Chickens overrun neighborhood!!!

Ok, as many of you know that read this blog every now and again or whenever I make a post, you know that I love chickens. I love my chickens. LOVE MY CHICKENS.

So when I saw this:


http://www.wave3.com/story/18766069/troubleshooter-investigates-fowl-problem-chickens-overruning-neighborhood

I was and am pretty upset by it.

See I live in the city limits of Louisville. I have my chickens free ranging in my backyard. I don't ever want to be without chickens. I really do love these stupid stupid birds. So, that being said, I'm going to make you an informative chicken in the city limits related post! The last thing that I wish to happen is to get rid of my chickens.

Keeping Chickens in the City

You stop at a feed store and see a tub full of cute little baby chickens! Your child asks if you can get a couple or (if you're a sucker like me) you fall in love with that tiny fluffy chirpy body. You buy 8 of these suckers and get home and realize that you have no idea what to do with them in the city!

First off, these little balls of fluff need to live either in your house for 4-5 weeks or in a garage that is free of drafts. Secondly, they will need to stay WARM. This is generally done by means of a heat lamp attached to whatever container you keep them in. (I keep mine in a 50 gallon container) You are these guys only source of heat, KEEP THEM WARM. Next up you will need to put shavings down (I use pelletalized horse pellet shavings) and then cover them with newspaper since these little guys aren't the brightest cookies in the jar.
Other than food and water these little chicks don't need much else. Well, maybe a tank cleanout every few days.

After a few weeks it's time to move them outside and here's where it gets tricky tricky. I don't mean to toot my own horn here, but I've had chickens for 3 years and my neighbors LOVE them and me still to this day. Let me break down how I handle the aspects of my girls:

Chickens themselves:

They are checked for parasites regularly and their wings are kept clipped so they can't fly. NO FLYING BIRDS. They WILL and DO clear fences if they can fly. I prefer to keep my animals contained to my yard. Every now and again chickens can and do get out, but its never been a daily, weekly, or even monthly thing. It's rare.

Chickens will also come home 99% of the time. So if you find some got out somehow and you can't find them, settle down first. Wait till dusk and start hunting your yard. Clip their wings when you find them and figure out and fix how they got out. You also have to clip wings 2-3 times a year to keep them like this.

The Coop:

If you confine your chickens to a run and coop, do your neighbors a favor and KEEP IT CLEAN. Here, I'll say it again, KEEP IT CLEAN. This will mean weekly clean outs of the coop (unless you do a deep litter method - which I won't cover) and daily checks to make sure that its not getting gross. Lyme here (garden lime, don't get hyro Lyme) is your ultimate best friend. It absorbs moisture, cuts down the smell, and keeps the coop all fresh. Just a small sprinkle before you lay shavings down is all you need.

The Run:

Turn your run frequently and lyme it as well. This keeps smell down and keeps the chickens turning it up.

Feed:

Keep feed put away. TONS of critters love chicken feed. I keep mine in big Tupperware containers. Along with the corn and scratch.

Roosters:

Don't keep these. Just don't. They get aggressive, are loud, and really really obnoxious. I've always gotten rid of mine the second I figure out which are which in the brooder.

Other than that, my neighbors love my chickens, take my eggs, and are generally concerned about the well being of my little creatures I keep in the backyard.  I've had no complaints and had many people tell me they like to just sit and watch them be stupid in the backyard.

Keeping chickens correctly isn't hard and it pisses me off to have some jack cause a problems for us owners that actually take the time and effort to care for our flock.