Keeping Chickens Safe

Mention the word predator to a backyard flock owner and they’ll likely conjure mental images of a hungry raccoon, fox, or owl carrying off a favorite hen  

 

Mini predators? They’re the tiny wild animals that don’t directly kill chickens but filch expensive feed, make a mess, and possibly introduce diseases and parasites Mice and House Sparrows are the major culprits, helped occasionally by starlings and rats

 

It’s probably impossible to completely eliminate these hungry animals, but there are ways to keep their numbers down The fewer sparrows and mice the safer the flock 

Trimming Feed Costs

Tending backyard chickens is both a delight and bargain Relative to the cost of buying and keeping a purebred dog or cat, chickens are equally fascinating animals that are relatively inexpensive to keep and come with a bonus Fresh eggs!

 

Just what does it cost to raise a clutch of chicks to the laying stage?  How can that cost be reduced?

 

Marion and Rich Patterson decided to keep track of costs They already had feeders, waterers, brooders, and a coop, so the costs listed below are the consumable ones for raising chicks to 20 weeks That’s about when they start laying

Chicken Care When You’re Away

For all their many benefits, a backyard chicken flock presents one problem for families who love to travel Chickens need care every day That’s impossible from a distant hotel or campsite Fortunately, there is a time in chicken maturity when traveling is easier It’s when the birds are maturing from adolescence into early adulthood

 

Baby chicks need constant vigilance They must be checked often every day The heat may need adjusting Small waterers and feeders quickly empty and need refilling, and sometimes a waterer tips over, soaking litter that needs to be replaced

Once in a while a chick dies and

This Chicken Predator Lives in the House

Anyone tending a backyard flock knows that hungry predators are eager to convert a hen, or even a whole flock, into lunch Raccoons, weasels, mink, foxes, and raptors are amazingly common even in suburban and urban areas Protecting chickens from these hungry animals requires keeping them securely locked up in a tight coop during the dark hours when most predators prowl

 

Many flock owners would be amazed to learn that a major chicken predator is probably the most common suburban animal If free ranging dogs can access chickens, they’ll often convert them into a lifeless bundle of feathers Nationally dogs

Neighbors Help Make Backyard Flocks Possible

Occasionally a friend visits us at Winding Pathways  He’s a retired professor of ornithology…a bird guy The first thing he does is “go visit our girls” These girls are our backyard chicken flock

 

Our chickens are attractions that entice friends here and are ambassadors of positive neighbor relations Our hens give us eggs while showing visitors how well these fascinating food producing animals fit into modern lives and suburban backyards

 

We live in an urban world A couple of generations ago most Americans grew up on farms or in small rural towns Although they now live in a modern suburb they

Urban Chickens

Families frustrated by ordinances banning backyard chickens might be astonished to learn that flocks legally thrive in the Big Apple, America’s largest city   Many New Yorkers tend chickens both in backyards and community gardens, encouraged and helped by the New York Chicken Guy, Greg Anderson   

 

“Chickens have always been allowed in the City  Years ago the State Department of Health declared  that chickens and rabbits are pets This means the citizens of New York City can keep them as long as they are clean and safe  Unfortunately roosters aren’t included since their crowing can reach

Adventures in Ordinance Change

During the past few years thousands of American families have started a backyard chicken flock Bringing a breakfast’s worth of fresh eggs into the house is as prideful and delicious as growing and enjoying home grown vegetables

 

Gardening is legal and encouraged everywhere But sadly, many towns have enacted ordinances banning chickens inside city limits Positive change is sweeping the nation   Town and city councils everywhere recognize that many citizens want to legally keep a small flock They are learning that it can be done without causing problems So, many towns have changed anti chicken ordinances to allow families to

Jersey Giants

They come with lustrous black, bright white, or blue feathers but Jersey Giants are really a mellow yellow chicken breed The reason goes back to the breed’s creation in the late 1800s

 

Back then, few families enjoyed chicken or turkey dinners for one reason It was expensive Birds of that long-ago era gobbled down plenty of food yet grew slowly

Raising them to market size was a slow and expensive process so, typically, chicken and turkey dinners were reserved for holiday meals and special meals served to guests

 

New Jersey chicken breeders John and Thomas Black were determined to make chicken a