I have had lots of people ask me questions about raising chickens. For us it is a very affordable way to get organic range fed eggs and chicken. I am definitely no expert, but my mom is. So, she has been kind enough to type up a ton of information about chickens. It is way too much information to put in one post, so I will break this up into several posts for you guys to enjoy.I will do my best to answer any questions that you guys may have, but I will probably have to defer to my mom. She knows more than I could ever hope to know about chickens. She does mention local stores in these posts, but I am sure that most of you will find similar stores throughout the country.
What if my neighbors don’t want chickens? There are ordinances against animals in some areas. The city of Winston-Salem allows chickens in a back yard, but there are certain restrictions on how far they must be from your neighbors property. Roosters are noisy. If you have close neighbors, you can just raise hens. You will have plenty of eggs that way and can always buy new chicks when your hens are worn out.
The key to happy neighbors is to keep the smell and flies down. You do that by keeping the area clean. We use fly paper to trap the flies and it works really well. A dozen eggs periodically really keeps folks happy. Some restrictive covenants do not allow chickens at all. In that case, maybe you could find someone who would be willing to raise your chickens for you if you contribute to the feed costs. We sell our eggs to friends and make a little money to pay for feed. Egg money won’t pay for all of your feed, but it will if you supplement with forage, scraps and milk.
I’ll be glad to help anyone in the Winston Salem area get started. We’ve learned a lot from our mistakes!
I recommend….
Web sites
http://www.backyardchickens.com/
Book suggestions
The Encyclopedia of Country Living
Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens
Click here for Part 1 – Where Do You Get Your Chickens
Click here for Part 2 – How Do You Feed Them
Click here for Part 3 – How Do You Get Started
Click here for Part 4 – Types of Breeds
