How to get started with Backyard Chickens

So, you want to get chickens! Chickens are a great place to start producing your own food. They are usually the first farm animal for most homesteaders and you can begin with just a few in your backyard. Most families that homestead or semi-homestead have chickens for eggs or meat - and sometimes for eggs and meat. The best time of year to get started with chickens is in the spring in order to miss the harsh winter temperatures and so they start laying consistently by end of the summer in order to establish laying before days get long.

Start-up cost for chickens isn't large compared to other farm animals plus upkeep is simple since they don't eat a ton of food or take up a lot of space.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when you're starting out:

1. What are you raising chickens for - eggs, meat, or both?

2. How many chickens will you have and where will the chickens be living?

3. What type of coop do I need to buy or build?

4. How will you provide feed and water?

5. What types of material should you use for bedding that make cleaning easy?

Question 1: What are you raising chickens for: eggs, meat, or both?

First question is what is your ultimate goal with the chickens? Most people want to have their own supply of eggs. For the most part, you can raise hens that lay eggs almost year round.

For eggs layers there are many different breeds that allow you to get different quantities, colors, and sizes. Heritage breeds typically have white, brown, beige, blue, and dark brown eggs. And the variety of colors expand further with crossed breeds to also produce green, mint, sage, olive, pink, and even cream-colored eggs.

To understand how many eggs the breeds typically produce, there are guides online. Some fancy chickens look cool but produce very few eggs like a sultan chicken. There are also hybrid breeds that are crossed called sex linked that are known to be heavy producers of eggs – Amberlink and Black Sex Link. They lay more but usually have slightly shorter lifespans due to their higher production. There are many ways to get your flock started. You can find chicks typically in the spring at your local feed and supply stores like Tractor Supply year round from large hatcheries such as Meyers Hatchery.

Question 2: How many chickens will you have and where will they be living?

All chickens will need sometime type of shelter from the weather and predators. There are different classifications of what types of chickens and egg designations you are raising which here is a good run on cage free vs free range vs pasture raised. According to CertifiedHumane.org:

• Caged: Hens are confined to cages with a 67-square inch space each. They never see the light of day and consume a corn or soy diet. Over 90 percent of eggs in the U.S. come from hens that are kept in cages for their entire egg-laying lives.

• Cage-Free: These ladies have more room than caged hens, since each is given less than 1 square foot. Still, they’re not entirely “free,” since they’re confined to barns and consume a corn or soy diet.

• Free-Range: Allotted less than 2 square feet per hen, these animals have more space than their caged and cage-free peers, but they don’t get outdoors as much as you may think. Some seldom get to see the light of day and many eat a corn- or soy-based feed.

• Pasture-Raised: These ladies are given at least 108 square feet each and consume some feed and lots of grass, bugs, worms and anything else they can find in the dirt. They tend to be let out of the barns early in the morning and called back in before nightfall

For homesteaders or people trying to homestead the big question is to let the chickens be completely free which is considered pasture raised versus free range but in a large coop with a run. The main difference is how willing are you to risk your chickens dealing with predators during the day and what area of the country you live in and the predator population.

We live in NC and have a heavy population of hawks, coyotes, foxes, and raccoons so we choose to now just free range our chickens in an oversized coop with have outdoor section that is still inside. We have friends that pasture raise but they deal with loss from time to time. Another major thought is if you want to pasture raise it is suggested you keep at least a rooster or more depending on flock size for protection.

Step 3: What type of coop do I need to buy or build for our chickens? (Insert story of JR building chicken coop)

A lot of people ask if they can build their own chicken coop. The answer is yes and it will probably cost you less but take more time. You can buy coops but they tend to be on the smaller size which will work if you are just raising a few in the backyard. Amazon has two great options for a few hens.

You will need a chicken coop that is enclosed with nesting boxes for the chickens to lay in the evening. How many boxes you need depends on your chickens. General rule is that 3 chickens can share a box. Reality is they may have a favorite. We have 6 boxes and only 2 of them really get used. I have actually seen them wait in line.

If you want to have more than 5 hens I suggest building your own coop. There are lots of plans available online to help guide you. We found one that we liked that could fix into our landscape and barn style. It took my husband JR a few weeks to do it but it turned out great.

A few things I didn't think about as we learned as we went along. You probably want electricity if you want to have lights or electric fence for protection. Make sure you have a ventilation system, we bought this one to maintain the enclosed area of the coop. We later installed one. Create a small divider as well if you plan to get new chickens at different stages. You can't combine older chickens with baby chicks until they are at least 15 weeks old. We also later installed rubber stripping and caulking to help stop water from getting into the coop.

Step 4: Chicken Feeding and Water

There are lots of chicken feeders and chicken waters. Depending on the chickens age will allow you to determine the height. Most people hang them and let gravity help distribute a held amount from above.

For baby chicks you need the small feeders and waters and most of the time they come in a kit such as these from amazon. Once the chickens get larger the feeders can be as simple galvanized gravity or fancier to help hold more and protect from weather and rodents. There are ones that are also weight driven but they get rather pricey.

As far as water we honestly haven't found our favorite yet. As far as price, you can't beat the galvanized gravity water tray but it is hard to tell when it needs to be refilled. We have a tripod now gravity water bowl and while the concept is great if it isn't perfectly level it slowly leaks.

Most have their pros and cons. Some mean more frequent feeding and water. While others will require less attention but have mechanisms that can break.

When it come to feed we buy organic chicken feed that is made with non-GMO by products. You can order or pick up at feed stores. You also need to provide grit for calcium and digestion. We also treat with a handful of scratch and meal-worms regularly. They also eat veggie and fruit scraps. Do check on what is ok to give them as some are dangerous. Our chickens love lettuce and herbs the most!

Step 5: Chicken Coop Bedding and Cleaning

In order to help keep the chicken coop and run clean, it is encouraged you use a bedding to help maintain cleanliness and warmth. We originally used hay which is great but it gets compacted easy and doesn't dry well if your run is exposed to the weather. We recently switch to wood shavings and are liking it better for a few reasons. Chickens move them around more with less compacting. Wood shavings dry quicker. They don't clump like hay either. Some people use sand as a deep litter method but we have clay soil which doesn't work well and that requires frequent cleaning. We try to tidy our coop at least once a week and a full redo every few weeks swapping out the bedding.

Step 6: Enjoy Your Chickens

Our girls produce the most beautiful eggs and all have their own personalities!