My newest latest interest. Backyard chickens.

[TheCableVine]

I just read a book recently on raising chickens in your back yard. That is, if the city will allow it. My city limits a person (household) to 3 chickens. NO ROOSTERS. I understand the eggs taste way better than store eggs.

If I had room in my yard, I would raise some chickens. I'm considering building chicken coops and selling them to make a few extra dollars on the side.

Anyone got any experience in this area?

[paintitnow]

i just heard it on the radio tonight that chickens are the new "in" pet. If you raise them from a chick they will sit in your lap and let you pet them and actually follow you around. They suggest 3 chickens since chickens like company. The do not recommend roosters since neighbors might complain. also chickens seem to be happier without a rooster trying to rule the roost. Can take a couple months before they start laying eggs. They are great for eating bugs in the yard. They say not to feed the chickens just a grain diet. If you let them eat worms and bugs and some grains it makes a more healthier egg and better tasting.

[GroundScope]

Small world,

Check out our backyard Chooks (aussie slang for chickens) http://chookcam.com
We had these chickens since January and we are getting 3 eggs a day on average

I made an automatic feeder so yo can feed them online , But you need to make sure its daytime here otherwise nothing happens, If you get a black video its going to be night but you can see inside (IR view) with the middle chick icon
Its raining right now so the chickens are hiding unbder the coop, but if you press the feed button they will come stand infront of the camera

The feeder is a 12v car door solenoid - simple but effective. If your browser crashes Try firefox, for some reason IE on a PC & Safari on a Mac crash but the rest are OK,
If any IT geeks can see my problem in my HTML code I'd be real impressed.

If you said the Locating business here is real slow If Ive got time to set all that up you'd be spot on !!!

Have Fun

[ifinditunderground]

Cool, I checked it out, very interesting.

[UULC]

Too cool.

[Dave72]

Nice cam setup Groundscope !

I worked on a small farm for summer money during high school.. they had maybe 30 chickens in a coop. One of my jobs was to clean out the coop and remove the odd dead chicken. If a chicken starts to get weak, it seems like the others will peck it to death.. nasty.
The smell from 30 chickens isnt too nice. 3 chickens is probably ok.
For the eggs, its important that you collect fairly promptly. An egg is pushed out fairly hot, and the shell is thin. If the egg was laid with or has rolled over into poop.. the cooling egg can suck bacteria in thru the shell membrane where the air sack is. Just a quick wipe and into the bag will improve the odds of not getting any nasty stuff. (alternatively, fully cook your eggs ! no sunny side ups etc scrambled is always safest.)

[paintitnow]

I worked on an egg farm back in the mid 70's. Lasted only a few days. hundreds of chickens, the noise and the smell and the scanning back and forth looking for eggs gave me headaches. they have come a long way since then. use to have to shovel under the cages, now they have a conveyor belt and it cleans the dropping and everything and lowers the smell. chickens are dirty and yes if a chicken is weak or has an open sore the other chickens peck at it.

[RD_Wrangler]

Correct me if I'm wrong...but I always thought a rooster being present was kinda mandatory for the hens to be able to lay eggs...you said no roosters Steve?

[Wingfoot]

Correct me if I'm wrong...but I always thought a rooster being present was kinda mandatory for the hens to be able to lay eggs...you said no roosters Steve?

Hey RD - Hens lay eggs no matter what. Laying age for hens is approximately 18 weeks. Roosters are needed if fertilized eggs are desired by the egg producer. In fact, if you want eggs for food, you want unfertilized eggs. If you want baby chicks, you must have a rooster with the flock.

A fertilized egg it is still edible. The fertilized egg won't become a chick unless the hen incubates it or you choose to incubate it. If you collect your eggs daily, there will be no chance of the fertilized egg growing to be a chick.

Most eggs sold in grocery stores are laid by hens who have never been near a rooster. On the reverse side, the eggs you buy at the local farmers market or roadside stand are most likely fertilized. This does not add to or change the quality or nutrition value of the egg in any way.

A fertilized egg takes about 48 to 72 hours under ideal temperatures and 80% humidity to start forming the embryo. It takes 21 days of incubation for a baby chick to emerge from the shell.

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[TheCableVine]

[Utilitrack]

If you have tick issues around your house, hens will help out the situation.