A Question On Chickens

[Alija]

Alija wants to buy some chickens. (Probably a hen and two pullets) Just have some questions on them: 1. Are there any specific breeds to them, or do I just use real life breeds? 2. In Zeltiva, how easy would it be to get some? Could you buy them from a market? 3. As a character with no animal husbandry, how easy would it be to keep them? I'm assuming that, im the beginning, all she'll really do is feed them every day, and take their eggs. How realistic is this? 4. Would you be able to keep them in a small enclosed garden safely? Are there any dangers from other animals etc in Zeltiva? 5. In the same garden, would you still get the eggs? Or would you need a hen house of sorts? 6. How much would the feed be? Preferably per season. Thanks!

[Perplexity]

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Hello Alija,

1.) As of right now I don’t know of any specific breeds unique to Mizahar. Generally speaking you’re safe using a real life breed.

2.) Zeltiva doesn’t have a livestock market. The reason being is that there aren’t exactly a whole lot of open fields, surplus food supplies, and open spaces for them to graze/roam around in. At present the only livestock in the city are maintained by the family that owns the only large concentration of arable land in the city. There are not many of them, the animals and their offspring are not for sale, and what they produce is very expensive given the agricultural setting of Zeltiva.

3.) I can’t say. I personally don’t have much experience with raising chickens. I suggest doing some research on your own to get a firm grasp on what goes into raising one. Realistically speaking a common resident of Zeltiva would only be able to afford one chicken maybe two. The animals themselves would have to be imported which would make them very expensive with respect to their base cost on the Price List.

4.) To have a garden you have to have soil able to support said garden. Alija isn’t a land owner in Zeltiva and thus she wouldn’t be allowed to dig up the dirt around her cottage on a whim. The soil itself wouldn’t be very rich either. All of the rich soil has already been claimed and is not open to the public. No player in Zeltiva is a land owner. Everyone borrows the land with the permission of the Zeltivan government on behalf of those old, old, old wealthy families that do own the land. To make changes to said land requires permission from the Lord of Council’s Office. If you want to start a garden in the city you’d have to have the soil imported somehow and that would very, very pricey and I’m not entirely certain as to whether or not that’s possible. As for dangerous animals, not really. At least not within the boundaries of the city itself. Within the mountains and the forest surrounding it? Definitely.

5.) According to the Price List entry on the chickens section the average chicken produces 1 egg/day. If you can keep a chicken alive then the eggs are yours to do with what you please.

6.) The Price List places Feed at 5 CM’s per 10 lbs. Zeltiva isn’t a farming community and thus feed would not be easy to get ahold of on a large scale easily accessible to the public. You’d be looking at spending probably 6 SM on feed for 10 lbs.

For your information: chickens require 0.25 oz. of feed /day. 1 lb. of feed is equal to 64 days of food for (1) chicken. (1 lb. is equal to 16 oz., 16/0.25 = 64 or alternatively 1 lb. lasts 4 days. 16 * 4 = 64)

As a note, this is possible in Zeltiva but it’s expensive. It’s not something the average Joe can afford to take up as a hobby and it shouldn’t be.You’d be better served going to a city like Syliras, Riverfall, Nyka or even Sunberth where farmland is much more viable. The supplies you need to sustain chickens and even grow your own garden are more readily available there.

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[Gossamer]

FYI= Pullets are young hens that aren't laying yet aka less than a year. So you'd only be getting an egg from the hen once a day or once every couple of days.

[Alija]

Thanks! I think that's cleared up now. I actually think I'm going to scrap this idea though! =)