If you make a big enough fenced in chicken yard, letting the birds turn compost bins inside the yard works well. But that's a LOT of extra fence material and digging, the stoney Ridge setup isn't any bigger than it has to be- Having made a 40' x 30' chicken run, I DID let the chickens turn the compost- After a couple of years, I found out that a black bear can open any fence I can afford to install, they love to eat stuff from the compost and at one point, also ate 100 lb. of chicken feed! They did not eat a single chicken though, thankfully. I solved the problem by learning to hunt bears. A fat, orchard & hen house robbing October bear is very tasty.
@@coziii.1829 Good luck! Hope your birds can "pass". In the time we had birds, we lost them to foxes, owls, raccoons, feral cats- and finally all our chickens & ducks at once to an idiot neighbor's "free range dog" that took the time and effort to tear through our fencing.
@@Bert2368 Wow, did you neighbor 1. compensate you for your chickens/money spent to fix your fence and 2. made sure his/her dog was no longer "free range"?
One key note that I have learned is to NOT wash the eggs until you are ready to use them. It takes the natural coating off significantly reducing shelf life
I’ve wanted chickens for years and years. This economy has pushed me toward reaching my goal pretty fast. I enjoyed your short, informative, and to the point video. Thank you
@@MichealJacksonsShoes the building materials needed for building the coop + cost of the chickens themselves + straw +chicken feed are initial investment. Then straw and chicken feed are a reoccurring cost. That's the best case scenario assuming none of your chickens get eaten by predators or hit by a car if they are free range. Then you'd have to buy more chickens lol.
My great Grandfather lived in Ogden... Yes that one., just off of Washington Blvd, close to Millers Ski and Cycle Haus. He had two coups that were 12x30. They had concrete floors, glass windows that you could open in the summer time for ventilation.. I don't know how many chickens he had at one time. I think about 200. Lots of eggs, lots of chicken soup. When he finally got out of the chicken business, one coup was converted into a storage area for lawn furniture etc. The other became his smoking lounge. He had a radio, a rocking chair, a night stand with an ash tray on it. He would listen to Paul Harvey everyday. He passed in 1979. I sure miss him.
Great video! I have watched what seems like hundreds of chicken how to videos,,,and not once did anyone remind you that you can get salmonella from chickens. We are new to chickens, have 12 chickens giving us great eggs, we always wash hands afferward, but thank you for that reminder not touch our noses or mouths. Thanks for great content.
Josh my grandpa raised free range birds for over 45 years supporting a bakery and a family of 11 girls. They also had 4 Nigerian Dwarf goats producing 2 gallons of milk per day. My grandma made farmers cheese and soaps.
As someone who spends around 40 usd each week in eggs, Im really considering raising my own backyard chickens, plus the joy of having kids interacting with rhe chicks. Thanks for the video, definitely will come back.
I have two roosters, Rocky (papa rooster)and Rusty(son rooster) and 10 hens. A hawk swooped down into my back yard and tried to attack one of the hens. Both roosters went on the attack and gave that hawk more then he expected. They pecked the 💩out of the MFer. The hawk managed to fly off never to be seen again.
well, seeing how they just killed 5 million chickens and closed a processing plant down, and food distribution plants across the country have mysteriously being burned down, I'd say a few chickens in your backyard might be a good idea if you want to eat........
Sam...your comment calling someone a dummy isn't appropriate for this channel...I think we can find a better way to articulate our message without name calling please buddy. I value your opinions...but please ...well you get the point brotha..please don't do that here
We've been raising chickens since the mid 80s and I whistle a little tune every time I would feed them. As they get older they come running back to the coop when I bring out the food scraps. Great video!
Yup! I did an Evelyn Wood imitation, a falsetto "Cickeeeeees!". They learned it meant TREATS fast. We let the turkeys free range, for them it was "Turk! Turk!!TURKEYS!!!". That meant a handful of sunflower seeds or mealworms in the Turkey pen- After a while, a couple of WILD TURKEYS who had started to hang around our flock and make eyes at our red bourbon tom would also come running in and jump through the door too!
I'm happy you talked about not needing a rooster for the hens to lay! I've heard people say that before and it just simply isn't true! Awesome video, very informative!
When i get my own place with a nice little backyard (or better yet a big one) I'm definitely getting some chickens. It seems very rewarding for the relative ease of keeping them.
I've watched so may of your videos and my buddy it's given me tons confidence to start my own little chicken setup keep those awesome videos coming and take er easy Dwayne from Newfoundland
I like to have one rooster in my flock. His job is security guard. He will alert the rest when there is danger. He will also break up fights when the hens are going after each other. Of course, I free range my birds during the day and only lock them up at night.
@@CriaAndKiddFW I live on 5 acres in the middle of the woods. You have to drive 1/2 mile on a dirt road to get to my place. My neighbors all have livestock.
Good information on back yard egg layers Josh. I've been on the fence but thinking about doing it. Of course I need to mortgage the house to buy the lumber! Lol. Enjoyed it! Wooooo!
We're thinking of Rent The Chicken up our way here in Southern, NH. Your video was so informative. Thank you so much. They deliver the coop, 2 hens, feed etc. Great way to start up.
Unwashed eggs do not need to be refrigerated and last on the counter for a week. Once you wash them, they must be refrigerated. We have 16 layers and everything is about 2x the size here. Solar lights are a great idea. We have had predator trouble from a fox and an eagle.
Thank you for this very informative video! My chickens follow me everywhere like puppies lol (I fed them a little bread and now they love me 🥰) love the coop!!
GREAT looking coop! I had chickens for 6 years (not allowed in Youngstown without a permit, Department of health) Had 12 birds, and was nor until a neighbor heard the Rooster (mainly for raising peeps) and DOH wanted to see how healthy and living conditions the birds had! After fielding their questions, I could tell they had no idea what was good or not for chickens! (They were appalled I let them free range around the yard, and the nearest neighbor was over yards away!) Always had more than enough eggs(brown)with the yolk being a lot more orange than store eggs because of their diet ! MY biggest problem was that they LOVED the flower gardens of my better half, it was my job to rake mulch back into the gardens, lol
My county says we're not allowed to have chickens on less than 1/2 acre. Based on the number of roosters I hear, they aren't doing a very good job enforcing that ordinance.
Nice chicken house. We're not sure if we want laying hens or just do a couple cycles of meat birds each year when we get that part of our farm started. Would love to have chickens free range on the property but too many predators like chicken meat!!
You need to start this conversation by asking Neyorkers if they are thinking about having a pigeon coup! I have one in New York City! Pigeon, fed and kept in the coup, is quite the metropolitan delicacy! I like chicken for eggs and hens for Gumbo and Chicken Noodle Soup!
I had no idea that you didnt need a rooster for egg laying hens... Awesome! I've always wanted chickens but didnt want the noise! We have similar weather as you do in your area, what type of chix do you have?
An egg song is NOTHING near as loud or protracted as Mr. Rooster tuning up his vocal cords an hour before dawn then yelling occasionally all the live long day-
I am trying to convince my husband of having chickens. Lol even told him I will raise, clean and butcher myself. I LOVE chickens. His idea is they have no cage and roam free. With living in the woods with animals of prey and having two heeler dogs, I wouldn't have chickens. Great video!
Free range is often free meal....they're destructive to flower beds and your yard...so I'd advise to let them free range out of the coop from time to time...but not all day every day if possible
Love seeing the little chickens josh we've got close to 50 here including chicks. Now we're hatching quail and peacocks. Hope your having a good weekend and enjoy the tasty eggs.
I live in the triad area on NC, outside city limits, and wanting to get my first coop. Trying to talk hubby into it. We buy about 2 dozen eggs a week. My main concern are keeping out snakes (and other animals) and how laborious it is cleaning it out. Thanks for the vid.
@@sunshine3914 "It actually had legs?" The waterer, if it had legs(I didn't see any) still can be raised up on something to set it higher off the ground. Which will keep the water cleaner for a longer period of time.😉
Great informative video. Thank you. Can you post a video of your daily routine for taking care of them? Is this something for 9-5 workers? Or do you have to be at home most of the time?
As an Urban Chicken Keeper...Is it worth it. I probably saved very little with my small flock cost wise but it was very rewarding knowing I could walk out every morning and probably get a half dozen eggs that tasted phenomenal! Did they smell? A proper set up will result in very little smell and minimal increase in fly's and is super easy to clean. I used 12"x12" pavers on the floor of the run to make clean up even easier and discourage predators from digging under the run! As in the video I also garden and all the bedding goes into the compost pile and eventually the garden for a bumper crop! Are they noisy? I have kept RIR's, PBR'S and SS's hens only and it took a while for my neighbor's to even know I had chicken's on our small lot in suburbia. Im a prepper so the motivation for me was not cheap eggs as much as it was the ability to quickly expand my flock to a more sustainable level if things ever got ugly economy wise. Its also been a good teaching moment for my Grand Niece to boot! So to me, it more than worth it!!!
one of my favorite responses when I ask why people raise their own chickens is " Because I know what goes into them". I ask them do you feed bag feed most say yes I then ask them do you grow and produce the feed in the bags your feeding them they say no I don't. I look at them and say well you don't really know what is going into your chickens. Ps I also raise my own chickens yes I use bag feed and free range . With price of feed going up we allay need to find alternative ways to feed our chickens.
Awe man my chickens follow me and still like to try to get under me like baby chicks. I have to be careful not to step on them, but they’re like dogs, I’ll whistle or call them and they come right away. I have to wear shoes though because I’ve got a freckle on my big toe that they think is a bug I presume because they’ll go after it every time. 😆
What great timing, I know the gf was persistent on getting some welsummers & buff Orpingtons for us and the kids. We live in the capital of Wa state and we can get by with 5 max hens. So it will be great come 5 months when they are ready to lay.
be careful if you live in Seattle...since the common belief is to defund law enforcement and run wild in the streets....I love WA and love Seattle...but I hear there is a mass exodus going on there
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer Your comment made me smile. I can't speak for WA but I'm in CA and I hear the same thing, ie mass exodus from Ca, mostly from rural people in the South. I'd LOVE for there to be a mass exodus from CA because we are so packed here that traffic and everything else is bumper to bumper people. 😁
Hey Josh, loved the backyard chickens video today. I also noticed too that you have a anti-theft device on top of the lid above the eggs. (The screw sticking up through the lid) don’t know if that was intentional or not.
I've had chickens for about seven years now. So I have a suggestion. Make a bigger chicken run and make part of it your compost pile. Let the chickens do all the work for you in that compost pile. You might have to rake it into place every now and then but they will make beautiful compost for you by the time next spring comes around. Through all your yard waste, food waste from the house that safe for chickens, bedding etc. on that area of the run. It's very efficient and very easy. And if you don't think they're stirring it up enough toss a couple handfuls of scratch on that pile and they will go to town.
yep....I agree...however these birds aren't gonna scratch through all that compost. It's a nice idea if you're looking at a smaller scale situation...but they won't turn your compost for ya when we're taking about this large of a hill. More to come soon as we build the green house
Hey Josh thank you for the video I enjoyed it and I did not know you can get salmonella from handling chickens I just learned something new again from you woo thank you so much Josh
My 10+ year old crippled cat has been miraculously healed by eating our raw eggs mixed in homemade catfood. He was crippled since 1 1/2 yrs old from a cat bite. Now he cleans himself, does not smell bad, and even stalks birds. all things he could not do most of his life. EGGS ARE A PHENOMENAL HEALTHFOOD. You have bees now too. I'm going to pick up my VSH bees from Brooks Mills Bees outside of Charlotte, NC this week.
I have two 20 year old cats that have some health issues (one has really bad breath, possibly due to his seizure medication). How do you make your homemade cat food? It's something I've been thinking of trying. 🙂
@@angelbear_og so easy. :-) I cook 2 of our chickens in a crock pot on low overnight. In the morning after cooling down, I debone them. Then I add in an equal amount of our squash grown on the farm. Thicken it to traditional cat food consistency with corn starch. And remember the salt to taste. Freeze it up into patties for convenience. At meal time thaw in small oven & then add in 2 or 3 raw eggs. THE CATS DEVOUR IT. They have become so strong from it that they now stalk the demon bully cat (from wild genes) next door that previously killed my cats and wounded them constantly. So much for Franklin County, NC Animal Control. LIARS. O well, ENJOY the recipe. It is a pure delight.
@@phall777 Well, there's no Whole Foods where I live, and I didn't say anything about running out of chicken anyway.... Is that all you feed your cats, chicken? Raw? Cooked?
@@angelbear_og I only said if you run out is because I did this week. But will be stocking up again very soon. cooked in the crock pot all night on low. That's their breakfast & I feed them a high quality dry feed after they finish that because I haven't figured out how to replace the dry feed yet. That's amazing your cats are 20 yrs old. You must be treating them really good.
A lady I work for had free range chickens and a rooster, a weasel killed every single one. I'm not sure if they were in a coup at night or not, i'm not sure even what time of day or night this happened, but this isn't the first thing like this i've heard happening here in Nova Scotia. Sometimes it's the foxes that kill people's chickens, other times it's the bobcats, but when the bodies are all there just dead with vampire-like bites in the necks, then it's the weasels that have done it. Basically if you want to raise chickens here in this province they have to be in a cage with small holes in the wire , a weasel isn't very big.
Bought myself 6 chicks at North40 last weekend I'm in City limits and legally I can have 6 hens. No roosters allowed only requirement is I need minimum 500 sqf of Yard space..which is small.. so yes I'm raising my own egg layers and really excited to
Josh, you mentioned building your coop bigger. Why can't you just remove the top fence over the main area, build another 4x8 cage, no bottom, and attach back on the lower part of the coop. Wouldn't that solve your issue?
I have a newbie question. Just got our first small batch of chicks and one had pasty butt. I used warm water, cleaned her up and she’s doing fine so far. My question is, how “picky” do I need to be now that I notice every time I see a little poop on any of them?
chickens are the best. low maintenance all you can eat eggs for the most part. I agree on making it taller. Mine is also 4 feet tall. I wish mine was 8 feet tall so I could walk in there.
Put the water jug up three or four stacked paving stones. That works really well and that way the water stays much cleaner and sprinkle a little food grade diatomaceous earth over their food and those eggs will be very clean by the next day.
I don't play the diatomaceous earth game ....that stuff can be dangerous if inhaled...if ya have chickens...you're gonna have to clean the eggs and the waterers no matter what my friend...be careful with diatomaceous earth...it can harm lungs
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer it just seems easier and healthier to have the water up off the ground. And diatomaceous earth is bad for the lungs but it's good for other things. Used in the right way I think it's very helpful.
Good Saturday afternoon everyone!!!! Unfortunately, i had to break the bad news to my free range hens bright and early this mornin that due to expected egg shortages regretfully numbered are their days of laying a couple of eggs and then basically taking the rest of the day off with ranging privileges' within the parameters of a few very nice rural acres - parts of which are rich with fat grubworms. There's even a short dirt road between the main barn and the farmhouse which they're free to cross to get to the other side as often as they'd like. My rooster Ben overheard me and he ain't too happy either, knowing full well that due to oncoming egg shortages, he'll be "workin' overtime to make sure there's plenty of eggs for me an the family. 😊
Why don't you let them walk free on the compostyards?
Because they will destroy the garden and get killed by predators
If you make a big enough fenced in chicken yard, letting the birds turn compost bins inside the yard works well. But that's a LOT of extra fence material and digging, the stoney Ridge setup isn't any bigger than it has to be- Having made a 40' x 30' chicken run, I DID let the chickens turn the compost- After a couple of years, I found out that a black bear can open any fence I can afford to install, they love to eat stuff from the compost and at one point, also ate 100 lb. of chicken feed! They did not eat a single chicken though, thankfully.
I solved the problem by learning to hunt bears. A fat, orchard & hen house robbing October bear is very tasty.
Mine free range on 2 acres no problem yet black chickens help hawks think they are crows
@@coziii.1829
Good luck! Hope your birds can "pass". In the time we had birds, we lost them to foxes, owls, raccoons, feral cats- and finally all our chickens & ducks at once to an idiot neighbor's "free range dog" that took the time and effort to tear through our fencing.
@@Bert2368
Wow, did you neighbor 1. compensate you for your chickens/money spent to fix your fence and 2. made sure his/her dog was no longer "free range"?
One key note that I have learned is to NOT wash the eggs until you are ready to use them. It takes the natural coating off significantly reducing shelf life
Good point, Papa A. Just use a dry green scrubbie to gently wipe the larger grime off if it bothers you.
If you wash them, you can wipe mineral oil on the shell to re-coat them.
@@CriaAndKiddFW i dont think thats really convienent
I’ve wanted chickens for years and years. This economy has pushed me toward reaching my goal pretty fast. I enjoyed your short, informative, and to the point video. Thank you
well...don't think for 1 second that it's cheaper to raise your own than it is to buy eggs lol...but raising chickens is very fulfilling for sure
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer it isn't cheaper?
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer what needs money spent on it once you got them
@@MichealJacksonsShoes the building materials needed for building the coop + cost of the chickens themselves + straw +chicken feed are initial investment. Then straw and chicken feed are a reoccurring cost. That's the best case scenario assuming none of your chickens get eaten by predators or hit by a car if they are free range. Then you'd have to buy more chickens lol.
@@zoeyoneohonenot if you have a rooster and fertilize some eggs.
My great Grandfather lived in Ogden... Yes that one., just off of Washington Blvd, close to Millers Ski and Cycle Haus. He had two coups that were 12x30. They had concrete floors, glass windows that you could open in the summer time for ventilation.. I don't know how many chickens he had at one time. I think about 200. Lots of eggs, lots of chicken soup. When he finally got out of the chicken business, one coup was converted into a storage area for lawn furniture etc. The other became his smoking lounge. He had a radio, a rocking chair, a night stand with an ash tray on it. He would listen to Paul Harvey everyday. He passed in 1979. I sure miss him.
Great video! I have watched what seems like hundreds of chicken how to videos,,,and not once did anyone remind you that you can get salmonella from chickens. We are new to chickens, have 12 chickens giving us great eggs, we always wash hands afferward, but thank you for that reminder not touch our noses or mouths. Thanks for great content.
Josh my grandpa raised free range birds for over 45 years supporting a bakery and a family of 11 girls. They also had 4 Nigerian Dwarf goats producing 2 gallons of milk per day. My grandma made farmers cheese and soaps.
As someone who spends around 40 usd each week in eggs, Im really considering raising my own backyard chickens, plus the joy of having kids interacting with rhe chicks. Thanks for the video, definitely will come back.
Also no food goes to waste in your home. Chickens turn old food/kitchen scraps into new food.
I have chickens in the city limits too, we are getting to the point around here that we dont care what their bulls&i@ laws are.
I have two roosters, Rocky (papa rooster)and Rusty(son rooster) and 10 hens. A hawk swooped down into my back yard and tried to attack one of the hens. Both roosters went on the attack and gave that hawk more then he expected. They pecked the 💩out of the MFer. The hawk managed to fly off never to be seen again.
🤣🤣🤣🤣 shoutout to the tag team Champs. Freaking hawk will think twice before he tries to get a quick meal
well, seeing how they just killed 5 million chickens and closed a processing plant down, and food distribution plants across the country have mysteriously being burned down, I'd say a few chickens in your backyard might be a good idea if you want to eat........
It was estimated to be 23 million on April 10th, so it’s far worse than that. It is probably close to 50 million by now and will not stop for awhile.
Yep
5 million chickens.. probably not even a days supply for the usa.. they're scare mongering to justify price hike
@@flynick same difference...but if you owned your own flock of 6 hens and a rooster, you can save on eggs and fried chickens. dummy
Sam...your comment calling someone a dummy isn't appropriate for this channel...I think we can find a better way to articulate our message without name calling please buddy. I value your opinions...but please ...well you get the point brotha..please don't do that here
Great video! 🐔 I love how you broke down the pros and cons!
Glad it helped!
LOVE my girls! It took me 20 years to convince my husband that we needed them, lol. He loves them just as much as I do, has them spoiled rotten.
6 years ago you built that? Still looks new. Man I remember watching the video of you building it. Time goes by fast!
We've been raising chickens since the mid 80s and I whistle a little tune every time I would feed them. As they get older they come running back to the coop when I bring out the food scraps. Great video!
Yup! I did an Evelyn Wood imitation, a falsetto "Cickeeeeees!". They learned it meant TREATS fast.
We let the turkeys free range, for them it was "Turk! Turk!!TURKEYS!!!". That meant a handful of sunflower seeds or mealworms in the Turkey pen- After a while, a couple of WILD TURKEYS who had started to hang around our flock and make eyes at our red bourbon tom would also come running in and jump through the door too!
I'm happy you talked about not needing a rooster for the hens to lay! I've heard people say that before and it just simply isn't true! Awesome video, very informative!
100% worth and fun af!
Hardest part was timesink for the research, now i got that knowledge for life, endless eggs.
Chickens will not run away from you if you handle them early and often! They will become like pets, and come running when you call them.
food is a great motivator
I’ve always been a back yard chicken man !
14 hens two roos-one roo was a rescue.
I’ve always had chickens my dogs love the extra eggs
God is good.
When i get my own place with a nice little backyard (or better yet a big one) I'm definitely getting some chickens. It seems very rewarding for the relative ease of keeping them.
I've watched so may of your videos and my buddy it's given me tons confidence to start my own little chicken setup keep those awesome videos coming and take er easy Dwayne from Newfoundland
Our chickens follow us like puppies. Sit on our lap. Very friendly
cool
❤ simple yet effective coop/run. Thanks for sharing 👌🏾 😎 👍🏾 👏🏾 well done
Love your enthusiasm. And thanks for sharing your experience with chicken and the coup.
I’m a stealth in town chicken farmer. I give a few eggs to the neighbors as a bribe for not turning me in.
That’s my plan, too. Haha. Ordered 15 chicks for July, building a shed as soon as the weather warms up a little and feeding my family healthy food.
We been thinking but I want to inform myself before bringing them home. Your videos are easy to understand thanks!
Happy to hear that!
I like to have one rooster in my flock. His job is security guard. He will alert the rest when there is danger. He will also break up fights when the hens are going after each other. Of course, I free range my birds during the day and only lock them up at night.
And a good roo will fight off the chicken hawks. Same with black birds, feed your local wild birds and they'll deter hawks too.
Ayup. Just check with your town code if you have close neighbors. Some towns allow chickens but not roosters because of noise ordinences.
@@CriaAndKiddFW I live on 5 acres in the middle of the woods. You have to drive 1/2 mile on a dirt road to get to my place. My neighbors all have livestock.
@@libertyb4authority135 Absolutely! My crows let us know when there's trouble prowling about.
How do you get the chickens back in their pen at night? Do you need a dog?
Good information on back yard egg layers Josh. I've been on the fence but thinking about doing it. Of course I need to mortgage the house to buy the lumber! Lol. Enjoyed it! Wooooo!
Mr Doug I will send you all the chickens you want lol 👍🏽
@@5150cash Cash I thought you only ate beef anyway with all the cooking you mentioned on Andrew's channel! 😆
@@dougdavis4439 I always eat whatever's on my dinner plate or whatever I barbecue besides veggies 😁. That's rabbit food
I’m a rabbit for sure 🐰 😂 maybe that’s why my chickens follow me, cuz they know I just want their 💩 and not their 🍖 😝
@@meagsfears8449 ahahaha 😆👍🏽
I’ve been thinking about getting some hens and your video was really help full thank you. I plan to get few chicken just in case for this year.
Thats an awesome set up especially the open air coop!
Answered several of my ‘questions’ as I think about having a few backyard hens! 👍🏻
My kids just sold their first eggs, good sense of accomplishment for them.
We're thinking of Rent The Chicken up our way here in Southern, NH. Your video was so informative. Thank you so much. They deliver the coop, 2 hens, feed etc. Great way to start up.
Unwashed eggs do not need to be refrigerated and last on the counter for a week. Once you wash them, they must be refrigerated. We have 16 layers and everything is about 2x the size here.
Solar lights are a great idea. We have had predator trouble from a fox and an eagle.
Unwashed eggs last way longer than a week
@@nickhatala8266 please explain am about to buy some from a neighbor do I wash them if I want to place them in the refrigerator?
Thank you for this very informative video! My chickens follow me everywhere like puppies lol (I fed them a little bread and now they love me 🥰) love the coop!!
lol...no...they love bread bhahahha silly
GREAT looking coop!
I had chickens for 6 years (not allowed in Youngstown without a permit, Department of health)
Had 12 birds, and was nor until a neighbor heard the Rooster (mainly for raising peeps) and DOH wanted to see how healthy and living conditions the birds had! After fielding their questions, I could tell they had no idea what was good or not for chickens! (They were appalled I let them free range around the yard, and the nearest neighbor was over yards away!)
Always had more than enough eggs(brown)with the yolk being a lot more orange than store eggs because of their diet ! MY biggest problem was that they LOVED the flower gardens of my better half, it was my job to rake mulch back into the gardens, lol
Thankfully lots of people still get away with chickens in Youngstown lol.
My county says we're not allowed to have chickens on less than 1/2 acre. Based on the number of roosters I hear, they aren't doing a very good job enforcing that ordinance.
Nice chicken house. We're not sure if we want laying hens or just do a couple cycles of meat birds each year when we get that part of our farm started. Would love to have chickens free range on the property but too many predators like chicken meat!!
Love your chicken talk and advice! Thanks! Woo! 🐔🐤🐔
You need to start this conversation by asking Neyorkers if they are thinking about having a pigeon coup! I have one in New York City! Pigeon, fed and kept in the coup, is quite the metropolitan delicacy! I like chicken for eggs and hens for Gumbo and Chicken Noodle Soup!
I had no idea that you didnt need a rooster for egg laying hens... Awesome! I've always wanted chickens but didnt want the noise! We have similar weather as you do in your area, what type of chix do you have?
They make alot of noise when they lay eggs though
An egg song is NOTHING near as loud or protracted as Mr. Rooster tuning up his vocal cords an hour before dawn then yelling occasionally all the live long day-
I am trying to convince my husband of having chickens. Lol even told him I will raise, clean and butcher myself. I LOVE chickens.
His idea is they have no cage and roam free.
With living in the woods with animals of prey and having two heeler dogs, I wouldn't have chickens. Great video!
Free range is often free meal....they're destructive to flower beds and your yard...so I'd advise to let them free range out of the coop from time to time...but not all day every day if possible
I'm sooooo ready for my chickens!
Mine will come out the brooder this sunday....6 Barnevelders. They lay eggs in winter as well.
I'm a beginner cheken owner and I love it
awesome! Check out the Everything Chickens playlist here on the channel...you'll love it!
Love seeing the little chickens josh we've got close to 50 here including chicks. Now we're hatching quail and peacocks. Hope your having a good weekend and enjoy the tasty eggs.
Yeah I think it is worth it 100% for sure pure breeds can make some good cash. Especially in the season spring
I enjoyed watching. Thank you for sharing!
I live in the triad area on NC, outside city limits, and wanting to get my first coop. Trying to talk hubby into it. We buy about 2 dozen eggs a week. My main concern are keeping out snakes (and other animals) and how laborious it is cleaning it out. Thanks for the vid.
Try putting risers under your waterers. Helps keep the scratch out of the water.
It actually had legs.
@@sunshine3914
"It actually had legs?"
The waterer, if it had legs(I didn't see any) still can be raised up on something to set it higher off the ground. Which will keep the water cleaner for a longer period of time.😉
it has legs my friend...I just put fresh straw in and that's why it's full
Morning, Josh! Thanks for the info. Happy Sunday!
Great informative video. Thank you.
Can you post a video of your daily routine for taking care of them? Is this something for 9-5 workers? Or do you have to be at home most of the time?
As an Urban Chicken Keeper...Is it worth it. I probably saved very little with my small flock cost wise but it was very rewarding knowing I could walk out every morning and probably get a half dozen eggs that tasted phenomenal! Did they smell? A proper set up will result in very little smell and minimal increase in fly's and is super easy to clean. I used 12"x12" pavers on the floor of the run to make clean up even easier and discourage predators from digging under the run! As in the video I also garden and all the bedding goes into the compost pile and eventually the garden for a bumper crop! Are they noisy? I have kept RIR's, PBR'S and SS's hens only and it took a while for my neighbor's to even know I had chicken's on our small lot in suburbia. Im a prepper so the motivation for me was not cheap eggs as much as it was the ability to quickly expand my flock to a more sustainable level if things ever got ugly economy wise. Its also been a good teaching moment for my Grand Niece to boot! So to me, it more than worth it!!!
You rock Josh, awesome coop! McMurry's Delaware broilers lay nice eggs n stew well also. keep up great work
one of my favorite responses when I ask why people raise their own chickens is " Because I know what goes into them". I ask them do you feed bag feed most say yes I then ask them do you grow and produce the feed in the bags your feeding them they say no I don't. I look at them and say well you don't really know what is going into your chickens. Ps I also raise my own chickens yes I use bag feed and free range . With price of feed going up we allay need to find alternative ways to feed our chickens.
Great video. Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
Nice healthy looking chickens. Very good content Josh.
Question: Tractor Supply feed…did your hens stop laying this winter?
Thanks for sharing. Never knew any of this stuff.
Great idea people need to know how to raise their food if possible
Awe man my chickens follow me and still like to try to get under me like baby chicks. I have to be careful not to step on them, but they’re like dogs, I’ll whistle or call them and they come right away. I have to wear shoes though because I’ve got a freckle on my big toe that they think is a bug I presume because they’ll go after it every time. 😆
So cute 😂
i'm working on my chicken house outside but my baby chicks are still in the living room. i try and add grass/hay clippings every day. i have 9!
Looks beautiful. Looking to have one in denver area
Time to make our own. I live in Southern California. Just spent $10 on 18 eggs at Walmart. .55 cents a egg is pretty crazy
yep...I hear they are going up up up
What great timing, I know the gf was persistent on getting some welsummers & buff Orpingtons for us and the kids. We live in the capital of Wa state and we can get by with 5 max hens. So it will be great come 5 months when they are ready to lay.
be careful if you live in Seattle...since the common belief is to defund law enforcement and run wild in the streets....I love WA and love Seattle...but I hear there is a mass exodus going on there
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer Your comment made me smile. I can't speak for WA but I'm in CA and I hear the same thing, ie mass exodus from Ca, mostly from rural people in the South. I'd LOVE for there to be a mass exodus from CA because we are so packed here that traffic and everything else is bumper to bumper people. 😁
My first video to watch about raising chickens . Great video thank you
tons of great info on the channel for raising chicks, chickens, meat birds and butchering...check out the everything chickens playlist
Hey Josh, loved the backyard chickens video today. I also noticed too that you have a anti-theft device on top of the lid above the eggs. (The screw sticking up through the lid) don’t know if that was intentional or not.
just a couple screws I bent over
Great info on a backyard flock! Chickens are the easiest animal to start with! 👍🏼
Cause they make the rest look easy.
You build a nice coop. Chicken 🐔 palace. Stay safe up there and keep on growing 🤠
It's worth it! You know your eggs are clean and cheaper than at the store
I wouldn't say it's cheaper...but I know they are fresh for sure
they are great tillers and turnover beds in the garden
Silkys dont damage the garden.
Worth it? With the supply chain breakdowns and sabotages going on these days, I'd call it a necessity!
I've had chickens for about seven years now. So I have a suggestion. Make a bigger chicken run and make part of it your compost pile. Let the chickens do all the work for you in that compost pile. You might have to rake it into place every now and then but they will make beautiful compost for you by the time next spring comes around. Through all your yard waste, food waste from the house that safe for chickens, bedding etc. on that area of the run. It's very efficient and very easy. And if you don't think they're stirring it up enough toss a couple handfuls of scratch on that pile and they will go to town.
yep....I agree...however these birds aren't gonna scratch through all that compost. It's a nice idea if you're looking at a smaller scale situation...but they won't turn your compost for ya when we're taking about this large of a hill. More to come soon as we build the green house
Great video and content. Chickens are on my list, this video helped.
Hey Josh thank you for the video I enjoyed it and I did not know you can get salmonella from handling chickens I just learned something new again from you woo thank you so much Josh
My 10+ year old crippled cat has been miraculously healed by eating our raw eggs mixed in homemade catfood. He was crippled since 1 1/2 yrs old from a cat bite. Now he cleans himself, does not smell bad, and even stalks birds. all things he could not do most of his life. EGGS ARE A PHENOMENAL HEALTHFOOD. You have bees now too. I'm going to pick up my VSH bees from Brooks Mills Bees outside of Charlotte, NC this week.
I have two 20 year old cats that have some health issues (one has really bad breath, possibly due to his seizure medication). How do you make your homemade cat food? It's something I've been thinking of trying. 🙂
@@angelbear_og so easy. :-) I cook 2 of our chickens in a crock pot on low overnight. In the morning after cooling down, I debone them. Then I add in an equal amount of our squash grown on the farm. Thicken it to traditional cat food consistency with corn starch. And remember the salt to taste. Freeze it up into patties for convenience. At meal time thaw in small oven & then add in 2 or 3 raw eggs. THE CATS DEVOUR IT. They have become so strong from it that they now stalk the demon bully cat (from wild genes) next door that previously killed my cats and wounded them constantly. So much for Franklin County, NC Animal Control. LIARS. O well, ENJOY the recipe. It is a pure delight.
@@angelbear_og if you run out of chicken you can substitute Whole Foods chicken @ just $2.29 lb.
@@phall777 Well, there's no Whole Foods where I live, and I didn't say anything about running out of chicken anyway.... Is that all you feed your cats, chicken? Raw? Cooked?
@@angelbear_og I only said if you run out is because I did this week. But will be stocking up again very soon. cooked in the crock pot all night on low. That's their breakfast & I feed them a high quality dry feed after they finish that because I haven't figured out how to replace the dry feed yet. That's amazing your cats are 20 yrs old. You must be treating them really good.
Interesting that yours run from you. My friend has about 100 and they run to him. His are all free range.
yep....mine are smart lol
This is great design my nabor has this type of coop ... works great..
This was super helpful, thank you 😊
Thanks for the info Josh.
A lady I work for had free range chickens and a rooster, a weasel killed every single one. I'm not sure if they were in a coup at night or not, i'm not sure even what time of day or night this happened, but this isn't the first thing like this i've heard happening here in Nova Scotia. Sometimes it's the foxes that kill people's chickens, other times it's the bobcats, but when the bodies are all there just dead with vampire-like bites in the necks, then it's the weasels that have done it. Basically if you want to raise chickens here in this province they have to be in a cage with small holes in the wire , a weasel isn't very big.
free range=free meal if you keep chickens it's your responsibility to keep them up and protected for sure
Bought myself 6 chicks at North40 last weekend I'm in City limits and legally I can have 6 hens. No roosters allowed only requirement is I need minimum 500 sqf of Yard space..which is small.. so yes I'm raising my own egg layers and really excited to
Josh, you mentioned building your coop bigger. Why can't you just remove the top fence over the main area, build another 4x8 cage, no bottom, and attach back on the lower part of the coop. Wouldn't that solve your issue?
it would for sure...however nothing lasts forever....the outside run will need to be replaced within the next year or so
I have had chikens now for about 8 years i i realy enjoi it. I now have a flock of 40 hens and 3 roosters. Would recomend !
My chickens come running to me, not away, just saying not all chickens are chicken. LOL.
You don't make videos of processing chicken.
I have a newbie question. Just got our first small batch of chicks and one had pasty butt. I used warm water, cleaned her up and she’s doing fine so far. My question is, how “picky” do I need to be now that I notice every time I see a little poop on any of them?
I think they deserve a bigger run, but thanks for all the information.
great video. How do you protect them in freeze during winters?
Hi.... Josh, thank you for showing your video homestead 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋 🏡🎥👍👍👍
what would you say is the noise level throughout the day?
Great advice. Looking good!
My Mom liked using my duck eggs for baking cakes and pies
a nice honest video i appreciate it!
Awe is that the chicks from last year?? 😆 it's funny I know peeps that ONLY want Store bought eggs.. Lol..
How do you do, Sir, and thank you, from the suburbs of Forsyth County.
chickens are the best. low maintenance all you can eat eggs for the most part. I agree on making it taller. Mine is also 4 feet tall. I wish mine was 8 feet tall so I could walk in there.
6ft might be the best of both world
Put the water jug up three or four stacked paving stones. That works really well and that way the water stays much cleaner and sprinkle a little food grade diatomaceous earth over their food and those eggs will be very clean by the next day.
I don't play the diatomaceous earth game ....that stuff can be dangerous if inhaled...if ya have chickens...you're gonna have to clean the eggs and the waterers no matter what my friend...be careful with diatomaceous earth...it can harm lungs
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer it just seems easier and healthier to have the water up off the ground. And diatomaceous earth is bad for the lungs but it's good for other things. Used in the right way I think it's very helpful.
Good Saturday afternoon everyone!!!! Unfortunately, i had to break the bad news to my free range hens bright and early this mornin that due to expected egg shortages regretfully numbered are their days of laying a couple of eggs and then basically taking the rest of the day off with ranging privileges' within the parameters of a few very nice rural acres - parts of which are rich with fat grubworms. There's even a short dirt road between the main barn and the farmhouse which they're free to cross to get to the other side as often as they'd like. My rooster Ben overheard me and he ain't too happy either, knowing full well that due to oncoming egg shortages, he'll be "workin' overtime to make sure there's plenty of eggs for me an the family. 😊
If you hang your water 7in. Off the ground or set the water on a 7in. Riser it will stay hay and dirt free
Great video and information! Thank you!!
If you wash the eggs how long do they last? Also can you store eggs outside of a refrigerator or do they need to be refrigerated?
Very good..however I was just thinking I would put the water feeder on a chain aswel to stop them putting straw into it
Im thinking of getting 4 leghorn hens for eggs
My question is can i build most the stuff i need for them out of wood or just use 0 plastic?
whatever you choose my friend
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer okay thanks! 👍
This video was excellent, especially for a novice like myself. One question. Why is the coop elevated and how much.
wood...wet ground...enemies! It's just high enough to store the wheelbarrow and so no mice and or snakes make it a home