I would definitely do this if we lived a bit upstate! I think the kids would absolutely love it... and since we make omelets every morning together, we sure could use the eggs!
Would you ever consider raising chickens in your backyard?
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Yes! But only for the eggs. We eat a ton of eggs and probably would be nice to go out to our yard to get some fresh eggs whenever we need it. I'm not too sure about having chickens. I want the eggs without the pet part. LOL!
The other issue is we don't own a house yet, but I would definitely look into it when we buy a home.
Although, from what I heard and researched, having chickens to lay eggs doesn't save you that much money.
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@bluestriped bee: Yah we would mostly do it for the kids. My mom raises chickens at her bed & breakfast in the Philippines, and kids love them. You have to be careful though, because chickens do peck (and crap everywhere). You get a endless bounty of fresh eggs though!
Too many people stole her eggs though, so she switched to turkeys.
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@mrbee: Oh, yeah. That's what I need... a neighbor with chickens!
Well, I definitely wouldn't steal them.
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No, because I don't ever plan on living in the country. Having tons of fresh eggs sounds great though!
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Nope. We aren't big egg eaters and chickens kind of freak me out. And they are dirty. Sorry to my future kiddos but chickens in the back yard is a joy they will never have.
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I actually have. Our chickens weren't great at giving us eggs and they were so smelly. If DH was really into it I would be willing to do it again if we ever had the space.
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I love chickens, apparently I had one as a toddler -- but unless it was guaranteed that I wouldn't have to clean up after it, then no, not a chance! I wouldn't be able to live with the smell. I'd play with it, collect eggs, but I can't clean it's super stinky poop, even if it's excellent fertilizer!
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I'm not a fan of birds but would definitely consider raising chickens for the eggs!
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Taking care of the chickens sounds like the perfect kid job! I doubt it'd fly with our HOA, but as soon as we move to a more rural area, I'm all over it.
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Haha, my parents have had chickens since I was 4 or 5 years old, usually between 3-4. They're pretty low-maintenance and the eggs are amazing!
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Maybe - if we had a huge yard. It seems ideal but I know they are supposed to be a bit smelly. I'd want them away from the house. Also, a few families in town raise chickens and their neighbors have a big problem with it and complain all the time. I'd have to have an area that doesn't butt up against someone's living space. I hate neighbor conflict!
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@JerricaBenton: Oh man, having a next-door neighbor with a chicken coup would be the ultimate torture! You hear and smell them but don't get any eggs or chicken cuddles!!!
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Fresh eggs all the time would be amazing! Getting dh to go for it is my issue though. I know it's allowed where we live because we do have a neighbor with chickens. And we do have a good sized back yard. But he doesn't want them
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No, never. My grandpa raises chicken and I hate them with a passion. They're loud, messy, mean and I don't like eggs.
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I grew up with a few chickens and now DH and I have about 10 chickens and 8 ducks. We live on 5 acres, so we figured, why not? They are mostly for eggs, but we also enjoy just watching them roam around the yard. When LO is older we plan to get some chicks for him to raise.
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Never! I don't want that noise and mess in my backyard!
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No. Chickens are so dirty
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I want someone who lives 1/2 mile away who has tons of eggs, so I can just buy eggs off them.
But no, they smell, their poop is disgusting (and gets everywhere), and they're loud. Cute when they're little bitty, though.
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DH really wants to but I keep veto-ing the idea. I don't want chickens for the same reason I don't want pigs - the smell!
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I concur that chickens are loud and dirty/messy (personal experience)!!
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We have backyard pet chickens :). We have 4 Hens, 1 Rooster, and 2 Ducks. We have neighbors but we own a good chunk of the lots on our street so we only have 1 nieghbor sort of next to us.
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I told my husband I wanted to and he said no way! I had a bad experience with a rooster once, so he'd probably have to take care of them. We can't have them here though, it's in our deed restrictions.
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I am dying to. Unfortunately, our city has a bylaw against it that they refuse to overturn, despite considerable pressure. Boo
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We've had 2 chickens as pets (I when I was little; and one my parents had for about 7 years until she died a few months ago).
Both chickens were very sweet - loved to sit in laps and be petted, would eat from your hands, etc. They were both really easy to take care of too.
Chickens in groups can be mean though!
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@Mrs.B: haha Oh my gosh! They're so cute, how do they see anything with that FRINGE??
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They're so freaking adorable!
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@Mrs.B: They're so cute! Your grass isn't all torn to pieces either, do you have to move them a lot or do they just not scratch? Do the pet chickens give many eggs?
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@Mrs.B: love! We used to have silkies and polish and they were so cute!
This is one of our engagement photos
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@duckduckkristen: @Mrs.B: same here, had them as a kid- so sweet and soft! I loved my chickies
All your pics are cute!
Although we have some urban chicken laws, I would want a more rural house before I got chickens again. I miss them, they have great personalities!
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I would love too! Our friends have chickens and their kids love them. Maybe when we have a backyard.
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my dad has chickens so I think it's totally normal! My littlest sister LOVES them and calls herself "the chicken girl" hahaha!! My dad was careful to explain chickens aren't pets, we eat their eggs and eventually eat them and she was okay with that - but she did get two "pet" chickens (the kind that aren't reliable layers and not meat chickens). She is so funny.
If we ever own a house with a little land we'll probably get chickens. They're super low maintenance.
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@Maysprout: The pic is from when they were young. They free range now so our grass is fine. We usually get 1 egg a day.
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@duckduckkristen: omg!!!!! love it!
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@Mrs.B: my sister had silkies as her "pets" too!
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Yes! DH wants them. Our yard is big enough for for them so we might consider it soon.
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I'd love to raise silkies, aurucanas, and pekin ducks... But first, got to get myself a back yard!
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yep, when we buy a house, we will be looking for land to be able to have chickens!
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My mom has chickens! At first I thought she was crazy but I love having the fresh eggs! She also has kids from church come over and help, and learn about the chickens. They absolutely love it! I hope she will keep raising them so our kids can enjoy too.
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We've thought about it. Our current yard/subdivision situation isn't the right place for 'urban chickens', plus we have two big dumb dogs that would torture the poor chickies. Maybe in the future we'd consider it if we moved to a bigger space.
Well, I definitely wouldn't steal them.
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