A Complete Beginner's Guide to Raising Backyard Chickens

Nowadays, many households tend to switch to organic foods, and having poultry animals in your backyard is a must for that. As a result, chickens are hands down the most popular poultry animals.

With a coop, some beautiful and healthy chickens, and a well-fleshed-out action plan in place, you are ready to raise your brood of chickens.

If you are one of those people who would like to start raising chickens in your backyard, you've landed on the perfect article. In this guide, we have put together all the things and tips you should know before raising backyard chickens.

Why keep Chickens?

If delicious and fresh eggs are not tempting enough, you should know that chickens make up for excellent gardening buddies too. All because they are relatively low maintenance and tend to keep themselves entertained day in and day out.

Their staple food includes insects and bugs. So, once you have a brood of chickens set up in your backyard, you probably won't have to worry about insect infestations in your garden.

Other than these glaring advantages, the eggshells and chicken poop can be dumped into the compost pit and make up for excellent, natural garden manure.

What is the ideal number of chickens to keep?

An initial flock of 3-6 chickens should be good enough to keep you going. Chickens are amiable little birds, and most of them require low maintenance. So if you have three to six birds, you can expect a steady and sufficient supply of eggs.

A full-grown hen lays about 2-3 eggs every three days on average. The most productive years in a hen's life are their first two years. That is when they tend to lay the most eggs. 

As time passes, their propensity to lay eggs decreases. As a result, they might not be able to meet your egg production demand anymore.

Owing to these circumstances, you might also want to consider replacing the old birds in your brood with new ones.

An Important Factor to Consider Before Buying Chickens
Local Laws & Ordinances
Before you decide to set up and purchase your newest pets, it is best to get yourself clear with laws regarding chicken breeding in your neighborhood.

If you are setting up your coop in the middle of nowhere, this shouldn't be a problem. But, most urban and suburban areas have specific rules regarding how many chicks you can have at your home or if you can have them at all.

Do you have space for an incubator and brooder:

A Brooder essentially is a temporary home-like space for the baby chickens. If you are a first-time chicken breeder, we advise you to start your chicken breeding from just-hatched chicks.

Incubating and hatching chicks under carefully controlled conditions is more of an advanced chicken breeder thing. Lest you are sure you can do it well, we'd suggest you wait.

Since the baby chicks will have an absentee mama hen, you will have to take up that role too. A brooder will be the safe space for these chicks to get a home-like environment to thrive. There are five essentials that every brooder should have:

    • Security
    • Warmth
    • Shelter
    • Food & Water
    • Cleanliness

TIP: Chicks can be messy, so it would be best if you set up the brooder in your backyard, garage, or a similar place.

Choose Your Breed:

Choosing the appropriate breed to raise can be a bit challenging. There are hundreds upon hundreds of species from which you can choose. For example, you might want chickens who lay colorful eggs or the breed known for their egg-laying prowess.

If you have a family, you might even consider which chicken breeds are kid-friendly and relatively more compliant. 

Chickens are naturally friendly creatures, so you need not worry about having just one species of them. Although there is no limit of chicken breeds to have, you can't ignore certain factors:

Climatic Conditions
Before picking out a breed for your chicken-raising venture, the first thing you should consider is the kind of climate at your place of residence. Climatic conditions are a crucial factor when deciding what breed would be a perfect fit for you.

Even though most chickens thrive well in cold conditions, some chickens, like the Phoenix Chickens, prefer heat over coolness. On the other hand, there are a few breeds that are intolerant to heat.

Hence, if you reside in a hot and humid place, it would be best if you considered opting for chicken breeds that can tolerate the heat. Some of those breeds include:
    • Leghorns
    • Andalusians
    • Penedesencas

These breeds of chickens tend to have sleek bodies with a large comb that helps them combat the sun's heat.

However, consider buying chickens with a smaller comb and bigger bodies if your residence falls in a colder climate area. This will help them keep warm. Some of the ideal breeds for you would include:

    • Cochins
    • Australorps
    • Barred Rocks
    • Buff Orpingtons

Rare breed or hybrid?

If you choose to raise chickens in your backyard, it goes without saying that you are looking for egg production. However, the question is, how much egg production do you desire?

All the chicken breeds lay eggs - even the ornate ones. However, certain species have more egg-producing prowess than the rest. If you are looking for maximum egg production, these are some of the species you can consider buying:

    • Barred Rock
    • Australorp
    • Sussex
    • Leghorn
    • Delaware

Temperament
If you have kids at home, it would be best to opt for more docile and kid-friendly chicks who are less likely to intimidate your children. 

Egg Color
Though choosing your breed based on the color of the eggs they lay might not be on the top of your priority list, you have to agree, collecting different colored eggs does sound fun.

Most chickens lay the classic brown eggs, but many lay eggs in a plethora of colors. For example, the Mediterranean breed generally lays white eggs, Araucana and Ameraucana lay blue eggs, Olive Eggers lay eggs of Olive Green color, etc.

Out of all the breeds, the most curious one is the Easter Eggers. Each chick of this breed lays different colored eggs. You will not know what color egg they lay until the hen starts laying them.

Fancy Breed
If all you are looking for is a visually pleasing flock, you can't go wrong with the following breeds:

    • Ameraucanas
    • Cochins
    • Polish Chickens

Where can I purchase my poultry and supplies from?

Ideally, there are three places to purchase your chickens - a farm/hardware store, a local hatchery, or an online hatchery.

When you're choosing your chickens, make sure you choose them from the 'sexed' section. This section contains chicks that have been sexed from birth, which means you know whether they are hens or roosters. 

Note: It is advisable not to breed roosters unless you are hoping to hatch eggs. 

Building or buying a coop:

Once you have purchased your brood of chickens, the newly-hatched ones will be spending some time in the brooder for about 4-6 weeks. After that, they will have to be put into a more permanent settlement - the coop.

4-6 weeks is more than enough time to purchase or make your chicken's coop (DIY). The pre-built coops are ridiculously expensive. However, you can decide to opt for second-hand coops, which should be a little cheaper.

But, if you are looking to cut back your costs, you should consider DIY-ing it. Building a coop is a typically easy job that requires some skills and technique but can be done by almost anyone.

One of the coop building benefits is that you can customize and assemble it according to your needs. You can also use the space available at your home.

While building your coop, there are three essential things you should keep in mind. They are:

The Size of the Coop

The ideal size of the coop depends upon the number of chickens you are planning to breed. According to research, each of them requires an area of three to five square feet. This measurement holds in case outdoor range space is available.

If it's not, it is best if the chickens have more room in the coop itself to spread out. In such a case, the coop should be built, keeping in mind that each bird should have at least eight to ten square feet of space.

Not adhering to these findings and stuffing more chickens in your coop increases the chances of them fighting amongst themselves. The ones lowest on the pecking order will not get a chance to be fed, and they might even show up with cuts and bruises on their bodies.

Material for the Coop

To avoid hiking your building cost and at the same time enhance the durability of your coop, it is advised to use plywood as the base material. It is relatively cheap and also pretty durable. 

If you want to increase its durability further, we'd advise you to coat the plywood with a primer layer and paint it.

Furthermore, when you build the coop yourself, it will be easier to make holes in the plywood and assemble it the way you want to. It will also keep your coop well-ventilated.

Protection from predators:

If your coop is placed outside the confines and protection of your house, there are chances that it might attract some predators. These could include coyotes, dogs, snakes, and even cats.

To prevent your chickens from being eaten or killed for sport, it is crucial to take all the preventive steps. First, it would be best to build the coop 8-12 inches above the ground and layer it with a wired dirt floor. Rodents and snakes prefer to live underground, but if the chicken coop is high enough, they might steer clear of your way.

Secondly, make sure to put latches and locks on the coop's door. It would prove effective in warding off any potential predators who like to take the conventional way and break in through the front door.

Finally, all openings need to be covered by 'hardware cloth.'

TIP: An ordinary chicken wire might not be enough to ward off determined predators like hawks or eagles. 

Feeding and nutrition for all stages of your flock:

Once you have purchased your chicks, it is crucial to set up a nutritional schedule to keep them healthy. Now, there are two ways you can raise your hens. You can either keep them cooped up in an enclosure or allow them to move freely.

Many neighborhoods do not allow chickens being bred in the backyard to roam around freely outside of their coop. However, if your place of residence has no such ordinances, you should opt for free-ranging your chicks.

Free-ranging is essentially helpful for the chicks since it allows them to get a taste of freedom in their natural habitat. However, like everything on the face of this earth, free-ranging also has its pros and cons.

When left on their own, chicks can be easily found by predators. However, it is crucial to note that free-ranging will help you raise the happiest and healthiest chickens.

You can also strike a balance between the free-ranging and cooped up method - the penned ranging. In this method, you often leave the chicks to roam around (range) during the day and enclose them in their coop during the night.

Whatever rearing method you choose, it is crucial to give them high-quality poultry feed. Then, if you decide to free-range or pen-range them, you will not have to worry excessively about their diet. 

However, you will need to add some supplements to their diet since they will receive most of their nutrients from the bugs and plants they will eat.

On the other hand, if you keep them in a coop all the time, you will have to provide them with all the nutrients via their feed.

Collecting Chicken Eggs

Once you've tasted the fresh chicken eggs, you will be pretty reluctant to go back to the grocery eggs. They are just not the same! But, of course, if you are breeding chickens, it goes without saying that you are looking to collect some deliciously fresh chicken eggs.

However, there are a couple of tactics at play here too. Below we have answered some of the questions that typically arise when thinking about egg collection.

When should I collect the eggs?
It depends on the breed of the chicken you are rearing. Some chickens lay eggs early in the morning, while others lay their eggs in the evening. It is better to check the coop for eggs in the morning and evening to remain on the safer side.

When do chickens start laying eggs & how often?
Most chickens start laying when they reach the six-month mark. They tend to lay at least one egg per day. Depending on the breed and the weather, you might also be able to collect more than one egg per day.

How to clean the eggs?
Cleaning the eggs is a pretty easy job. Eggs already have a layer of protection on their surface to prevent the bacteria from entering. This layer is called ‘bloom.’

Once you wash the eggs, that layer gets washed away. In this case, you will have to store your eggs in the fridge to prevent bacteria infestation.

Hence, it would be best to wipe the freshly laid eggs using a clean, dry cloth. If you do this, you will be able to store the eggs on your counter as well.

Since you will be picking up the eggs from the coop's floor, it is only natural to have pieces of manure sticking on their surface. Pick and hand-clean as much dung as you can and use a damp cloth to wipe away any residual spots on the egg.

If you do decide to wash the eggs, use warm water to do so. If you use cold water, it will shrink the eggs from the inside and act as an open invitation to all sorts of bacteria.

Hatching Eggs
Though you can build an incubator and monitor the hatching of the eggs, it is generally advised to leave this task to the hens. An egg will need to be fertilized for hatching, and for that, you will need a rooster (which may or may not be allowed as per your neighborhood ordinances.)

A hen who is ready to nest or lay eggs starts becoming broody. If it is acting broody, it will sit on the eggs and screech or snip at anyone who tries to take them. Then once the eggs hatch, she will take care of the baby chicks, which would be all.

However, if you decide to get an incubator, get an air-forced model that automatically turns the eggs. The eggs will need to be turned at least 4-5 times a day. The temperature in the incubator will need to be monitored with great care, and the eggs will hatch after around 21 days.

Know Your Neighborhood Chicken Expert
If you are a first-time chicken breeder, it is vital to contact your local chicken expert. They would help you in case of emergencies and will also be a big help in rearing the chicks you have in your backyard.

Final Word
Chicken Rearing is a hardworking but fun activity. Once you are all set up and ready to enter the world of chicken breeding, you won't want to stop.

This article is your ultimate beginner's guide to setting up your backyard coop and raising your chicks. Follow these tips and points like a map to the treasure island, and you will definitely get what you want- a basket filled with fresh and healthy eggs alongside a few adorable chicks.

Above everything, make sure you enjoy being a mama hen to these cute little birds.