Chickens: how do they work?

[Detroit Hoser]

Originally Posted by Artifactus

I live in Denver and many cities in Colorado are now allowing residents (home owners only) to keep chickens with rules about noise, smell and number of birds you can have.

I am not sure that I agree with this but many people apparently want to be a backyard 'farmer' apparently.

You might check with your city and see if such a thing is possible there.



Bob

Originally Posted by KidVermicious

I like the idea of urban farming. Big green beautiful lawns are terrible on so many levels - put that land to use.

Oh, they'll kill that big green beautiful lawn in short order, believe me. But on the upside you'll have fewer annoying insects in the summer. For the backyarders within city limits they usually disallow roosters (because roos are noisy assholes) and no more than three hens. Having fewer than three hens is a bad idea, though. Chickens are flock animals, they need buddies.

Also: Welcome, Bob!

[KidVermicious]

Originally Posted by Detroit Hoser

For the backyarders within city limits they usually disallow roosters (because roos are noisy assholes) and no more than three hens.

Funny story, the guys across the street from me got a big tom turkey a couple weeks ago. Rooster's got nuthin' on that big noisy bastard.

[Detroit Hoser]

Oh geeze, no kidding. Plus, turkeys are messy and they stink. My brother-in-law next door raised turkeys last year and I could smell them way across the field.

[Jaglavak]

Originally Posted by Detroit Hoser

Oh, they'll kill that big green beautiful lawn in short order, believe me.

Coincidentally, some folks up the block have a little chicken tractor with three hens. Looks like they have to move it every day to avoid bare spots.

[teela brown]

I stop at a lady's semi-rural house to buy eggs occasionally. She lets me hang out at her fence to visit with her hens. I really like the little one they've named "Ducky". She's so named because her clucks sound just like duck quacks.

[The Devil's Grandmother]

Originally Posted by AuntiePam

So -- if you get an egg with a double yolk, does that mean there would be twins if the egg had been fertilized?

No, a double yolk is twice the fat & nutrients for the baby bird to eat. The white part of the egg is the protein that would grow into a bird if it was fertilized and brooded and all of that.

[Detroit Hoser]

Double yolks happen a lot when a hen first starts to lay. Cracking one open is exciting.

[AuntiePam]

Thank you! I've always thought the yolk was the part that grew into a bird.

Which part has the most protein -- the white?

I never liked the yolk so mom would eat mine. She said it had more nutritional value than the white. I figured that was part of the rule that "If you don't like something, that means it's good for you."

[Khampelf]

My neighbor's had a rooster for a while, but I haven't heard him lately, he probably lost. One time it got away and wound up in my yard. It was sitting on a fence with it's talons about eye level to me. It was obviously pissed off, I left it alone and it was gone when I looked outside again.

[Detroit Hoser]

Or they culled it from the flock, just like we did to that bastard bantam rooster, Little Jimmy. What an asshole.

[JackieLikesVariety]

Or they culled it from the flock

do you eat them, then?

[Detroit Hoser]

It depends. Personally, no. When one of our flock dies she gets buried with all the other pets. The exception is Little Jimmy, who literally went to live out the rest of his life on a farm. I don't know how long his life lasted or if they butchered him but he was an asshole rooster and didn't play well with other chickens OR people. A lot of people will butcher their hens that no longer lay eggs but I think that's mean. They've laid delicious eggs for several years and given me hours and hours of laughter, they deserve a comfortable retirement.

But that's me.

[JoanieBaloney]

I bought local eggs on vacation and one of them had a neon green white part. Bright neon green. Never seen that before. It shocked me and I threw it out but I'm told it was perfectly safe to eat. Just looked weird as hell lol

[Chacoguy]

Green Eggs and Ham.

[JoanieBaloney]

I do not like them in my house.

[Jules]

At one point I had at least 200 chickens, including plenty of roosters. Some were show birds, some were for selling fertile eggs for hatching, some were meat birds, and a couple were pets. I had the best time with those birds.

I took some to a show with my son, and we brought back a disease, probably on our shoes. It was virulently contagious, and incurable. I would never be able to sell or show a bird from that flock again. Some were asymptotic carriers. So I had to cull the entire flock, and since I'd been treating them, we couldn't even eat them. It was rough.

My plan was to let my land lay fallow enough for the disease to clear the soil, and it's been well long enough, but I don't have the heart for it. I miss my Wyandottes, and my Blue Andalusians, and my wee bantams.

[Detroit Hoser]

Oh no! Oh my god, Jules, that's so heartbreaking. I mean, seriously heartbreaking. And the wee bantams, those things are so damn sweet. Yeah, I wouldn't have the heart to do it again, either.

[JackieLikesVariety]

When one of our flock dies she gets buried with all the other pets. The exception is Little Jimmy, who literally went to live out the rest of his life on a farm.

[The Devil's Grandmother]

Originally Posted by AuntiePam

Which part has the most protein -- the white?

Yes, but not by much. An average chicken egg from the store is about 80 calories, split 60-yolk with 2.7 grams protein and 20-white with 3.6 grams protein.

[Radical Edward]

I love you guys. <3