Backyard Chickens?

[chambom]

Anybody have urban backyard chickens?

I have a space in my yard where I could easily fit a coup and a run. I am thinking about getting 2-3 hens for eggs.

Do you clean their coup everyday? How stinky are they? Would I just keep the ground grass covered or throw down hay?

Thanks for any tips or advice.

[WaitingForKiddos]

I have pullets! They will go out to the coop (a dog run with a dog house) in a couple of weeks. The plan is to clean out the coop weekly and rake out the poop in the run monthly.

I got my hens from mypetchicken.com
and couldn't be happier. I've heard from others that the hens are kept well and they dont cull the rooster chicks.

Backyardchickens.com is a good resource!

[greenmagick]

I have chickens (and ducks). They can get a bit smelly in the heat, but nothing unmanageable. I used to let them free range around my front yard as well, but got tired of poop all over, so they are now in the backyard most of the time.

We clean the coop about once a month....but they are only in it to sleep and lay, the rest of the time they are loose. The grass will be gone pretty quick if its a small area and just dirt can get a little gross. I have been using hay, but if the area was smaller, I would probably go with sand. Though the hay is nice because we just rake it all into a pile with the rest of the compost.

They really are great fun. The first ones I got (3 years ago) know their names and will come when called. The rest all come to "here girls!" and a couple know their names.