Eggs and meat for a city slicker

My family of 4 eats about a dozen eggs a day. We currently get them from the farmers market but lately they run out real quick and our grocery store in town is nearly empty as well.  We live regrettably in town other wise iv had chickens all my life. 20-30 cooks on 5 acers isnt a big deal. I'm worried about keeping a dozen chickens in our small yard with cool but close by neighbors. They already deal with my bees, rabbits the gardens and my hate for useless lawn. Id love to find something that isn't to loud can eat food scraps/compost/graze, reproduce and gives us meat and enough eggs. I was thinking ducks (There's a pond already in the works anyways) But was curious if bantams are worth the effort, I have a friend I could get fertilized eggs from for them. I know they eat less but they also produce smaller eggs. but i think 18 bantams would have a smaller foot print then 12 full sized cooks. Quail are not really my preference from what iv experienced with them so far but hey change my mind if you can lol. Just curious if yall have any more info that could help me decide on what to get.
Ps: If anyone can give me a good reason to get geese in town I'm all for it! I think I miss them more then my goats!

Hi Sam,

Check your local regulations regarding chickens.  I would go with full sized.

Hi Sam!
Have you considered quail? I've not kept them, but I hear (for what that's worth) that they tend to be quieter. There would be lots of things for you to consider, especially since the eggs are considerably smaller than full-sized hens.
Just thought I'd throw out the idea to see if it was something worth considering in your situation.

Quail aren't really my style, I don't like the cages most folks keep them in, id love to try them out in a greenhouse setting but otherwise they just arnt appealing to me,  poultry of all types are allowed but id like to keep the noise down. we are hoping to get meat, eggs, pest control and the ability to reproduce relatively quietly, yes dogs are louder (and more destructive) but there more tolerated then a rooster crowing. would bantam be worth the reduced egg and meat size to feed? are they any quiter? Iv only dealt with the bantam hens

ducks are noisy so they wouldn't help you, Muscovy ducks are not noisy but they only lay a couple of batches of eggs each year so they wouldn't work for you either. How big is your garden? 18 chickens is a lot even if you are allowed them.
To avoid the cockerel you could swap eggs with someone who has them a couple of times a year to get new chicks.

If I could do it, legally, I'd go with a high production, quiet, friendly, hardy breed. My favorite is the Buff Orpington. They typically produce over 200 good sized eggs/ year. They do have broody tendencies, so take that into consideration, too. I use it to our benefit, and let them foster other birds. Production does fall off, in the winter, and that plus their broodiness is what accounts for the majority of their less than 365/yr.

ducks are messy and stink more than chickens, in my opinion.  I have both.  Chickens are also much better at food scrap cleanup.  
I agree with other posters, if legal, get a large breed, not bantam.  Get something from the "American" class - they tend to be decent at laying large brown eggs, perhaps avoid breeds in the mediteranean class - they are the best layers, but tend to be flighty and nervous and are more likely to end up escaping into the neighbors yard.

I've only owned one bantam rooster. Never been around enough of them to be 100% sure but it had about the same volume as a full size rooster.

Bummer I was hoping that bantams would be quiet little birds but I suppose a chihuahua is just as loud as a great Dane so I'm not surprised. Im not to worried about the smell for ducks, a deep wood chip bedding and a bioactive pond should help with that. i think with bantams taken out of the race here il leave the decision up to my partner, I love ducks and chickens maybe wel do half and half and eat the ones that don't work out for us.  

I did not find deep bedding works for ducks, they don't dig at all and their poo sort of glues the whole lot together into a crust.

Until you figure out what and when you will get into the egg/meat business, my suggestion would be to check with some feed stores to find out who sells eggs in your area.

My feed stores sell eggs though if they didn't they would know who buys chicken feed that might sell eggs.

My neighbors used to have bantams (they've gone chicken-less due to aging and predator pressure) and recently a friend's bantams moved to my farm when she lost her rental situation. Bantams aren't any quieter than either ducks or regular chickens, but they tend to be better foragers, less fussy scrap eaters than Hubby's chickens although you can choose a breed that has a better reputation for that, and everyone says the eggs taste better. They look more like "pets" - I say pets with benefits - and have personality, so that can be an asset in an urban setting.

I've got Muscovy and Khakis and agree with much of what's said above. I find the Khakis, even when raised by Muscovy moms, to be *much* flightier than either chickens or Muscovy (which are about as calm and friendly as you can imagine an animal being!) The females quack a *lot* with little cause and I generally refer to that entire avian branch as "Noisy Ducks" for that characteristic. Advantages are that they *LOVE* slugs, and will do less damage if they get into the garden at an unexpected time. Disadvantage is that they need fresh water multiple times/day. I try to use that in a beneficial way, by recycling the water onto plants that need it.

Geese are low emission lawn mowers - but they are noisy at times. We just got two new ones to go with our widowed gander, and Beetlegoose is the cutest little gosling you can imagine! They help with aerial predators, and their eggs taste fine for the 2 1/2 months they lay in the spring!

If I'm understanding, it seems that bothering the neighbors is your main concern here. Maybe this seems too simple or wouldn't work for some reason, but have you just tried asking them how they'd feel about you having chickens? Perhaps lay out what that would be likely to be like for them and what you would do to ensure it was okay for them? You said they're cool with the other things you already do, seems possible they might have no issue with chickens being added to the mix. Showing people you're considering their experience can go a long way. Some eggs, honey or stuff from the garden now and again could probably help too...

I've been following this thread because I'm in a similar situation. I have space for rabbits, but not for chickens. Not thrilled about the quail setup; I think just for meat, rabbits offer more flexibility, require less work, and take up less space (the rabbits share the garden, they have 'play runs' between the beds for when the weather is good). My space is very small (7 meters by about 10 from garden wall to wall), if you're talking about pond you might have a bit more.
I've seen two urban farms with bird runs that looked really attractive- one is the greenhouse/yard setup on Edible Acres (youtube channel), the other was a sustainable small urban home in Australia that had a small run for quail (almost like a dog kennel), with a concrete floor, all the waste matter from kitchen and garden was thrown in there and the quail had a field day with it. I think they might have also had chickens that roamed the yard and got put up at night. I can't remember what it was called but it was amazing to see someone else cramming crazy amounts of stuff into a tiny urban plot.

Our yard is not small I suppose compared to some city lots but iv downsized recently from 10 acers so it sure seems small, I'm not sure the exact size but a large bio active swimming pool\fish/ water retention pond is currently in the works, that's another post all together I suppose. It takes up a good portion of the yard, Iv had chickens and ducks in the past, just in such a large scale i never really had to think about how much of a foot print they use to be happy friendly birds. I like the idea of small dainty chickens that look like pets about, waddling ducks in the pond with the velociraptor normal sized chickens about,

I think we are going to put runs thru the garden for the chickens and the rabbits are being moved to the front yard as after the pond is completed and the garden moved there's no grass in the back yard for them to mow any more. I agree with the folks who say to just get eggs from others to raise. I suppose i just like having that sustainability and control of knowing the birds personally before continuing there lines. being in Iowa its hit and miss with what people are breeding for.

With the deep bedding and ducks we had a pile of wood chips next to the pen id just lay down a fresh layer every so often when it needed it. They definitely do not fluff it up at all.
The smaller birds not needing as much feed is the reason I'm drawn to them. Plus there cute. And one of the house members is scared of chickens. He is determined to get over it thou as he really loves the farm fresh eggs. Our neighbors are super cool and I'm 100% sure they don't mind our shenanigans and odd set up, the house next to us is condemned and empty has been for 5 years. BUT i like to stay on the safe side, i don't want to strain the good relation ship we have with them, we share things like tomatoes and she brings me pears that I turn into mead and give her a couple bottles and we have fires together and share recipes. Id hate to lose that sense of community with them over a few to loud birds. And being the classic Midwesterners they are I don't think they would complain t o us ever.

While I have no experience with them myself, I've read that most chicken breeds have had the broodiness bred out of them, which means getting them to reproduce requires manual incubators.

This is not true of bantams, which breed regularly. So that is a point in their favor.

Many people use bantams for egg production without problems. They just use more eggs to offset the small size. However, I don't know whether bantams produce enough meat to be worth harvesting.

Chicken hens are pretty quiet. Our neighbors keep them, and I would never know they were there if I didn't trade jam and veggies for eggs. :-) Roosters are a completely different story, though, as you know from your experience on acreage.

If I were you in your situation, I would probably raise hens long-term for eggs, and also get a small number of chicks each year that were raised for meat and promptly harvested. Skip the adult roosters.

Cathy James wrote:While I have no experience with them myself, I've read that most chicken breeds have had the broodiness bred out of them, which means getting them to reproduce requires manual incubators.

Interesting. My Opringtons go broody like crazy!

Cathy James wrote: Chicken hens are pretty quiet. Our neighbors keep them, and I would never know they were there if I didn't trade jam and veggies for eggs. :-) Roosters are a completely different story, though, as you know from your experience on acreage.

My hens can get pretty chatty. Mostly they complain (quite loudly) when the favorite nesting boxes are occupied. Never mind there are a few other perfectly good boxes right beside them. They will go outside to lay on the ground if they can't get to the box they want.

Perhaps if you do get a rooster, you might consider reassuring your neighbors that if he does become excessively noisy, you will harvest him. That way your neighbors know that you are trying to be considerate of noise issues?

Evidently Orpingtons have not had the broodiness bred out of their line. Good to know! I did a quick search online and saw other people reporting broody Orpingtons, so it's not just yours.

I have heard that Rhode Island Reds are not broody and are very calm. However, I've also read reports from Rhode Island Red owners who have had their hens get broody, so it's not universal.

When I had Rhode Island Reds, they never went broody. Neither did my Barred Rocks. However, it was my experience that the Barred Rocks were bullies. I won't plan to keep them again. But my RIRs were very friendly, and I fell in love with the breed!

I feel I should point out that there are a quite a few heritage breeds that will go broody. I have Black Australorps that go broody. I will second that hens are not always quiet. My hens are VERY vocal when they lay eggs, nearly as loud as the rooster in my opinion.

However, back to the original questions, I too think a full size chicken is your best bet for eggs. And I think being up front about it, and chatting with your neighbors about the possibility. Perhaps bringing up health concerns for factory farmed eggs and how much healthier they are when you raise them right. I think there is a curiosity about food these days and it might surprise you that they are interested. There is also the possibility they will not want you to have any and will report you if you try. Unfortunately restrictions in more populated areas make it much more difficult.

Maybe you could get some chickens and offer "Organic Pest Control and Fertilizing"? Or get some geese and offer "Automated Organic Lawn Mowing and Fertilizing"?  If you get enough customers, they wouldn't even be on your property much to bother the neighbors. Haha :)

Stacie Kim wrote:

Perhaps if you do get a rooster, you might consider reassuring your neighbors that if he does become excessively noisy, you will harvest him. That way your neighbors know that you are trying to be considerate of noise issues?

The problem with that theory is that some people will just get ticked, but refuse to be honest. Hubby would say things to me, but he'd never say anything to the very people that could fix the problem. I on the other hand, will voice my concern in as nice a way as I can. Neighbors had hatched their own chicks and seemed to have about 15 roosters instead of their usual 2-3. The noise from their coop was pretty much in a direct line of my bedroom window and it was summer with long days. One rooster would start and the rest would all contribute. A polite, "you seem to have a lot of roosters. Are you planning to keep them all?" got the conversation started and when he found out they were impacting my sleep, he promised to get on with culling most of them sooner rather than later. Granted, I had assured him that his usual 2 were fine with me - it was the multiplier effect that was creating trouble.

Dogs frequently can cause noise problems. Owners often don't realize that when they aren't on property and something upsets their dog, the barking can get annoying fast and is *far* worse than any noise even my roosters and geese make, as they seem to get over things faster. Goose, "the sky is falling, everyone take cover" - 2 minutes later - "false alarm, let's go back to napping".  Dog, "you're not my people and I'm going to bark at you until my people come and tell me to shut up. Except my people aren't home so that means I can bark at you all afternoon."  The same neighbors with the roosters had two large dogs. Hubby was trying to trouble-shoot the electrical system in a friend's motor home with an intermittent fault. The motor home owner got to the point of saying he was going home for his gun. The neighbors were oblivious to how bad it was when they were both at work. I managed to lock their dogs up property and left a message for them (which was tricky as they were big and potentially dangerous dogs.)

Moral of the stories - if you don't want to tick off the neighbors with noisy animals, you need to not just look at how the animal acts when you're around and not just consider what they sound like from your house/bedroom!