Mrs DF eventually wore me down and through progressive nudging, I caved. I think we are in our third season with them. They've kind of grown on me. They have little personalities. lol Mrs DF talks to them like little children. She feeds them warm breakfast in the winter. Here's the kicker.....she made me build a roof structure OVER their pen and coop! You know, so the little darlings don't have to get wet in the rain.

We bought 8 chicks two weeks ago....they are currently under the heat lamp in the garage, as it's about 30 outside, but I need to get started building a coop and a pen. I was kinda waiting to see if any survived, but they seem to be coming along nicely.

The kids have also been doing a good job of living up to their end of the bargain and caring for them...we'll see how long that lasts.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
Keeping chickens is easy.

and

What you can't do is beat the taste and quality of homegrown, pasture fed, fresh eggs. Absolutely no comparison.

No question about it, plus they are a hoot.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
I've always kind of wanted to try chickens, and I could do it where I am now. I would be a little worried about predators, though. We are kind of out in the woods.

What is wrong with soy foods?

You’re probably established enough in your life that you don’t have to worry about turning into a soy boy. If there are no young kids in the house who might be turned into soy boys it probably doesn’t matter.

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:
Check farm auctions for old chicken coops and nesters, buy the rest (feeders and waterers) at Farm & Feet or TSC.

If you buy used stuff, i think it's a good idea to spray them down with chlorine to kill off any disease that may infect your chickens.

We have 5 in the backyard (#6 turned out to be a rooster so he was given away). They are very social, and mostly enjoyable. When I was building the nester that attached to the side of the coop, one would hop up on my workbench in the backyard and investigate the tools.

We clean up their droppings daily. It’s the worst part, but not all that bad.

quote:

Originally posted by djinco:
....
Then there's the feed. Non-GMO, Non-Soy, Organic. I bet that stuff is not cheap.
....

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
....
What is wrong with soy foods?

quote:

Originally posted by djinco:
....
The GMO, soy issue is because my wife had advance stage ovarian cancer and soy is a phytoestrogen (bad stuff for ovarian cancer) so it's not that we are yuppies!
....

Just to follow up a bit. It doesn't matter to me which feed you choose to go with. Cheap vs. expensive ends up with pretty much the same results.

I did a bit of digging because I questioned what happened at the egg when GMO or non-GMO food is fed to chickens. From the short amount of time I spent, it would appear the answer is, "feed either, the egg produced is the same."

From what I read, the chickens in the US aren't GMO. The changes that have occurred to "meat birds" came through breeding.

I am going to add some links that discuss GMO feed vs non-GMO feed, whether chickens should eat soy, and some explanation to the organic vs. cage free etc. descriptors on egg cartons.

In the end, do what you feel best for your dietary needs. A chicken given the chance, will eat a pretty varied diet. One place that might cause concern is how the ingredients for the food are grown/treated prior to becoming the food and whether or not it had pesticides applied.

GMO FEED: DO CHICKENS EAT GMO FEED? IS THERE ANY RISK TO CONSUMERS WHO CONSUME CHICKEN THAT WAS RAISED ON A GMO FEED DIET? -- #3 addresses GMO vs non-GMO and the eggs produced.

REAL EGGS ARE GMO FREE -- a bit old, but same message.

Should Chickens Eat Soy? -- soy discussion

The Truth Behind Egg & Chicken Labels -- discusses egg/chicken labels (again, a bit old, but message hasn't changed).

To sum up, GO FOR IT!! Set foot on a new path and see where it leads.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned, is that there is no requirement for a rooster to get eggs. In short the rooster's main job would be to protect the flock (and procreate). Rosters are vocal (there are ways to "mute" the crow, but I don't think a zip tie around the neck is a good solution). I can't speak to whether or not there is a taste difference between fertilized and non-fertilized eggs.

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
Here's the kicker.....she made me build a roof structure OVER their pen and coop! You know, so the little darlings don't have to get wet in the rain.

After we'd had chickens for a while, my wife wondered out loud where the saying "madder than a wet hen" came from, as ours would voluntarily stay out in the rain all day when we free-ranged them.

The coop door was open and they were free to come and go as they pleased. They always returned to the coop to lay and then would hop right back outside. They certainly looked miserable but didn't seem to mind it a bit.