Posted on 04/07/2016 12:11:07 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Many urban homeowners increasingly desire to keep small flocks of chickens in their backyards, and with good cause. There is no reason every family in this country that can run a flock of chickens in their backyard should not. This perfectly logical and reasonable habit—backyard chicken farming—has been buried under a great deal of hipster elitism (from many of the backyard chicken farmers themselves) and sneering derision (from their critics). Please try to ignore these detractors. If you can play host to backyard chickens, you should.
It is, in many urban localities, easier said than done. This normal and praiseworthy practice, which has been gaining ground in many cities across the country, has come under fire from both pearl-clutching busybodies and incompetent health inspectors and animal welfare agents, all of whom are under the impression that backyard chicken farming is both frightening and dangerous....
(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalist.com ...
When we raise critters for food we name them things like yummy yummy. Started that when kids were little, we never named the food animals but kids would insist so we let them name them appropriate names and reminded them daily we (or someone) was going to eat that critter. Never had a problem but we didn’t let them make pets of them either, we always had more than enough critters for pets though.
[[My neighbor got himself some chickens, but they’re never home, they LIVE over here and leave “deposits” EVERYWHERE!]]
Lol my neighbor did too- but we enjoy the chicken- it follows family members around all day long-
[[One especially is a pest because if she sees us heading for the car she will run up to it and squat down like she wants to go for a ride!]]
Lol same here-
[[ne day my husband left the car windows down to let some fresh air in and the darn thing flew up into it!]]
Yup- gotta be careful about leaving windows open- The poo is ok on tar, cement etc- and wil l dry quickly and can be swept away- but if it gets on wood or seats or whatever, it will do a number on it
[[the only problem is they make too much freaking noise, LOL!]]
Ye- they are loud and noisy- they do supposedly make good ‘watch fouls’ alerting to any disturbance-
[[Had 25 of 25 chickens get pulled through chicken wire by raccoons.]]
Our neighbor got a few chickens two years ago- all died but one- it refuses to go in it’s coop- and roosts in a tree- somehow it’s survived for two years- soemthign did get ahold of it, and it lost a lot of feathers- but it survived- and is doing well now-
Two weeks ago i heard my first racoon sounds (When they really get going- they make soem really wierd noises)
it sounded like 5 different animals- First like a dog- barking- then it changed to sound like monkeys- then it growled and you would have swore it was a cougar if you didn’t know what was making the noise, then it sounded like two pigs fighting- then it completely changed it’s sound to more like a raccoon chitterign away
It was wierd- and had I heard it after dark in the woods- I’da been freaked out not knowing what it was lol- I almost began to believe in chupacabra at that point lol
wow- that sounded like a rabid skunk- very unusual behavior to say the least- especially after seeing you and not being afraid- Skunks are pretty brazen and don’t spook too easily, but they will avoid people if healthy if possible-
Salamander, thank you so much for sharing your poultry stories. I especially liked the ducks/skunk one. I grew up on an old fashioned subsistence farm. We had hundreds of laying hens and sold the eggs commercially.
Also had two flocks of bantam chickens that ran loose and roosted in the apple orchard. Each flock consisted of one rooster and 4-5 hens. All members of each flock resembled each other in color/pattern. I don’t remember any baby bantams - guess the foxes, hawks etc. got them. Those beautiful little adult banties were just exquisite - like moving toys.
Thanks for that description. I've seen large chicken coops when driving through the country on the way to my brother's ranch. There are many poor folks apparently living in poverty in wooden frame houses along these roads. Very sad. Most all of them have chicken coops with chickens running amok.
I've heard folks describe these people as ignorant country hicks, but they're all nice folks I'm sure. There is even a very old wooden frame country church that has a chicken coop behind it. These chicken eggs provide good meals for these people. I'm glad for that!
A friend of mine just outside Burleson does this, seems like a handy way to get fresh eggs.
[[I grew up on an old fashioned subsistence farm.]]
We weren’t quite a subsistence farm, but we did need to raise them for cheaper food/eggs/milk (goats- YUK!) lamb, geese, ducks, chickens, pigs etc- to get by- most of the animals were’ free range’ (except the goats- they were mean and would attack people lol- so we kept em in pens-
We had banties too- they could be kinda mean too- but yeah- they were cool looking-
The risk from random birds is probably zero.
The primary risk is great clusters of birds, especially over dry soil, like chicken coops, and bat caves.
Ocular H. disease is not common.
Usually, Histoplasmosis attacks the lungs, and produces flu like symptoms.
Anyway, just trying to point out that great ideas are not always 100% great.
They are nasty in that they crap anytime, anywhere.
Other than that, they are wonderful. Give them all your kitchen waste to eat, let them roam free and eat the weeds and bugs, and you will be rewarded with eggs and quirky personalities.
That’s too bad!
In the small town where I live—inside the city limits!!— you’re allowed one major livestock animal for every two acres. There are horses, cows, and donkeys grazing in front yards just a couple of blocks from the courthouse.
You can have as many chickens and roosters as you like, if your neighbors don’t mind. Goats, too.
The city doesn’t get involved unless a neighbor complains. That almost never happens. My neighbor’s horse wandered into my yard and started munching my apple tree. I just called the neighbor. No need to get the city involved.
It's a shame that all of those guys great great grand fathers weren't all killed in the courtyard at the Alamo. They'd have never been your neighbors.
It's a shame that all of those guys great great grand fathers weren't all killed in the courtyard at the Alamo. They'd have never been your neighbors.
Apparently you didn’t notice that this is not a political thread. Please go find one.
ok, lol, but just had to get some wit in here/132
(...do you think the defenders at the alamo had chicken coops or couldn’t cuz they were putting to good use all the chicken coop wire at the walls??)
[insert image of giant hen eating a Volkswagen here]
I have no idea what you are talking about.
I seriously doubt that the defenders of the Alamo had any chicken coop wire.
Chicken Lady - The Kids In The Hall
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=chicken+woman+KIDS+IN+THE+HALL&&view=detail&mid=CC91B8825FCAC1E49196CC91B8825FCAC1E49196&FORM=VRDGAR
(of course they did, they had better wire back then/not made in china/it even deflected cannan shot)
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