Anyone have chickens?

[on:]

 
I want chickens! They're so cool and interesting! I really want a japanese phoenix. Their tails! Omg so pretty!
There's a person here in town that sells chickens, so I'm thinking about getting like 3 of them! Seriously!
>^.^<

[Reply #1 on:]

I knew someone that had 8 chickens in her backyard. They had soooo many eggs LOL.

[Reply #2 on:]

I just had to google them, their tails are something else.  The chickens across the street definitely don't compare to the Japanese Phoenix.  I wish I knew more about care for them hopefully someone here can help you out.

[Reply #3 on:]

wow! they are a pretty chicken , if chicken can be known as pretty.LOL

[Reply #4 on:]

I raised chickens as a kid and found that they are very easily killed by wild animals and dogs. They need a safe place to live. I built a chicken coop out of brick and made sure that they had a dry/warm place for winter and a cool shaded home for summer. I fed them chicken feed from the local Agway.

FOOD AND WATER: Birds should have fresh clean accessible water at all times, and fresh food. Food and water bowls should be cleaned (not just refilled) every day and refilled. Birds NEED GREENS: greenleaf lettuce is especially favored! Any dark green leafy. Chickens like (and need) greens, tomatoes, grains and seeds. They also like treats like cooked spaghetti. They also like to peck at whole green cabbages. They also love ripe melons and bananas and grapes.

BUY A CHICKEN HANDBOOK:. A few books are listed at http://upc-online.org/home.html

STRAW or other bedding should always be fresh, clean and fluffy. Droppings should be scooped up with a spackling knife every day and thrown outside the yard into a designated compost area.

 KEEP BIRDS SAFE: Birds should always be counted and locked up safe from predators at night. They should be fenced in the yard during the day.

Protection
Many wild animals like to eat chickens. If there is a place on your coop where you can reach in and grab a chicken, chances are something else will break in through there. And don't forget about things that climb. There should be solid walls or wire mesh all around your chickens, and this is most important at night. I keep chickens in a moveable range confinement coop, where they are free to be on the ground during the day, but are still protected from roaming dogs and such. At night they are closed up indoors in a coop which is off the ground to baffle diggers. By all means, if you hear chickens making a ruckus, get out there as fast as you can and see what the trouble is. If you keep chickens outside, be sure there is a good place to get out of the rain or sun. Other considerations may have to be made if you live where it gets really cold. To protect against disease, make sure the coop is easy to clean. Holding to high standards of cleanliness is one of the best barriers against disease.