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chicken coops

Yesterday afternoon Bobby and I took a tour of some of the beltline's chicken coops. I think there were actually 20 on the map, but we got a late start and only had time for about 7. And I forgot my camera! I was so aggravated. But here's some of the cool things I learned:
  • chicken coops are designed for either the owner's convenience or the chicken's convenience (and one had both)
  • everyone has their own way of doing things (and their own reasons)
  • other than daily egg-gathering, they're not that high maintenance
  • the pecking order is a problem
  • a chicken "run" is just a penned in space where the chickens can literally run around
  • chickens lay eggs whenever they want to, not just in the morning
  • there's a slaughter house in Orange County for small flock owners that will kill and clean the chickens for you
  • there's actually a listserve for Triangle chicken owners

I don't know whether or not we'll get chickens, but it doesn't seem like as huge an undertaking like cows or horses. I do know if it ever does happen, it won't be this summer. I'm still adamant about not having a rooster. The dogs wake me up enough during the night without having some idiotic cock-a-doodle-do going off all night long. Plus I've heard too many stories about roosters being aggressive. Has anyone out there ever had chickens?

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Jennifer said…
we had them when I was little, but I don't know much about them. good luck! I sure wouldn't want anything waking me up either
May 18, 2008 at 8:15 PM
Lydia said…
My uncle and cousin are chicken farmers. I think they have one of the biggest in Georgia. It smells but it's not too bad. It's a lot of work but they take their vacations in between shipments of hatchlings. They have some really high-tech machinery for feeding, etc. It's neat to visit. My uncle is thinking of building a house on the same property as the chickens, so I guess he's not too worried about the noise or smell.
May 19, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Monica said…
I don't think we'd go quite that big...more like 5-10 chickens.
May 19, 2008 at 12:57 PM
Unknown said…
I grew up with chickens, and was wanting to get some for our little half-acre here, but our landlady isn't excited about it. I want Trey to grow up taking care of animals... so maybe we'll live somewhere where he can one day.
I remember one time when the meanest rooster spurred my little brother. In two winks my Daddy had him strung up and we tried to eat him for dinner that night. I remember my brother scolding him in the pot, telling him he shouldn't have done what he did, and he wouldn't be in such a fix. That bird was so tough and leathery we couldn't even chew it or hardly cut it. It's still a story we laugh about!
May 19, 2008 at 4:09 PM
sara said…
Candice has two chickens and a cute little (actually big) coop. When I was there one of them laid an egg- this is exciting stuff for a city girl! Hope you get some, then we can come for a field trip :)
May 20, 2008 at 1:03 PM
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