Glenn Cottage Eggery Rebuilding!

[rebbetzin]

We have a 20' clearance also. I just barely made it to the side neighbor's house.

Mary

Yes, me too, the coop is a big 25ft from the house behind me.
Just perfect! And that neighbor loves chickens!

 

[rebbetzin]

Agree with your decision. I'd be shocked if it was a male..

Well, yesterday after giving it much thought, I gave the chicken to my neighbor across the street that has more chickens. This chicken was sort of sad, being all alone. And it will be at least a month before I get chicks, and then another couple of months before I could introduce this chicken to any new chicks...
So, I think it will be better for the chicken to have more chickens to interact with on a daily basis. Right now it is in a good sized wire cage where the other chickens can get to know it, without any "fights" going on. I will for sure post photos when I have the coop up and going with new chicks.

This is as far as I got last week.

And another consideration on not keeping this chicken was Cherokee. He had never seen a chicken before,

and since I am working in another area of the yard I can't supervise him well enough around the chicken pen. And if I put him in the house while I worked, he would bug my husband to let him out to the point my husband was not able to get anything done either. I think it will be better for all of us for the chicken to be across the street.

 

[baymule]

I am so happy for you. Finally you can have chickens again. I love having chickens so much, just can't imagine not being able to have my chickens. I gave most of mine away when we moved, but I kept a few favorites, then got chicks after moving.

To get Cherokee acclimated to your chickens, start with the baby chicks. I had my dogs lay down and put a chick on them, praised them and gradually they learned to accept the chickens. My GP Paris, was another story since she was given to us for her chicken killing habit. It was baby chicks and their chick feed that finally won her over. Cherokee is smart and he will soon learn that those wonderful squeaky toys belong to Mommy and Daddy and he shouldn't play with them.

 

[catjac1975]

With the new zoning, we can have 24 chickens! But I have room for only six. And since it it just the two of us, six hens are plenty. Last time I was able to sell enough eggs to cover my feed cost! I was without chickens for about two years now.

I am so happy for you. Our town voted to be farm friendly. A real chicken farmer had nothing but trouble with the neighbors over raising meat birds for sale. This is a rich town. Everybody wants, organic, local and of course cheap food. Just not next door to them. The farmer has permission to raise 400 chickens a year and slaughter on premises. Big fight with neighbors. He did not even need the town's permission because he had followed all of the state laws carefully, is licensed by the state. He just went through the motions with the town to try to get people on board with his idea. So far he seems to be scratching out a living.

 

[Smart Red]

It sometimes seems that folks have blinders on when it comes to their food. Meat comes from the grocery store and is packaged for sale. Meat does not come from farm where it is raised or grown for human consumption nor from slaughter houses or butcher shops.

Cat, your poor farmer will never change the community unless he starts raising his chickens as pet layers (and sells his slaughtered birds in some other town). Organic, local, and cheap mean nothing if they can see (or think they know) the process is taking place.

 

[catjac1975]

It sometimes seems that folks have blinders on when it comes to their food. Meat comes from the grocery store and is packaged for sale. Meat does not come from farm where it is raised or grown for human consumption nor from slaughter houses or butcher shops.

Cat, your poor farmer will never change the community unless he starts raising his chickens as pet layers (and sells his slaughtered birds in some other town). Organic, local, and cheap mean nothing if they can see (or think they know) the process is taking place.

It was just the neighbors that gave him a hard time. He bought an old house and gutted it in a TERRIBLE neighborhood. He is selling his fresh chicken very well. He sells "warm" eggs for $8 a dozen. That being todays eggs. Rich people.

 

[ducks4you]

Yeah, do it, just not next door.
I agree with the "organic, but cheap."
I like to butcher mine because I know exactly what went into my meat.
I'm always experimenting. I ordered and raised up some Dark Cornish this Fall. After butchering, I put 5 in with my 5 EE layers and 2 Silver Laced Wyandotte layers. I still want to eat two more of the roosters, but I think 3 roosters/7 hens should give me enough fertilized eggs for this year's butchering. I know that meat birds or 1/2 meat birds don't lay as well, but I can buy my 2017 layers from Rural King and see them through their first winter with a handful of roosters. You know how it is, the commercial coop says you can keep 15 in it, but that really means 12.
It's been a pain in the neck to merge the flocks. I had to shut them all in several times after the biddies had kicked out the NOW 4 1/2 mo rooster chicks, then I'd have to net them and put them inside. I still keep checking the coop every night when I feed my horses, but they seem to be settling in nicely. I just couldn't leave the roosters outside of the coop when the whid chills were approaching 10 degrees below zero F.
I'm expecting that this year's chicks will probably be dark feathered, and I my keep a few of hens from this year's incubating, through 2017.
SO Happy for you @rebittzen!!!!