How to Raise & Care for One Chicken

A chicken is a fun and interesting pet that provides a lot of entertainment. Children can learn responsibility by caring for a chicken, or they can raise a chicken for a 4-H project. Adults can also take joy in raising a chicken, laughing at its antics and personality as well as enjoying a few fresh eggs for breakfast if it's a hen or using a rooster's crow as an alarm clock each day. Even though a chicken is relatively simple to raise and care for, it requires daily attention and a safe place to roost at night.

Things You'll Need

  • Chicken coop, 10 square feet minimum size
  • Pine shavings or straw bedding
  • Hanging feeder
  • Hanging waterer
  • Chicken feed
  • Chicken scratch
  • Kitchen scraps
  • Garden waste
  • Diatomaceous earth
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Instructions

    • 1

      Check with your local laws and ordinances regarding raising chickens, including any restrictions or special regulations.

    • 2

      Assemble a chicken coop that provides at least 8 square feet of outside run space and 2 square feet of space inside a hen house, including a roost at least 10 inches long. Ideally, the coop has a roof for protection for the weather and hardware cloth on the sides of the run area to protect against predators. If the chicken is a hen, provide a 1-square-foot easily accessible nesting box. A free-range chicken does not need a run area on the coop --- just the house for roosting at night and nesting.

    • 3

      Place the coop in a location with good air circulation and drainage as well as protection from severe weather. Cover the floor of the coop and the nesting box with about 2 inches of bedding.

    • 4

      Purchase your chicken from a reputable hatchery. A baby chick starts out in a brooder. An pullet or adult chicken can move right into the coop.

    • 5

      Place the pullet, cockerel or adult chicken inside the coop. A pullet is a young hen, and a cockerel is a young rooster, both less than 1 year old.

    • 6

      Fill the waterer with clean drinking water and the feeder with chicken feed, then install them in the coop. Purchase feed according to the chicken's needs. A young chicken needs a feed formulated for growth and development. A laying hen needs a laying ration, and a rooster needs a flock maintenance formula. A chicken will eat about 4 oz. of feed every day. You can feed your chicken its ration daily or fill the feeder. It will only eat what it needs. Refill as needed.

    • 7

      Feed the chicken scratch grains, kitchen scraps and garden waste occasionally as a special treat. Leaves from spent broccoli plants and watermelon rinds make tasty, healthy snacks for your chicken.

    • 8

      Refresh water daily.

    • 9

      Collect eggs daily from a hen.

    • 10

      Turn the litter at the bottom of the coop regularly with a shovel to keep it dry and odor free. A handful of scratch grains scattered amongst the litter will entice your chicken to do this job for you.

    • 11

      Empty and replace the litter monthly. Add the litter to your composter for a boost of nitrogen for your garden.

    • 12

      Check your chicken regularly for lice and mites by looking under its wings and at the vent for evidence of an infestation. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth carefully on the chicken, in the nesting box and on the litter to prevent pests and parasites.