City boy trying to Raise chickens for eggs- How to

allterrainwarrior

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Hello all.

Im a city boy but my wife thinks im country as all get up. But anyway, I want to raise chickens for eggs in my backyard. Im going to recycle my neighbors dog house and build a pen around it. I just need some advice from some people who are knowledgable on this topic. My concerns are with manipluating the interior of the dog house to become a coop; how to set up ideal situations for my chickens to lay eggs; what type of feed and watering system I should use; how to protect against blood born pests and disease; and what type of chickens I should focus on. Im interested in small-medium chickens approx 4-6. Any and all Ideas welcomed.
 

Beekissed

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allterrainwarrior said:
Hello all.

Im a city boy but my wife thinks im country as all get up. But anyway, I want to raise chickens for eggs in my backyard. Im going to recycle my neighbors dog house and build a pen around it. I just need some advice from some people who are knowledgable on this topic. My concerns are with manipluating the interior of the dog house to become a coop; how to set up ideal situations for my chickens to lay eggs; what type of feed and watering system I should use; how to protect against blood born pests and disease; and what type of chickens I should focus on. Im interested in small-medium chickens approx 4-6. Any and all Ideas welcomed.
Unless your neighbor's doghouse is pretty large, you may need more space for 4-6 chickens. Recommended floor space is 2 sq. ft. per chicken, with roost space of 10-12 in. for each hen. Then you have nest boxes, at least 2 for this number of chickens. You will need roosts that are higher than your nest boxes, there are numerous feeding and watering systems you can utilize ( you may need to find ones that are situated to save you space), protecting against disease can be as simple as fresh air, sunlight, clean coop and run, fresh water and nutritious food. You might like to have Rhode Island Reds, as they are small but great layers, very feed efficient and a hardy breed.

You could link over to our sister site, Backyard Chickens.com, for the advice of over 15,000 members who will just love to give you millions of options and ideas for your backyard, town/city flock. Good luck....and welcome to SS.com! :)
 

FarmerChick

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Welcome to the forum

you can't go wrong raising eggs. The taste is amazing vs. store bought! You are in for a treat and a few chickens are easy to handle actually.

You got great advice from the posters and just a little research will have you set and going! best of luck!
 

allterrainwarrior

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Thanks Guys, I will check backyard chickens. I can't wait to get started
 

Farmfresh

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I have a City Biddy Hen house and 4 hens in tiny yard with no troubles. I love getting those fresh eggs. You will be amazed at what good little pets those hens can be. I do not have a rooster as they seem to be more trouble than they are worth to me, unless of course you intent to hatch those eggs!

Good luck in your new hobby!

Farmfresh

City Biddy Hen house is found at http://www.uBuilderPlans.com
 

CityChook

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I'm a city girl with chickens and will tell you to definitely go for it. However, I don't think a dog house is going to be big enough. I suppose it depends on your location/temperatures, but in the frozen midwest where I live it wouldn't work. I had my hens in an extra large (2x4) dog crate while their coop was under construction and it was mighty tight. They are much happier outside now in their 6x8 coop. The BYC is a wonderful site to get ALL the information you might need. You are welcome to PM me if you have specific questions. I'll do my best to help you out.
 

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