Raising Chickens for Beginners

Raising your own chickens can be a fun and rewarding experience, allowing you to produce your own fresh eggs and meat, without the chemicals or antibiotics that can be found in factory-farmed animals. While it may seem like only farmers have the ability raise chickens at home, it can be easy with the right equipment and knowledge of your local laws and ordinances. It won't be long before you have your own flock to care for!

  1. Checking Local Laws

    • Check your local laws and ordinances first, to be sure you are complying with the rules in your area. You can find a detailed list of state laws at the Backyard Chickens website, at http://www.backyardchickens.com/laws/search.php.

    Building a Chicken Coop

    • Find an appropriate place to build your chicken coop. While chickens are resilient animals, they need shelter and a place to roost. You will need about 2 to 3 square feet per chicken inside the coop, and 4 to 5 square feet outside for them to run, scratch and dust bathe.

    Buying Chicks

    • Chicks can be purchased at feed stores, local farms and from chicken suppliers. You can also hatch the chicks from eggs, but will need an incubator. Young chicks should be kept near a heat source such as a light bulb or heat lamp, and have fresh water at all times. Until they are six weeks old, they should be fed a starter feed that ensures they get adequate nutrients.

    Feeding Your Chickens

    • Chicken feed can be found at feed stores and comes in mash, crumbles and pellets. Some of these feeds are even medicated, allowing the birds to build up tolerances to common diseases. Chickens will also eat common yard bugs, taking care of many household pest problems.

    Tips and Warnings

    • While chickens are sociable animals, flocks should be kept below 20 birds, even if you have a large yard space. When there are large numbers of chickens in a single flock, they become stressed and can resort to fighting.