ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

Animals in the suburbs - chickens adapt well to urban life, children love 'em. Chooks are willing gardeners and best of all they produce fresh food for breakfast. Fresh, free range eggs... without question these are one of life's little pleasures. An even greater pleasure lies in being able to scuttle out your backdoor in the morning and collect some eggs from your very own hens.

Chooks are, by nature, incredibly social, and it is important to remember this when planning and purchasing. One chook on it's lonesome will be very unhappy, slightly distressed and will probably "go off the lay". Bare minimum number of hens is two, but, as a general rule of thumb, go for three chickens for four people, and, if you feel so inclined, one extra chook between every two people. Oh, and before you go stocking your patch with poultry, remember to check out your local council regs. A number of councils have a cap on the number of birds you can keep in the suburban backyard and also have rules restricting roosters. Feed your daily scraps + organic chicken feed, remember regular chicken feed can contain heavy metals, pesticides and animal by-products.

If you are not sure that chickens are the best pets for you :

Enrol in a local permaculture or chicken-keeping course to see if they are your thing!

Try before you buy! Hire some chickens. Chook-hire businesses rent out chickens and coops.

Rentachook "Rentachook is greener than Kermit's Bum" coops, chooks and all accessories. Rentachook offer a rental service to allow people to try keeping chooks to see if it suits them without having to commit to keeping them permanently.

Book A Chook hire and buy hens and roosters in Melbourne (Australia)!
Just wait, until you've heard your child giggle at a chooks antics with a live worm!! I think it's the ultimate in anti stress therapy!

City Chicks offers an opportunity to RENT or BUY complete Chicken and Coop packages, Incubators and Brooder Boxes.

You can still have feathered pets (that produce food) if you live in a small space. Japanese quail are ideal for small gardens, courtyards or even a balcony. Japanese quail are hardy birds that thrive in small cages and are inexpensive to keep.Japanese quail mature in about 6 weeks and are usually in full egg production by 50 days of age. With proper care, hens should lay 200 eggs in their first year of lay. Life expectancy is only 2 to 2½ years. They produce smaller eggs, 3 eggs will generally fill one egg ring.

For more information there are plenty of books on chook keeping in your local library.