by Bonnie Valentine

Created on: June 04, 2010

Backyard chickens can be a great joy as well as provide food in the way of eggs or meat. First time owners of small flocks are often surprised by the difference in quality of products that derive from backyard chickens.

The first consideration prior to acquiring chickens is to check local ordinances and zoning laws. Some communities allow small numbers of chickens, others completely ban them, and some have no rules. Make sure your neighbors will not mind living near chickens, otherwise there will be nothing but problems.

Choosing Chickens

There are over one hundred recognized breeds of chickens. Selecting the best on depends on your individual situation. Will the birds be for meat or eggs? Is size a factor? What type of climate will they live in? Is aggression a factor? Research carefully and remember that your goal is to choose the best chicken for your situation.

Gender is also important. Roosters are noisy and many are extremely aggressive. A mean rooster can cause severe injury to anything that crosses his path. The only reason to own a rooster is for breeding or to protect a flock in areas where predators are common.

Hens do chat quite a bit and can be loud when they lay an egg or feel threatened. It is rare for a hen to be aggressive towards humans if she has been treated kindly.

Next consider the age of the chicken. Peeps are adorable and can be ordered through the mail at one day old. At this age they are fragile and need a constant temperature of 90-95 degrees for the first week. They also need food, water, shelter, and constant monitoring to make sure they are safe and healthy. Pullets are about twenty weeks old, able to be sorted by gender, and if female ready to start producing eggs.

Shelter

Chickens require a safe place to roost at night. Climate will play a major role in the type of coop required. Once again zoning and ordinances may play a factor in your options. Check online for designs, kits, or pre-built coops.

Food and the Follow Up

A chickens’ diet can consist of grass, grubs, bugs, and greens. A commercial feed in the form of a crumble or a pellet is also needed. As far as leftovers and scraps, chickens should never be fed any food that a human would not be able to consume safely. Laying hens require a commercial laying mash and as much outdoor foraging as possible.

Food follow up is cleaning up any unwanted food and the waste that is left behind. Chicken dung makes great fertilized but needs to sit for about a year before it can be used otherwise it will kill the plants. Clean the chicken house as soon as it gets dirty or begins to smell. Some people only clean out the pen twice a year and just add fresh bedding on top of the old. This is fine to do, but makes cleaning the coop a very big job.

 More Information

Raising chickens can be a very satisfying endeavor. They are much easier to care for then a lot of other livestock.

The following websites provide more information and resources about raising chickens.

www.mypetchicken.com

http://www.backyardchickens.com/

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