I'm thinking of getting some chickens.

[BarEdul]

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Yes if you can get past the bruising the taste of wall chicken is the equivalent of the expensive stuff and you really don't mind the salmonella from the cut rate butchering process... not to mention the fact that its pre-tenderized and has a great side effect of a quick 3 day weight loss program for the person who eats it.

[twisteroo]

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See what I mean? There is no down side to wall chicken.

[BarEdul]

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I was going to seriously advise that they purchase a rooster for the hens to produce more eggs.. but then there would always be plenty of cock around...

[Twitchin Kitten]

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You don't need a rooster to produce more eggs. I had a hen who used to lay two eggs a day and she was a lone hen/chicken on the farm. I'm pretty sure you only want a rooster if you want the eggs fertilized.

Gertie laid a lot of eggs for one hen. I used to pick up two a day from her in her nest but I found stashes of 8 or more all over the farm where she would sit on them expecting them to hatch. Poor thing, had no clue they were just rotting beneath her and never going to hatch.

[Jamminitin]

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Yeah, you don't need a rooster and you don't want one if you enjoy sleeping. If you pen the hens, they will lay the eggs in the beds you make them. You could let them roam during the day and pen them at night from critters.

The warmth will depend on how cold it gets where you are, but I think they are pretty hardy. My dad let his roam in and out of the barn and there didn't seem to be any issues.

We will be getting laying hens when our doggie goes to heaven.

[BarEdul]

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actually, I love to drive people nuts and this seems to be working.

Chickens are very hardy in PA and MD.

[Rhubarb]

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Just rake it into the lawn, Kim. If they are free range they'll spread the poop all over. It's actually very good fertilizer.

Good Luck.
I'm with Twisteroo, chickens can be pain. There is a surge of garden chickens locally. The blasted RSPCA decided to ask people to adopt battery hens. They are noisy, they mess up the garden and as for poop all over the place? That is so right! It is wet and smelly and where ever they are so is the poop, on the grass/chairs/tables/flower bed, need I go on? They can ruin the garden if you don't pen them. Friend let theirs run the place, we stop going over to the BBQ's because you would get chicken on the run as an extra on your plate

[LKTraz]

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Friend let theirs run the place, we stop going over to the BBQ's because you would get chicken on the run as an extra on your plate

It doesn't get any fresher than that!

Although.....the feathers might necessitate an extra drink with dinner.

[BarEdul]

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cough cough,, just think of all the pillows you could make...

[twisteroo]

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Flea infested, deep fried, egg laying, shitting machines.
A dozen eggs is what, less than a dollar or something? I don't know off the top of my head, but they are pretty cheep (he said cheep). You'd have to eat a shitpile of eggs to make having one of those dirty buggers running around your yard worth it.