One of the neighbors had two a few years back. They kept them in the garage. When the señora returned in the afternoons, she would let them out. Funny thing is, they weren't hens. Hmm, curious.

This page has several links from UGA.

An article you might want to look at.

Here is a link that might be useful: UGA's main page on poultry science

The man who renovated our house keeps chickens, and we had two neighbors with chickens (who moved). They all learned to keep chickens through a class at Oakhurst Gardens. http://www.oakhurstgarden.org/
There is also a guy on the Cottage Garden forum who keeps chickens. If you look on the conversations pages, you'll find him and in the gallery over there you will find pictures of his amazing coop.

GGG

So funny to open teh site and see this post. I was just thinking about keeping chickens in my back yard.

I grew up with a mother who raised birds. It sounds like your chickies are right on the verge of being in a chicken house/ coop and being up off the ground in a more protective hutch- can't remember what we used to call it but it keeps them more sheltered and allows for lights for warmth in the enclosed part. Also keeps them protected better from stray dogs, etc. while they're still young.

If you google "urban" and "poultry" you might find a link I found a few months back to an urban poultry-keeping magazine that had lots of cool ideas and products.

Saw them for the first time tonight and oh, I think I am in trouble! They are charming and seemed to have distinct personalities. Thank you for the links and advice so far and please keep it coming... vets ..food, jokes anything!

m

There is going to be a class at the Dunwoody Nature Center:

THE CHICKEN WHISPERER

Saturday, April 4; Time coming shortly
DNC members: $20; General Public: $25

Andy Schneider, the "Chicken Whisperer," is coming to Dunwoody Nature Center! Learn how to care for and enjoy fresh eggs from chickens who are at home on your range. (Did you know chickens like leftover pasta? And they make very little noise - no rooster needed!) He'll also have chicks for sale. Visit his website, www.atlantapetchickens.com for more information. REGISTER today!

Here is a link that might be useful: Dunwoody Nature Center's site

a family across the street and three houses down have chickens. they run around in the yard with the chihuahuas, and they have a little wooden coop type structure for them, IIRC.

i'm inside the city limits. not sure what the laws and regulations allow, but i guess if GGG's neighbor(s) have/had them, there must be something to allow it.

there is a guy that lives two blocks away that has a bunch of chickens and actually sells eggs as well. he keeps his caged, though, from what iv'e heard. i hear them, never seen them. neighbor's yard is over-landscaped (yes, it's possible!) so you can't see any of it from the street.

I'm just another person who's been interested in keeping a few, mainly for pets. One thing I read and remembered that sounded useful was a mobile day pen that could be dragged about to allow them to clear different areas of bugs while keeping them out of new plantings.

Hi All,

I ended up with two barred rock hens, Emma and Lucy, they are a grand addition to the place. The dogs have learned to respect them, they are insightful foragers thus kept out of the garden proper, but are ranged in the back yard. I built a cheap (Scrap material for the most part) semi mobile coop in which they are housed when I can not be listening for hawk cries and in which they sleep and lay.

They molted in December, and quit laying until this past week and are back to two eggs a day! Neighbors like chickens when there is no rooster and free fresh eggs are involved!

Would love to attend the Chickn whisperer event but will be out of town. Love the web site.

Best luck and enjoy.

M

anybody know the rules about this in athens? I would also be interested in keeping some, but live just inside the old city limits near downtown. When I asked if I could keep a goat or two for keeping kudzu at bay, I was denied. But I remember my parents owning chickens on this same property about 25-30 years ago.
Thanks.

No (legal) chickens in Athens.

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/061408/news_20080614047.shtml

See above post. Not that I am in town or anything..

Thank you for finding that story, I appreciate it. Personally, I think that they should decide on a case by case basis or make laws about numbers allowed with no roosters.
I think it's asinine that they won't let me have goats, either. If my property was few hundred yards in the other direction, then I could legally own them. I seriously doubt my neighbors would mind since the kudzu behind our houses is out of control and stems from the woods behind. The yard companies that my family had out to give estimates about removal said it would be a couple of thousand dollars and would require their crews to wear haz-mat suits for the sprays they'd use! And even then it would still come back! The one company that said they could do it organically was more than double the cost. One or two goats would be the solution and don't think they'd make any more noise than the dogs that bark constantly around here.
Anyway, sorry about the OT soapbox commentary. LOL! Thanks again. :)

I enjoyed reading this thread so much. I have wanted to keep two or three chickens since I moved back to Georgia eleven years ago. My family kept chickens when I was a child. And I was reminded that when I was a young lady and my father was too old to do heavy yard work he rented several goats and turned them loose in the overgrown backyard. It was only a few days until the back yard was clean.