There is one thing you need to be prepared for, if you want to raise chickens.
And lots of it!
My chicks sit on top of the coop in warm weather, so all of the ‘contributions’ end up on the roof or collect at the base of the chicken wire. But in the winter…let’s just say that we definitely scrub the eggs before we use them.
Anywhere you let your chickens roam, there will be POO.
I’ve been letting mine run free in the backyard, so there’s poo in the grass, on the porch, in the kids playhouse, in my garden, on the steps, in the sandbox, on the riding toys….I will be building a fence THIS MONTH, and possibly firebombing all of the kid equipment.
But, don’t get me wrong. Chicken poo has it’s benefits, as well. Unlike dog or feline poo, it’s fabulous compost material.
People ask me all the time if I put their manure in the compost bin. Yeah, when I clean out the nest, I throw the grass ET AL in the compost. And eventually, I will get the piles I photographed in there. But for now, I just have a sturdy semi-permanent compost bin close to the hen house.
Chickens will eat almost ANYTHING. So, I just don’t cover my kitchen scraps and they make their contributions while they’re snacking.
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I really want to have my own chickens. I worry about the porch cats, though. I keep thinking I would have to have a tall fence pen made for them, where they could still run about. It would have to be covered on top with, well, Chicken wire. Spread tightly over, and at LEAST 6′ tall for me to run about in myself. AND have a way to keep the chickens a cool spot against the hot afternoon sun here in North Texas.