#5
Czubek slug Join Date: May 2007 Location: Stover, Missouri Posts: 33,622	There are really no quiet chickens, but some are quieter than others. We have a Barred Rock that seems pretty quiet and the one Buff Orpington is quiet. Although, they do make noise when laying. Whatever you do, don't get a Rhode Island Red rooster... I'll message you a link to a good poultry forum. Brian __________________ 3 Here at the Dirty Dozen's Bunker, we have no problems, only solutions.

08-29-2011, 04:05 PM	#8
Czubek slug Join Date: May 2007 Location: Stover, Missouri Posts: 33,622	We bought a bunch of chicks that were supposed to all be females, but one turned out to be a noisy rooster. We kept him after debating on whether to get rid of him. Owell, he gives the girls something to do in their off time. G'Nut, you do realize that you have to move that tractor every day, so they can tear up the whole yard equally and not just one spot. Brian

08-29-2011, 09:05 PM	#13
10 Bears Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: E-Da-How Posts: 137,846	GARANDNUT? I just don't know what to recommend. Aside from a coop style that I've never encountered. I reckon your hens will be the most pampered in the neighborhood. I hope they lay long and are very hardy. I still have a big hen house. Told the wife that I had no desire to tend critters in the Winter any more.