Town and cities spend several weeks discussing whether or not residents should be allowed to own and keep chickens in their yards. It’s been great fun to listen to the heated discussions.
Some ordinances would have allowed up to six hens — no roosters — in one yard. It became apparent in the discussions there is a discrepancy in understanding about the birds and bees between city and country residents. The comments included the hens couldn’t lay eggs without roosters being involved; the chicken manure from six chickens would certainly take the place of all other fertilizer needs in their yards and wondering if their dogs would harass the chickens.
Another comment was that the produced eggs would be free. It might seem so, but after an initial outlay of the baby chicks, a chicken house, a fenced chicken yard, waterers and feeders, and the feed itself, reality would set in. When starting with baby chicks, it takes a good six months for the first eggs to be laid. Not every hen will lay an egg daily and there are dry spells with no eggs laid during molting. Unless the chickens are in a warm climate, the waterers will freeze if not heated and unless you use solar, that increases the electricity bills…