How to Keep a Chicken in Your Own Backyard

Chickens produce eggs, meat and organic fertilizer. They eat garden insects and kitchen and garden waste. Chickens are fun to watch. They live in flocks and enjoy company. Therefore, raise two or more chickens in the backyard. A meat bird is often processed for meat at 4 to 9 weeks of age. Laying hens produce eggs for 2 to 4 years. Typical laying hens produce 4 to 5 eggs per week. Egg production declines as the hens get older.

Things You'll Need

  • Chicken coop and run
  • Clean water and water fountain
  • Chicken feed and feeders
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Instructions

    • 1

      Contact the appropriate city or county government office to determine if chickens are allowed in backyards. Some cities and counties limit the number of chickens or forbid roosters. Roosters are mature male chickens that crow loudly. Roosters are only required to produce fertile eggs. Hens lay eggs without a rooster in the area.

    • 2

      Buy meat-type chickens for meat production and egg-laying breeds of chickens for egg production. Cornish and Plymouth Rock cross birds grow rapidly and are ready to process for meat at approximately 6 weeks of age. Pullets, young females, begin to lay eggs at 16 to 24 weeks of age.

    • 3

      Purchase healthy day-old chicks, pullets or mature hens for egg production. Purchase sexed chicks rather than straight-run. Sexed chicks are determined to be females or males while straight-run chicks are a mixture of males and females. White Leghorns are proficient white egg layers. Rhode Island Reds produce brown eggs and are considered dual-purpose chickens, . raised for both eggs and meat production.

    • 4

      Build a brooder for day-old chicks. Until they are fully feathered at about 6 weeks of age, chicks require a warm environment. Place a source of heat such as a heat lamp in a shed or garage. Confine the chicks to an area near the heat lamp and provide constant water, chick starter feed and clean bedding.

    • 5

      Build a chicken coop for pullets or hens. Many coop designs are available but all must provide floor space, protection from predators, a place to roost, protection from the weather, good ventilation and nest boxes. Provide at least 2.5 to 3.5 square feet of coop space, 6 to 9 inches of roosting space, and at least 4 to 5 square feet of outdoor run space per bird. One nest box is required for each 4 to 5 laying hens.

    • 6

      Buy a "complete" type of chicken feed for the age and type of chicken. Chicks in a brooder are fed chick starter while meat birds eat a meat bird feed. Young, growing pullets consume grower or developer feed. Laying hens eat laying mash or pellets. It takes approximately 5 pounds of feed to produce one dozen eggs. If possible, allow the chickens to forage and run in an open area each day. Be sure to provide a constant supply of fresh, clean water.

    • 7

      Gather the eggs and feed the chickens daily. Hens require 14 to 16 hours of light to continue producing eggs. Otherwise, the hens molt. They stop laying eggs for weeks while they grow new feathers. To avoid molting, place a light in the coop and maintain 14 to 16 hours of light per day.