Are you thinking about raising backyard chickens? Learn everything you need to know about raising chickens, from choosing the right breed to setting up your coop.
So you want to raise chickens? That’s great! It can be many things – therapeutic, rewarding and fun for beginners. But it may be a bit nerve-wracking if it’s your first time and you’re not sure where to start. In this definitive guide we will cover everything from why to keep chickens, where to buy baby chicks and how to raise them into happy, healthy chickens!
If you have beginner’s fears around raising chickens, then don’t worry because we’ve got answers – everything discussed here comes straight from personal experience plus expert advice sourced through extensive research.
We’ve created this guide to raising backyard chickens for the beginner chicken owner!
Where to start?
Before deciding to get chickens, be sure to ask yourself these questions:
- Why do you want to keep chickens? For pets, egg laying or meat?
- Is it legal to keep backyard chickens in your neighborhood?
- Are you prepared for the expense of buying or building a chicken coop, buying baby chick supplies, buying chicken feed?
- Where are you going to put a chicken coop?
- Are you prepared for the time needed to care for them – daily feeding, regularly cleaning the chicken coop, addressing any health issues?
- Who will take care of them if you need to go out of town or on vacation?
Though they live outdoors, they need just as much time and attention as any other pet does and it is important to be prepared by asking yourself these questions and doing your research before you dive in!
What are backyard chickens used for?
The popularity of keeping chickens has exploded, and what was once thought of as only a farm animal are now being kept as small flocks in urban and suburban backyards. In recent years, people have begun to look at where their food is coming from as well as a desire to boost their self-reliance during periods of food price increases and shortages.
Egg Laying
It is safe to say that most people keep chickens for their incredible egg laying abilities. Though the number of eggs a single chicken can lay will vary, and is influenced by breed, time of the year and age of the hen, the typical number of eggs a hen will lay per week is from two to six.
Meat Chickens
Though most choose chickens for egg laying, many are also raising them for meat purposes. There are chicken breeds typically called broiler chickens, such as Cornish Cross, that have been developed to be fast growers and are finished for their tender, flavorful meat within 8-10 weeks of hatching.
There are also “dual-purpose” chicken breeds which can serve as both egg layers and a source of meat, such as Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Red breeds which have been around since the 1700s.
Pets – who lay breakfast!
Chickens are entertaining and fun for adults, children and 4H projects or for anyone to just sit and to pass the time watching their silly antics.
In many areas, neighborhood or city rules will only allow a few hens to be kept and will not allow roosters. As you probably know, you do not need to have a rooster in order for hens to lay eggs, so as a bonus even a few hens kept as fun pets can provide you a healthy, homegrown source of eggs right from your backyard.
Once you get past the initial investment of the chicken coop, supplies and the chickens themselves, keeping a small flock doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby and people who own backyard chickens say they didn’t realize how fun and fulfilling owning them could be.
Chicken Coops 101
Though chickens aren’t too picky about their living space, there are basics to setting up a chicken coop that will ensure your flock stays healthy and is protected from predators and bad weather.
What size chicken coop?
When looking at setting up your first chicken coop, one of the first questions is often, “How much space do my chickens need?”.
The size of chicken coop will depend on a few things, such as how many chickens you plan to keep and the size of the breeds, and how much outdoor space they’ll have. Small bantam chicken breeds will require a lot less space than a medium or large chicken breed such as Orpingtons and Jersey Giants.
If you have the space, it is better to go with a coop that is too large rather than too small.
The recommended size is three square feet per medium sized chicken, if you also have an outside run or they are free range. This would mean approximately 60 to 80 square feet for ten mature, medium sized chickens – which would be equal to an 8′ x 10ft chicken coop.
You can find chicken coop size calculators online if you need a little extra help figuring out how much space to provide, and some will help by including estimates if you have a large yard to free range, or a run.
Providing enough space for your chickens is essential to keep the peace in the flock and prevent bad behaviors such as bullying, picking at each other or even pulling feathers. When hens are crowded, especially when spending more time inside their coop in rain or winter weather, they can get aggressive and pick on each other. If you have the space, it is better to go with a coop that is too large rather than too small.
Chicken runs or free range?
Chicken coops are for sleeping and egg laying in their nesting boxes and are not meant as a place to keep them confined all day. Your chickens need access to the outdoors during the day, in the form of an enclosed run or pen attached to the coop, a chicken tractor, or free range access to your yard.
Chicken coops in different climates
You need to take into account what type of climate you live in – is it scorching hot in the summer with mild winters, or do you get so much snow you’ll need to dig a path to your coop in winter?
Chicken coops should be warm in the winter and cool in the summer, which means having proper ventilation in your coop. Chickens create a lot of heat and moisture from their breathing and tend to get sick with respiratory illnesses if they do not have enough ventilation. Proper ventilation means a good flow of air at the top of the coop, but no drafts at the bottom near the floor. Coops in hot climates should have more ventilation openings to keep the coop at a comfortable temperature.
Security and protection from predators
It is a heartbreaking event when people lose their flock to predators due to an insecure chicken coop or run. Predators that will kill or harm your chickens are more common than you think, even in an urban or suburban area. Whether you’re purchasing a chicken coop kit or building your own coop, you will need to ensure that your coop is predator proofed.
Choosing chicken breeds
It is estimated that we have hundreds of chicken breeds in the world – birds that have been developed for plumage and fighting, enhanced egg laying or fast growing tasty meat.
Depending on where you live in the world and sources you have access to, you’ll be able to choose from a variety of chicken breeds that are suited for your needs.
Chicken breeds fall into four categories:
- Egg Laying Chicken Breeds: Bred to be prolific layers of eggs but with a short production lifetime. Australorps and Leghorns are good examples of high volume egg layers and often used in factory farming.
- Dual Purpose Chicken Breeds: Probably the most common group for backyard flocks. Considered utility chickens, the best of both worlds for egg laying and meat production. They’re productive egg layers but can also be used for their meat when they slow or stop laying eggs later in life.
- Meat Chicken Breeds: Also known as “broiler” chickens, breeds such as Cornish Cross were bred to be used for meat purposes. They grow incredibly quickly and are ready for slaughter between 8 to 9 weeks. These breeds should be avoided for other purposes as their extreme growth and weight gain causes painful health issues beyond slaughtering age.
- Heritage Breed Chickens: The Livestock Conservancy Breeds that are considered traditional livestock that were raised by our forefathers and of a bygone era, before mainstream industrial production. They were bred over time to develop traits that made them well adapted to their local regions and thrived under more natural farming practices.
Buying chicks
So you’ve decided that you’re going to take the plunge and get chickens! You have a few different choices when it comes to getting your first chickens. We’ll help you understand the differences between hatching your own eggs, buying baby chicks, young pullets or adult chickens.
- Hatching Eggs: Not recommended for beginner chicken owners. This requires the expense of incubator equipment and a knowledge of temperature and humidity requirements in order to successfully hatch healthy chicks.
- Chicks: The easiest and least expensive option for beginner chicken keepers. Baby chicks are typically purchased when they’re a day to three days old and are ready to go into a brooder set up.
- Young Pullets: Hens aged between four and six months old, almost ready to begin egg laying. These will cost more because of the feeding and care that went into growing them to this stage.
- Adult chickens: The most common way to get older chickens is through rescue such as animal shelters, sanctuaries, or adopting a flock from people who need to rehome them.
Where to buy baby chicks?
Chicks are available to buy from farm supply stores, direct from hatcheries, local farmers or chicken breeders.
How do I pick healthy chicks?
If you’re buying your chicks locally and get to pick them, there are things to watch out for. Chicks should be active with bright, clear eyes and clean feather fluff. They’re usually curious and if awoken from a nap will be interested in eating and drinking and wandering around their enclosure.
Avoid buying baby chicks who:
- Have any eye or nasal discharge
- Wheezing or problems breathing
- Sitting away from other chicks, or hunched into a ball
- Lethargic, sleepy, hesitant to move
- Blocked vent (feces caked onto their backside)
What supplies are needed for raising chicks?
The brooder
The brooder box can be a simple, inexpensive set up for your chicks and can be reused for future chick raising, if desired.
The container can be as simple as a large cardboard box, a plastic storage tote, a steel farm trough. What is most important is that it has solid sides in order to be draft-proof as cold air will kill chicks quickly. It needs to be large enough to contain a heat source such as a brooder heat plate, food and water containers, and room for the chicks to move around comfortably without jumping out easily.
Chicks grow at an incredible rate, so you need to plan to use a larger brooder than you think you need or to move them to a larger one as they outgrow the first one.
Safe and secure
Chicks can be raised in your home or outside in an outbuilding or barn. The brooder should be safe from predators, including household dogs and cats!
If you’re raising them in the house, you need to ensure that their brooder is kept in an area that is safe from other pets. Dogs, cats, and other pets like ferrets have prey instincts and chickens are new and tempting to them. It is recommended that the brooder is kept in a separate room to keep them safe as well as contain their dust and dander, which is not something you want floating around in your kitchen or where you sleep.
If chicks are kept in an outbuilding, it’s important to make sure predators such as raccoons, weasels, foxes, rats, coyotes and other critters can’t get into the building and to the chicks.
It seems like everything likes the taste of chicken – who knew?
What bedding is used in a chick brooder?
Pine shavings are soft and absorbent and seem to be the safest option for chicks. You can find small bales at some pet stores but the most cost effective option is to purchase them from a farm store if you have one near you.
If your brooder has a slick bottom like a plastic tote, you can line it with paper towels to give the chicks’ feet some grip under the shavings. This can help prevent foot and leg problems like splayed legs.
Avoid cedar shavings as the oils in the wood are harmful to chickens lungs.
Keeping chicks warm
Baby chicks need warmth in order to survive and thrive! They have a small amount of downy feathers that doesn’t provide much insulation for them to stay warm. Chicks require supplemental heat for 6 to 7 weeks until they grow their adult feathers.
Heat lamps or heat plates – cost vs risk?
The two heat sources used for raising chickens are heat lamps and heat plates.
Heat lamps are considered old and outdated for chick raising as they pose a great fire danger. Though the lamp fixture and bulb is less expensive than a modern brooding heat plate, there are some serious downsides to using them.
Heat lamps are a fire risk. There are many tales of heartbreak around heat lamps falling into the chick brooder, setting fire to the bedding and burning down houses, sheds and barns.
Heat lamps make it hard to control the temperature in the brooder as they emit heat in a large radius and if the brooder is not big enough chicks can have a hard time moving away from the heat source if they get too warm. Overheating can cause illness and death. Additionally, the light emitted from them 24 hours a day can disrupt chicks’ sleep cycles and cause stress that can result in aggression and chicks picking at each other.
There are many advantages to using Heat plates for chicks, especially if you’re keeping their brooder box in your home. Heat plates use a lower wattage (approximately 14-20 watts as opposed to a 250 watt heat lamp) and are safe to the touch for humans, chicks and bedding. They mimic how chicks would act with a mother hen, they will go under it when they’re chilled and want warmth and move out from it when they get too warm. Most heat plate models have adjustable feet that can be raised as your chicks grow, or an option to hang them.
What to feed chicks
Just like dog or cat food, there is an array of choices for chicken feed. Baby chicks require what is typically called “chick starter 18-20% protein” food, which is a crumble small enough for them to eat and is formulated for high protein and nutrition to grow a healthy chicken.
Most chicken keepers recommend feeding the chick starter formula until chicks are almost egg laying age, approximately 15 to 18 weeks of age. After 18 weeks of age, hens can be switched to a “layer feed” to support egg laying.
Medicated vs unmedicated feed
Chick feed also comes available as medicated or unmedicated and there’s differing opinions on why and when to use it. The medicated feed formulas contain a coccidiostat, which is included to protect them from a bacterial infection they can catch called Coccidiosis, which can be fatal if not treated.
Some chicks will be vaccinated by the hatchery or local breeder for Coccidiosis, in which case medicated feed should not be used as it can counteract the protection. When buying chicks, ask if they’re vaccinated for Coccidiosis so you can decide what to feed them.
Water and electrolyte supplements
If chicks have been mailed from a hatchery to you or a farm store, they have already been on quite an adventure from being sorted, packed and shipped overnight via the mail. That’s a stressful time for a little chick only a day old! In this time, they may not have had enough water and there’s a potential for them to be a little dehydrated and weak from their journey.
There are electrolyte/vitamin supplements that can be added to their water for the first week which will help replenish their resources and give them a boost. Some formulas also contain beneficial probiotics for gut health and digestion.
Food and water containers for messy chicks
Chickens are messy, and baby chicks are no exception! They have a knack for getting shavings and poop into food and water dishes and soiling their brooder quickly.
If you choose a standard chick waterer available at the supply stores, you may need to add a few clean pebbles to the bottom to ensure clumsy chicks can’t fall in or drown.
There are also alternative watering systems, such as chicken nipple waterers or cup waterers attached to bottles and buckets which keeps the water cleaner since it is not an open container collecting debris.
Water should be checked regularly (a few times per day) and changed if it contains bedding or poop.
Chicks eat a lot more than you would ever imagine, and they need a constant source of their food so they can eat throughout the day. They will eat until they’re full, so keep their food container filled up and change it if it becomes dirty with bedding or poop – because it will!
Keeping it clean
Keeping chickens means cleaning up after chickens! Chicks are still developing their immune systems and it is critical that their brooder be kept clean to keep them healthy. Brooders are warm and moist environments, the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and illness.
The brooder bedding should be changed at least every other day, and more often if water is spilled or the bedding is damp. Feeders and waterers should be washed and sanitized several times per week.
Your, and any children’s, hands should be washed and clean after handling your chicks or cleaning their brooder.
So that’s our guide to raising backyard chickens! With this basic information, you’re on your way to having your own flock of happy chickens.