They have been a long time coming. I have wanted chickens ever since I started my graduate education. I had some friends who got what seemed like a herd of chickens. The maximal allowed chickens in city limits was 6 or so, so in reality, they probably had 6-which seems like a herd.
But I didn't have a penned up area, and moreover, I was studying! So, no chickens for me.
When I went and got an internship after graduating, I lived in a house with a fenced yard, and unfortunately 3 dogs that would most likely harass chickens. However, even worse was a city ordinance prohibiting chickens (hen or rooster) form being kept in the city proper. Now, I was in a rural area--what the heck!? So another year past.
Now on to the island. Well, with all the excitement of this new and brilliant place, I almost forgot about my want of chickens. My first landlord had some geese. I didn't want to impose on his goose hutch for my chickens, so I resisted for a while. When I moved down the road, boy did I ever pester Mr. B for a chicken coop! The end result is that my landlord took over the project, and came up with this awesome coop.
We got 3 chickens (Huey, Dewey and Lewie), retired hens from the local egg farm. One is really retired-as in, she doesn't lay eggs. There are usually 2 eggs per day in the little nesting boxes though--which is quite pleasant. Doing all the math, it equals about a dozen eggs a week, which costs about 10 dollars here. This is about the cost of their food. So right now, we break even--but get to enjoy these fresh delicious eggs. Not to mention, they are great for trading with!
Addendum: Beware the mongoose! Those nasty thieves have been stealing our eggs as of late. The tell-tale signs are egg-whites smeared in your enclosure and egg shells in the nesting box or in our case, under the palette!! Of course, you might also just see one snooping about when you go to feed them in the morning! Patches have been made to our cage, but the things just dig under our cage!
But I didn't have a penned up area, and moreover, I was studying! So, no chickens for me.
We got 3 chickens (Huey, Dewey and Lewie), retired hens from the local egg farm. One is really retired-as in, she doesn't lay eggs. There are usually 2 eggs per day in the little nesting boxes though--which is quite pleasant. Doing all the math, it equals about a dozen eggs a week, which costs about 10 dollars here. This is about the cost of their food. So right now, we break even--but get to enjoy these fresh delicious eggs. Not to mention, they are great for trading with!