I was thinking about getting one of those small portable chicken coops to see if we might enjoy it. I like to shoot in my back yard quite a bit during the summer and was wondering if this would have a detrimental effect on their egg laying? Does anybody know from experience?
They'll get used to anything.
Years ago I was told to go catch and kill a chicken for Sunday dinner. I went into the coop and couldn't catch one. So I went and got the .410 an shot one inside the coop. No eggs for about a week and I had a sore butt for about the same amount of time
Mine don’t have a problem
My 410 single shot is my rooster shooter. When we have one to eliminate, he gets singled out into the pen, the hens stay inside the coop.
My chickens get use to noise. The only gunshots around here is with a PCP rifle. What they really hate is the lawnmowers, but they get use to them and calm down. After a while they'll stand by the pen fence waiting for the mower to throw grass cuttings to them.