• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

Urban Chickens

Status
Not open for further replies.

jamie

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
2,036
Real Name
Jamie
I've seen several articles and also heard a few segments on NPR about "urban chickens" and a renewed interest in keeping chickens in the city or a suburban yard :) I grew up in a rural area and we most always had chickens around (as well as ducks, geese and turkeys), but I don't have any now.

Are any of you poultry-keepers in the city or other "non-rural" area?
:D
 

piercesdesigns

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/17/09
Messages
2,068
Location
Greensboro, NC
Real Name
Debbie
I am just now getting started in this myself. We live in the city and are looking to get 3-4 hens.

He was getting a coop tractor...
Rooster Hill Farms, Inc - Home

The setup comes with 6 hens. I think that is too many for that space. We are looking to build an additional pen for roaming.
 

Kristy

Welcome to the Avenue!
Joined
10/14/09
Messages
7,822
I would love to do this, I even called the city.
They said too noisy...have they heard my house. LOL
 

GG.

Enjoy the small things
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
10/17/09
Messages
28,652
Location
gulf coast, alabama
Real Name
GG
I would love to do this, I even called the city.
They said too noisy...have they heard my house. LOL
was that for hens or roosters?

I live in a tiny town (less than 5,000 pop) and we are allowed up to 20 chickens but no roosters (because of the noise they make)
 

Kristy

Welcome to the Avenue!
Joined
10/14/09
Messages
7,822
Well I asked but they said that opens the door to other farm animals and they are not willing to go that route.......sigh.

I would love to have 5 chickens :)
 

GG.

Enjoy the small things
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
10/17/09
Messages
28,652
Location
gulf coast, alabama
Real Name
GG
Well I asked but they said that opens the door to other farm animals and they are not willing to go that route.......sigh.

I would love to have 5 chickens :)
that stinks! :(

I love having chickens, they are so much smarter than many people realize and so much fun to watch, plus 'yard eggs' are out of this world yummy
 

suncoast

Cruising the avenue
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
13,464
Location
Naples Florida
Real Name
Ginger
I would love to have chickens too, but I am afraid the hawks, gators and whatever killed Raja and Rameses would get them.

Ginger
 

jamie

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
2,036
Real Name
Jamie
That was always a problem with us growing up (and still is) Ginger ... coyotes, foxes, possums, and other predators were always getting to the hens and/or the eggs.
 

jamie

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
2,036
Real Name
Jamie
I am just now getting started in this myself. We live in the city and are looking to get 3-4 hens.

He was getting a coop tractor...
Rooster Hill Farms, Inc - Home

The setup comes with 6 hens. I think that is too many for that space. We are looking to build an additional pen for roaming.
it does look a little small ... all of the coop recommendations seem to start off small, from what I can tell.
 

jamie

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
2,036
Real Name
Jamie


that stinks! :(

I love having chickens, they are so much smarter than many people realize and so much fun to watch, plus 'yard eggs' are out of this world yummy
The biggest bonus for my parents having them now it that the chickesn eat bugs in the yard. :D They help to control ticks and other pests.
 

itzmered

Welcome to Parrotdise
Super Administrator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/27/09
Messages
25,728
Location
Minnesota
Real Name
Chris
We had chickens when we lived in the Suburbs right in town. Never even thought of asking if it was ok :D Sometimes it is easier to seek forgiveness than it is to ask permission in the first place ;)We had all hens and none of our neighbors ever complained. The neighborhood kids all loved them. We then moved to the country and I had chickens for years here too. Now I switched to the indoor much louder chickens :lol:
 

GG.

Enjoy the small things
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
10/17/09
Messages
28,652
Location
gulf coast, alabama
Real Name
GG
That was always a problem with us growing up (and still is) Ginger ... coyotes, foxes, possums, and other predators were always getting to the hens and/or the eggs.
it does look a little small ... all of the coop recommendations seem to start off small, from what I can tell.
The biggest bonus for my parents having them now it that the chickesn eat bugs in the yard. :D They help to control ticks and other pests.

the coop itself doesn't have to be huge - they are generally only in there to lay an egg or to roost at night

ours are in a large pen with 10 ft walls (it was built to hold a white tail deer originally) and we have had minimal problems with predators

the big thing is to collect the eggs daily to not attract unwelcome guests like snakes and possums



they and the ducks have made a big difference in the insect population :)
 

jamie

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
2,036
Real Name
Jamie







the coop itself doesn't have to be huge - they are generally only in there to lay an egg or to roost at night

ours are in a large pen with 10 ft walls (it was built to hold a white tail deer originally) and we have had minimal problems with predators

the big thing is to collect the eggs daily to not attract unwelcome guests like snakes and possums



they and the ducks have made a big difference in the insect population :)
Oh yeah, true, but some of the coops I've seen advertised are "permanent homes" and they assume that the hens won't be free-ranging.
 

GG.

Enjoy the small things
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
10/17/09
Messages
28,652
Location
gulf coast, alabama
Real Name
GG
that's sad - they need a little room to move around

several years ago the local paper ran an article on 'backyard chickens' and they had directions for a moveable coop and enclosed run - it was designed for 2 -4 game chickens which are a little smaller than the regular ones - it was neat though because it was portable and saved the grass :)
 

piercesdesigns

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/17/09
Messages
2,068
Location
Greensboro, NC
Real Name
Debbie
We won't really be able to free-range our chickens so we want to get a coop tractor. Which is what I linked to. It would allow us to move it around in the yard.

I am going back and forth about this. I am beginning to wonder if we would be better off building a more permanent coop with a run.

I have the need to be sure I do this right, NWIM?
 

Sky

Strolling the yard
Avenue Veteran
Joined
3/18/11
Messages
90
Location
Florida
I love chickens! I'd love to have some one day. I can't have any free range unfortunately :( Too many predatory birds, coons, foxes, probably coyotes.
 

Shade

Crazy for Pois!
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/19/09
Messages
32,212
Location
Ontario, Canada
Real Name
Natacha
I did already think of owning a chicken or two when I had a house for the eggs - however, my city doesn't allow it so it's a mute point :(
 

Holiday

Mac Mama
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
17,005
Location
Ohio
We won't really be able to free-range our chickens so we want to get a coop tractor. Which is what I linked to. It would allow us to move it around in the yard.

I am going back and forth about this. I am beginning to wonder if we would be better off building a more permanent coop with a run.

I have the need to be sure I do this right, NWIM?
If it were me, Debbie, and I had the space, I'd build a permanent coop with as large a pen as I could manage and let the hens out for supervised jaunts beyond the pen. More space is always better (both inside and out). Those coop tractors are really not large enough (not for the hens to move around, not for someone to really keep chickens). They're fine if you've also got a coop and pen for them, but not alone, IMO.
 

piercesdesigns

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/17/09
Messages
2,068
Location
Greensboro, NC
Real Name
Debbie
I guess I am getting started. This was unexpected...

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top