raising backyard chickens

Flocks of chickens are popping up in urban backyards all across the country. The allure of binfuls of adorable peeping chicks at the feed store is often just as strong as the desire to collect fresh eggs right from your backyard. But before you dive into the popular pastime of raising backyard chickens, hereare a few things you’llwant to consider.

The first thing you should do if you’re thinking about raising backyard chickens is to check with your municipality to learn the regulations in your area. Most towns have restrictions on flock size (usually limited to five or six hens), owning a rooster, and the distance a coop must be from your property line. Some towns require a permit to own chickens or a building permit for a coop over a certain size, so check with your local government and be sure to get the rules in writing to prevent problems in the future. If you aren’t allowed chickens, or don’t agree with some of the restrictions, work to change the law. The time to do that is before you get your chickens.

Once you’ve confirmed that you are allowed to have backyard chickens, it’s time to do some research into the breeds you want. Different breeds have different personalities and temperaments. For example, Buff Orpingtons, Cochins, and Australorps are all gentle breeds perfect for families with children. Some breeds are better suited for extremely cold or hot climates.

Flock Of Your Own: Rules Of Raising Backyard Chickens

A Complete Guide To Raising Backyard Chickens In 7 Chapters

Chickens are extremely flock-oriented, so a good starter flock size is no fewer than three chickens. Photo by Lisa Steele, Fresh Eggs Daily.

Some breeds lay colored eggs, such as Easter Egg Chickens. Your local feed store should carry a variety of breeds suitable for your area, or you can order day-old chicks online from a hatchery. Hatchery websites are also good sources for breed information.

Chickens are extremely flock-oriented, so agood starter flock size is no fewer than three chickens. You should collect about a dozen eggs from three laying hens. A flock of five or six hens is a good choice for slightly larger families.

Why Raise Backyard Chickens?

Baby chicks need to be kept under a heat lamp in the house for the first eight weeks of their life. Until they grow their feathers, they can’t keep themselves warm on their own.Chicks grow fast, so time their arrival carefully in order to get them outside as quickly as possible. To do that, count back eight weeks from the time you expect the nighttime temperatures to stay consistently above 55 degrees and schedule that date for your chicks to arrive.

Before your chicks arrive, you’ll need a brooder for them (a cardboard box or plastic tote works just fine), a heat lamp, a chick-sized waterer and feeder, and chick feed. Until they’re eight weeks old, your chicks should eat chick feed, then switch over the starter/grower until they are 18 weeks old, at which point they need layer feed.

Your chickens need a home. If you plan on building our own coop, the next eight weeks should be ample time to research plans, choose a design and get your coop built. There are also coop kits available online or ready-made coops available from shed and building companies. Craig’s List is also a great source for an inexpensive, used coop or shed that could be converted into a coop.

How To Raise Backyard Chickens For Beginners

How To Raise Backyard Chickens

About three weeks later, I convinced everyone that we should get a couple more – so we did. We were on the chicken bandwagon and there was no turning back. However, we have learned a few key things along this journey that must be shared with anyone that isn’t familiar with raising backyard chickens. Read this before you take the plunge and be warned – it’s all fun and games until a dog eats one of your chickens.

I should have known better than to attempt to build a chicken coop without a plan. I had dreams of creating an affordable coop using scrap wood and old wine cases for siding that could be wheeled around the yard as needed. $500 and about 60 hours of labor later – I have built a battleship. Yes, it’s pretty, but completely overbuilt and inefficient. The wheels sit on my porch, unable to bear the weight of the massive amounts of lumber and nails that went into this bad boy.

Lesson learned. Saltbox Designs in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle creates beautiful chicken coops (among other things) at an affordable price. Go there and save yourself the time and frustration of realizing you are likely not adept at carpentry or building anything.

Raising Chickens For Beginners: The Complete Guide To Raising Backyard Chickens

The aforementioned Portage Bay Grange has been a salvation for my backyard chicken endeavors. The owner, Kevin Scott-Vandenberge, and his crew have given helpful advice at all times and have invaluable knowledge. Before you burn countless hours diagnosing chicken problems by browsing fowl message boards, find a local poultry purveyor and be done with it.

We have experienced this unfortunate occurrence not once, but three times. It happened in December when the chicks were about eight to ten weeks old. Our family was watching a horrible little dog named Ichigo while her parents were away in Japan. It was a Shiba Inu which is known for: ferreting out and killing small game, running away and being generally evil.

Unfortunately we experienced all of these traits during her stay. One fine day I left the area where the chicks were being kept and the little bugger got in there and killed three

Becky's Guide To Raising Backyard Chickens (paperback)

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