Beware!!!!!

Dear Friends;

Beware of reading this Blog!!! If you read this Blog and visit other sites about raising Chickens, you could get bit by the Chicken raising bug!

If that happens you will begin to read everything you can about raising Chickens. The more you read and the more people you talk to, you will find that there is definitely a way for you to have your very own Chickens

To be honest, I hope you get bit with the Chicken raising bug!  It is a lot of fun and the Chickens are very easy to care for.  They will be more of a joy than a burden!

The Chicken Ark in Use

Today I thought I would try and post a video of the Chickens in the Chicken Ark.  When you see the video you will see how comfortable the Chickens are in this portable run that is a substitute for free ranging in an urban Chicken.

What I was told is TRUE!!

I was told that Chickens like to roost as high as possible. Since the coop is four feet by four feet wide and five feet tall, I thought that a roost two feet from the floor of the coop would be enough.

Tonight as I'm going to close the coop up, I get a real shock. There are only three Chicken's on the roost. I look every where. I look outside the run for any signs of an unwanted visitor. Everything looks normal, except I'm missing one of my precious birds!

Finally, I look up and above the window, at least a foot above the present perch is the missing Chicken. I can't tell you how relieved I felt.  Well, I will have to move the perch higher so that everyone will feel safer and more comfortable.

The Chicken Tractor/Chicken Ark

This little Chicken Tractor is a great tool for the urban Chicken hobbist who has to his "hens" confined at all times.  I put the Chickens in here for a change of scenery and also for the times when I am cleaning their coop.

Not shown in the pic is the small water container that I place in the tractor so they have water available at all times.  The Chickens seem to be comfortable in this temporary housing, except when I need to move them to a new location. This seems to put them in a little panic.



The Variety of Chickens

After doing some research, I discovered that the Rhode Island Reds and the New Hampshire Reds would be a good variety of Chicken for my situation.  They are good layers of brown eggs and they are also a good meat bird when egg production is over.

My little flock of birds are to be confined at all times. The Rhode Island Reds and the New Hampshire Reds both confine well.

I also have what is referred to as a Chicken tractor. I will post a picture soon so you will know what I mean. The Chicken Tractor is basically a mobile coop for the Chickens, so they can eat bugs in your garden and get a little more variety in their lives.

Coop Construction

How it all began

I sent a letter to the Mayor and Board of Trustees of Horseheads, New York in early March 2011 to see if they would make a variance in the village code. The Village code says that you may not have any chickens or other livestock, etc..

My request was to host four chicken's and no roosters. I was required to submit proof that my neighbors were in agreement to this idea. All of these things I had no problem complying with, so I was granted permission.

So on March 25th I purchased some chicks from our local agriculture store and the journey had begun.

Shortly thereafter my Brother-in-law Cliff Horton, who has been in construction for many years, built me a first class chicken coop with some assistance from yours truly.

While the coop was under construction the chickens were kept in two washing machine boxes that I joined together. I placed a brooder light, a small perch, water and feed in the boxes. Then we waited for warmer weather and the completion of the coop which came together on June 4th a few days shy of the birds being in our home for 6 weeks.

So far the Chickens are doing great in their new surroundings. Check out the pictures as they will show a little of the history of the Four C's.

Let me explain the Four C's. Each chicken's name begins with the letter "C". There is Cecily, Copper, Charlotte and Carly. Each chicken can be identified by a different color zip tie that is loose around their feet.

I will post more details in the near future