Chickens CAN be that low maintenance, yes. You will need large hanging feeders and waterers or have these things set on a timer from a large holding tank. I strongly recommend an automatic coop door with a timer to close the door for you at night.
Are chickens hard to keep?
‘Chickens aren’t difficult to keep once you have your morning and evening routine down,’ says Lisa Steele. As with most animals, they require time each day to attend to their health and hygiene requirements. The most challenging aspect of keeping chickens is keeping them safe from predators, so it’s important to know what types of predators you might be dealing with in your area.
Another common inquiry is “Are chickens easy to care for in the winter?”.
Adult chickens are easy and very low maintenance, even in the winter! If you get chicks, you’ll need to be willing to put in some work caring for them until they are full size.
What is the best low maintenance chicken breed to buy?
Stick with utility birds if you want low maintenance., murray mc Murray Hatchery has a great site and really good chicken breed descriptions, including eggs per week, size and color of eggs and weights of the adult birds. These goslings are just a few days old.
Whether you have a barnyard or backyard chickens are the place to start. Check out my article on 20 Calmest Chicken Breeds!
How long can you keep chickens in the coop?
Smaller chickens seem to be able to fly better than heavier breeds. I would keep them in a coop with a run for about 2-3 weeks to let them know that there will always be food and water there. After 2-3 weeks I would let them out about an hour before dark for a couple of days to get them in the rhythm of things.
One common answer is, top 10 Ways to Prevent or Break the Egg-Eating Habit. Make sure your chickens are getting enough protein. Keep the eggshells strong. Put a wooden egg or golf ball in the nesting box. Only feed your chickens cooked/scrambled eggs, build/buy slanted nesting boxes, provide a cushioned nesting box, fill an empty egg with english mustard, keep nesting boxes dim/dark, or collect eggs frequently as well are a few additional items to examine.
You see, some additional things to look into: in summary, and resources.
Should I get chicks or adult chickens?
If you get chicks, you’ll need to be willing to put in some work caring for them until they are full size. Start with adult birds if you need them to be low maintenance from day one.