Raise Your Own Chickens in Your Back Yard?

[Daleuhlmann]

U. S. Department of Agriculture head Brooke Rollins has just shown how out of touch she is with most other Americans with this utterly unrealistic proposal! What about the increased risk of bird flu? What if you don't have a back yard? What if you have no yard at all? What if . . .?

https://www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/trumps-sec-of-agriculture-tells-americans-to-raise-chickens

[The Blue Flower]

1. What if you have a dog?

Mine would freak out.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. Or cats.

I have two, one of which is an amazing hunter. Actually, these days I no longer have a back yard. I'm in a third-floor apartment with a balcony. No chickens for me.

[sweetapogee]

7. ...

we have both a dog and chickens

[Ocelot II]

2. I know a few people who keep backyard chickens as a hobby,

but they'll be the first to tell you that it's a lot of work and it doesn't make the eggs any cheaper. They might be better eggs, but once you've obtained some hens, built a coop, added fencing to keep out predators (raccoons, foxes, hawks), bought feed, vet care, etc., buying eggs at the grocery store will seem pretty cheap. And obviously you can keep chickens only if you have a yard and live either in the country or in a city that allows it. Nobody is going to keep chickens in a high-rise apartment, FFS. Brooke Rollins is clearly a moron.

[patphil]

3. Falls right in there with "let them eat cake" logic.

Imagine how much quicker bird flu would sweep across the country. It's in the process of mutating into a disease that can infect people right now.
Fortunately it has yet developed to the extent that is can support person to person infection, but that could easily change with so many more people handling the birds.
Put chickens in neighborhoods across the nation is an idiotic idea.

[RockRaven]

5. Even if you have the space/property, know how, desire, etc. the math doesn't math.

Backyard chickens are more costly than even today's "expensive" supermarket eggs.

The solution is clear and obvious -- an effective livestock vaccine. Or it would be clear and obvious if every asshole in this administration wasn't a grifter, liar, and fraudster.

[sop]

6. Most cities have zoning laws that regulate farm animals in residential areas.

[Wiz Imp]

8. Not to mention that raising your own chickens for eggs is generally MORE expensive

than buying eggs in the store.

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/investigators/consumer/chickens-eggs-prices-bird-flu/4125932/

Also, in addition to all the other issues you mentioned, there are some places where raising chickens in your back yard would not be legal.

[LeftinOH]

9. The community I live in doesn't allow backyard chicken coops, for good reason.

The wild foxes and coyotes, already abundant in the area, will absolutely turn every backyard into a bloodbath.

[DeepWinter]

10. I agree with her

If you have the space and care about your food, why not?

I'm a country boy through and through, backyard chickens are as common as a pet dog here. A neighboor three doors dwn sells excess eggs and pockets $50-$75/week as a side hustle to her Nurse career.

This is entirely normal. Yet another divide between rural and city.

[tanyev]

11. But those who have the space and time and live where it would be allowed

are still a very small fraction of U.S. residents who consume eggs.

[DeepWinter]

12. Yep

This is entirely situational to haveing both the space, time, and inclination. It's not for everyone.

[Daleuhlmann]

13. Yes, and a "Divide" That in Itself Makes This an Impractical Idea

Even if the math does work out for some (and that's debatable, given, too, the cost of food, housing, and maintenance), this "divide" between city and country life thar you'd mentioned means that Rollins' proposal would still not benefit a sizeable number of Americans.

[MissB]

17. Yep. I live just outside of city limits

Most folks here in my neighborhood have kitchens larger than my entire first floor, and I don’t have an especially small house.

I have my normal sized home on a half acre. I could have a rooster but choose not to because I like my neighbors. I currently have 17 hens. I know there are a few neighbors here and there that have smaller flocks.

The hen house and run take up a section of my yard that wouldn’t be used for growing anything. Right now I’m getting 5-6 eggs a day, should ramp up to about a dozen a day during the summer. I have a mix of young and older hens.

They’re pets that happen to produce an edible product as well as some amazing compost additives.

I give my eggs away to friends and family and close neighbors.

[Redleg]

14. This shows how out of touch the head of USDA is with the average person

The Dems should leverage this. Her answer was a flippant answer to a simple question.

[PlanetBev]

15. Oh, I'm sure my HOA would be fine with that

Not to mention there’s a zillion clever coyotes in the Southern California burbs.

What planet are these people on?

[Marthe48]

16. My daughter has chickens

has had a flock for over 10 years. They have a very sturdy, secure coop, and they usually have plenty of eggs. It is a lot of work keeping the flock healthy, and safe. And money. Chicken feed is no longer cheap.

They don't have close neighbors. I mentioned to her that her flock might be safe from bird flu, and she is worried about the wild birds that forage for feed around the pen bringing it to her birds. I hadn't thought of that, but so far, they are staying healthy.

I live in a residential neighborhood and 2 different neighbors have had chickens.

[MissB]

19. I think it's been mostly migratory birds

and birds of prey. I haven’t seen much about bird flu in song birds, which make up most of the population of our birds on our property. We did move the bird feeders to the other end of the property, just in case.

Having a solid coop/run is not cheap. I don’t see newer backyard chicken keepers spending lots of $ on a solidly built coop/run.

[Marthe48]

20. They made a good coop a priority

The wire is over 2 ft underground, and other safety measures. They have to worry about foxes, bobcats, hawks and coyotes. They let the chickens out if they are home, and keep an eye on them, but they have had losses. If I'm helping when they are gone, I don't let the chickens out. I would hate for anything to happen to them.

When my daughter decided to get a flock, she imagined it'd become a way for her kids to make some money. When we saw the coop, my husband and I thought they'd have to sell a lot of eggs before they saw a profit. The flock has never made money, but they enjoy fresh eggs most of the year. The flock is entetaining, too. This is the 4th or 5th generation of birds. There is a rooster, sometimes more than one, and the interplay is interesting, to say the least.

[MissB]

18. Chick supply is tight this year

And the price of a chick has gone up in the local farm stores. Some hatcheries have no availability.

I dread seeing the ads for free hens in a few months when folks realize that’s don’t really want backyard chickens.

[NickB79]

21. The local Fleet Farm got their first order in this week

I was there shopping at the time, and didn't need any more chicks myself, but the line was looooong. They ended up selling all 300 birds in an hour.

I know a few other flock owners in the area, so we're all trading fertilized eggs this spring when our hens go broody so our flocks don't inbreed over time.