Why We Love Raising Chickens
Not only do we enjoy raising and butchering our chickens, but we also raise chickens for eggs and hatch eggs in an incubator to increase our flock size.
We do our best to give our award-winning chickens a good home. Following the John Suscovich design, we built a chicken tractor so our chickens could move about freely, getting plenty of exercise and opportunities to forage.
Our children love helping with all aspects of chicken farming and ask many questions along the way. They are gaining a sense of responsibility and pride in ownership in addition to building self-sufficient life skills in the process. Whether they become homesteaders or farmers when they’re older or not, these skills will be useful.
Benefits of Raising Chickens
Chicken farming is becoming a very popular way to get fresh eggs, fun pets and even a good meat source. You might be hesitant to “cross the road” into the world of chickens, but here are some benefits to raising your chickens.
Flexible Environment
You don’t have to live on a farm to raise chickens, but you should check your local ordinances or property restrictions if you live in or near a city. You can always start small with a few chicks and grow from there if you enjoy having them.
Improved Food Quality
How an animal is raised plays a critical factor in the health of the food it produces. When you raise your chickens, you will know exactly where the meat and eggs come from, their care, handling, and what they eat.
That’s simply not the case when you purchase these products at a store or farmer’s market.
Low Maintenance
Compared to the needs of other farm animals, the amount of time, space, and effort put into chicken care is minimal. Chickens are smart and very fun to have around, even as a pet.
Farm Workers
Chickens will keep your yard and pasture clean of unwanted insects like ticks. They will produce fertilizer for your garden, alert you to intruders, or let you know if something is wrong.
Income Opportunity
There are more income opportunities beyond simply selling farm fresh eggs.
- Selling chicken manure has a dual purpose because you will also eliminate excess fertilizer from your backyard or pasture.
- Sell fertilized chicken eggs for others to hatch and raise (of course, this only applies if you have a rooster).
- Hatch eggs and sell the chicks, pullets, or even full-grown birds.
- Specialize in meat birds, and provide a meat source for your community.
Great Project for Children
Children can also benefit from raising chickens. Including them in simple tasks gives them a sense of accomplishment and being an active part of the farm. At the same time, they’re learning the ins and outs of biology and the circle of life.
Choosing the Right Chickens
You’ll want to research and choose the breed that best fits your goals, your family, and the climate region where you live. You’ll need to decide if you want chickens for eggs, meat, or both. Knowing the difference in the breeds is key. There are four basic breed types of chickens: meat chickens, egg-laying chickens, dual-purpose chickens and heritage chickens.
Meat Chickens
Meat chickens are a large breed of chickens. Within nine weeks of hatching, a meat chicken can go to slaughter.
Egg Laying Chickens
Egg-laying chicken breeds are a smaller breed and the most common chicken choice. They can begin egg production at four to six months old, and one hen can lay up to 300 eggs a year.
Dual Purpose Chickens
Rhode Island Reds are a popular dual-purpose breed. Dual-purpose chicken breeds are great to have for the production of eggs or meat. A drawback to dual-purpose chickens is that they grow slower than meat chickens and lay fewer eggs than egg-laying chickens.
Heritage Chickens
Heritage chickens live a long time and grow slowly. They can either be egg layers or meat providers. These breeds have to comply with the American Poultry Association.
Space Needed
Before your baby chicks arrive, you must know how much space you need for them. Chickens do not need a lot of room to live, but we provide ten square feet of floor space per chicken if they are in a fenced area. This amount of space will give them plenty of room to roam.
Shelter Needs
A chicken shelter must contain a coop, a fenced area, and an adequate living space.
Coop
There are many kinds of chicken coops. You can purchase high-end chicken mansions or build a DIY chicken coop with scraps of wood and supplies that may already be sitting around your yard.
Chickens don’t need a fancy coop as long as it has a heating lamp for severe winter weather, good ventilation in the summer, and a shaded area year-round. It all depends on your budget and how you want to approach it. Building a chicken coop can be a good outlet for creativity and can be a lot of fun.
The number of chickens you have will affect the size of your coop. A chicken needs about two square feet of living space inside a chicken coop. Having a larger coop is a good idea if you want your backyard flock to grow.
A couple of things you need in your coop for egg-laying chickens are a nest box for laying eggs, a roost, a feeder and a water supply. One nesting box can hold four to five hens. A roost in your chicken coop will provide a place for your hens to perch and sleep.
Outside Area
Chickens thrive in open spaces to scratch, peck, and play. If you only have a small space for your chickens, a fence will keep your chickens from escaping or wandering into your neighbor’s yard. Fencing will also protect your chickens from predators.
We let most of our chickens free range in our pastures and yard, which cuts down on the cost of feed for us because they get a broader diet, including many insects.
The only downside we have to free-range chickens is that they poop on the sidewalks, scratch in our gardens, throw mulch everywhere, and you have to have an easter egg hunt to find the eggs.
How Many Chickens
Once you pick the breed, you must decide how many chickens you want to start. If you want eggs for the family, I would recommend one chicken per person in the family. A typical chicken will lay one egg per day.
It’s important to remember that bad weather and stress sometimes slow the egg-laying process. So there could be days that you don’t have any eggs.
Time to Buy
Once you have the new home setup, it is time to buy your chickens. There are different options for getting your chickens. You can hatch your chicks, buy baby chicks, buy pullets (very young chickens), or purchase adult chickens.
Hatching a baby chick is one of our favorite options, but if you are a first-timer, we recommend buying and raising chicks or buying pullets.
You can usually buy chicks at your local Tractor Supply Store or direct from hatcheries.
Feed Needed
Chickens need food and water, and we always give them extra treats. We put feed out that the chickens can access 24/7.
Your chickens will love your kitchen scraps or grass clippings. These will help cut down on the cost of feed.
Chickens are picky with their water. You will need to keep your chicken’s water fresh and clean.
We also feed treats to our chickens to help give them extra calcium to create more vital eggs. We use chicken scratch and Grub Terra. Our chickens love Grub Terra! You can get 10% off your order using code “HHF” at checkout.
Extras
It is a good idea to have access to a dust bath and grit.
Chickens use fine dirt, dust or wood ash to take their baths, keeping them clean and mite free.
Providing some form of grit for your chickens is a good idea. Chickens use grit to break down their food because they do not have teeth to chew their food.
Cost
Raising chickens isn’t cheap, but it can be economical. Most of your cost will be on the setup of the chicken farm, including your coop and fencing. You will have to buy feed for your chickens as well.
Ultimately, it’s all about keeping your chickens healthy and feeling good about what you’re eating.
