Raising Chickens: The Definitive Guide For Backyard Chickens

Jul 24

So you want to raise chickens, eh? We don’t blame you.

There are few things that are more cathartic, rewarding, dirty, and annoying than raising a chicken. No, that sentence wasn’t written incorrectly. Consider it a mashup of the entire chicken experience.

Chickens are living, breathing animals, which means they’re going to be unpredictable at times, and you can bet your bottom dollar that they’ll always be full of surprises.

That said, though, a flock of chickens is actually a fairly low maintenance way to get some pets, harvest fresh eggs, stock up on your meat supply, and even get some natural, all-organic weed and bug control. Heck, you can even compost their poop and use it in your garden.

Ah, chickens, the gift that just keeps on giving.

Okay, so chickens are pretty cool, warts and all, but how can you get some yourself?

While there is literally an avalanche of backyard chickens 101 information online, this post is meant to provide you with a 10-thousand foot overview of the chicken ownership process. We’ll take you by the hand and walk you step by step through this poultry-powered adventure, from first considerations on through to final partings.

Ready to rumble? Let’s do this thing.

Set expectations ...or you’ll regret it down the road
Lay your plans wisely
- Think about rules and restrictions
- Coop it up!
- Gather your equipment
- Consider what breed you want to get
Start your poultry adventures
- Setting up your chickens in style
- Getting to your first eggs, or meat, or both
Raising chickens: additional tips and FAQs

Set expectations ...or you’ll regret it down the road

Okay, let’s start with a bit of a confession. We used the term “low maintenance” to refer to raising chickens, but that may have been a bit misleading. Chickens can actually be quite a bit of work at times.

In our defense, though, low maintenance doesn’t mean no maintenance. Besides, perspective is everything with this kind of stuff.

The plain truth of the matter is, if you decide to become a proud poultry owner, you’re going to notice a few significant changes in your life — and we’re not just talking about Rufus the rooster waking you up at 5 A.M. each morning.

If you get chickens, you’re going to be committing to a few new responsibilities that you’re going to want to carefully consider.

Startup costs

If you want to raise chickens from scratch, you’re going to need to get all of the equipment to do so. If you opt for already hatched chicks, we estimate the startup costs to get your chickens grown and laying to be roughly $500. This includes miscellaneous equipment, your coop, and the chicks themselves. While this number can fluctuate wildly depending on a number of factors, the point is, it ain’t free.

Feed costs

Having chickens chilling in your backyard may invoke the thought of free eggs, but remember, nothing in life is free. In the case of those eggs, you’re going to be paying for them primarily through feed costs.

Again, this can vary depending on things like your chicken breed standards, the time of year, and the size of your flock, but you can generally count on between $25 and $75 per month to feed a flock of a dozen laying hens. However, this cost can be cut down by allowing them to free-range or by feeding them certain kinds of table scraps — just avoid things like chocolate, onions, and garlic.

Your precious time

Time is precious. If you choose to willingly invest your time in raising chickens, more power to you. However, be warned that raising eggs takes time. The upfront investment is significant as you raise your chicks, but even once they’re full-grown, you’ll need to feed them regularly, gather eggs, and make arrangements if you ever want to head out of town.

Lay your plans wisely

Alright, you’ve read this far, which we’ll assume means you’re seriously looking for some actionable raising chickens for beginners kind of advice. We get it. So, without further ado, let’s get rolling with the actual chicken raising stuff.

Think about rules and restrictions

Start the process by laying your plans. Check local codes to make sure it’s legal to have chickens on your property. You may be able to do so but may still need a permit. Even if it’s okay to have chickens, make sure you’re aware of how many chickens you can have. Sometimes the size of the property can limit the number.

In addition, consider the proximity of any neighbors. Even if it’s legal, it’s always a good idea to follow that golden rule and make sure that you won’t be afflicting your neighbors with the new additions to your homestead. Consider checking in with them about the noise and smell — you may even want to consider offering them some of the eggs from time to time to keep the peace.

Coop it up!

Next up, consider what kind of coop you’re going to want to purchase. A chicken typically needs around 2 to 4 square feet of room in a chicken coop. Along with enough space, four walls, a roof, and a door, your coop will also need to include:

A bar or other higher roosting perch.
Laying boxes — aim for roughly a 12” x 12” box for every four hens.
An accessible entrance.
An easy-to-clean layout.
A spot to locate the water and chicken feed.
An outside run (if you aren’t going to let them purely free-range).

Consider your coops security, too.

Predators can vary depending on where you live. Some common predators include raccoons, possums, dogs, and even cats. Depending on the district, you can also deal with everything from conniving weasel to a full-blown bear or mountain lion attack.

You also want to safeguard against rats and mice who can bring disease into your coop and can raid your chicken food and even those precious eggs if they’re allowed in through the cracks.

Make sure to defend your chicken coop from any and all potential visitors that might stop by for a snack.

Gather your equipment

While you can give hatching your own eggs a shot, we’re going to assume that you, like most people with limited time on their hands, are going to want to get your chicks when they’re already hatched.

Before you order your chicks, make sure to set up a brooder pen for them to live in. You’ll want to do this in a contained space without dramatic temperature shifts or drafts (e.g. don’t keep them out on the porch in the winter).

You can use something like a large plastic bin or a sturdy cardboard box as the primary pen. Simply lay some chicken wire across the top and you should be good to go. You’ll want to set up the brooder with:

A brooder lamp set up and left continually on in order to keep the temperature two inches above the floor of the brooder at between 92°F and 95°F. You’ll want to reduce this temperature by 5°F each week as your chicks grow.
A thermometer to track the temperature of your brooder.
Chicken bedding.
A small chicken waterer.
A small chicken feeder.
Chicken starter (A special feed just for chicks. Make sure to consider getting medicated feed if your chicks are unvaccinated, otherwise basic chicken starter should do just fine).
Optional: Consider if you want to add other chick supplements to their food as well.

Once you have everything set up, you’re ready to get your chicks.

Consider what breed you want to get

There are many, many different kinds of chicken breeds. Seriously, there are a lot of them out there.

As you do your chicken breed research, ask yourself the following questions:

Are you in a warm or cold climate? Larger chickens tend to do better in colder climates.
What temper of chicken do you want? For instance, Rhode Island Reds are aggressive but they’re also master egg layers. Silkies are lovable fellas but they don’t lay much. Speckled Sussexes provide steady egg production and are soft-tempered.
Are you looking for egg layers, meat birds, or dual purpose birds? If you want a lot of eggs, look into Rhode Island Reds or Wyandottes. Cornish chickens and Jersey Giants are great for meat production. Black Australorps are excellent if you want a little bit of both. Again, there are countless other options, just make sure you know what you’re looking for.

While most chickens will give you some version of eggs, meat, or both, choosing your breed carefully can help you maximize the fruits — or at least the eggs and meat — of your labor.

Also, take the time to consider how many chickens you should get. Chickens don’t do well in solitude, so don’t just get one or two. However, a flock of fifty laying hens is likely overkill as well. (Remember, you’ll need to feed them still.) Somewhere between six and eighteen hens is a good number for most households.

Build a poultry support system

Finally, look for a local wise man or woman that you can trust to help you in a pinch. There are lots of questions that crop up as you go along, and sometimes the internet just doesn’t quite have the answer you’re looking for — no matter how valiantly we may try to provide them for you.

If you have questions, it’s good to be able to take them to a local farmer, friend, or even that employee that you get along with at the local Tractor Supply store.

Start your poultry adventures

Alright, you’re finally there. You’re at the point where the rubber hits the road, the claws are on the ground, your adventures finally take flight — okay, sorry for the puns and cliches. We’re just really excited for you!

If you have eggs, start to incubate them. If you got chicks, load up your brooder. Typically chicks will stay in the brooder for around six weeks. Once they’ve replaced their chick down and grown real feathers, they’ll be ready to head into the coop.

Of course, if you skip all this stuff and splurge on full-grown chickens right off the bat, you can take them out to your coop right away.

Setting up your chickens in style

When you bring your chicks out to your coop, make sure to give them plenty of time to acclimate to their new home before you give them access to the run.

In addition, don’t let them access the nesting boxes right away. They may be tempted to do so, as the boxes can provide a snug shelter, but that invites them to sleep, defecate, and generally chill in an area that should only really be used for laying.

Getting to your first eggs, or meat, or both

After all of this hard work, you’re probably wondering when you should expect your first omelet from what, at this point, probably feels like a group of very high-maintenance fowl. (Trust us, the most difficult stages are over.)

If you’re raising chickens for eggs, your first eggs should start to appear roughly six months into your chicken’s lives. After that, they’ll ramp things up and give you quite a few eggs for the first two years, at which point, the production will likely taper off. However, it should still continue for at least five and possibly as many as ten years.

If you want your layers to give you more eggs, keep a light on in the coop to artificially extend the day for an hour or two.

When it comes to meat birds, you’re going to want to make sure to research when to butcher the particular breed that you purchase. Boilers and fryers, for instance, usually are butchered around 7 to 9 weeks old, whereas roasters can live to be 12 weeks or older.

If you’re looking for a dual purpose combo (i.e. you’re raising chickens for eggs and meat), first off, prepare your heart. It’s tough to feed and be fed by an animal for months, only to ultimately butcher them — but you already knew this when you got into the homestead biz ...we digress.

The debate on when to eat dual purpose birds ranges all over the place. Some people will eat their birds within weeks of when they start to lay. Others will wait for months. Either way, typically the best option is to butcher them before they’re a year old.

If you wait for them to grow past their laying prime, you’ll be butchering two to three-year-old chickens. There’s nothing wrong with that, strictly speaking, but you’ll be getting some awfully tough meat at that point. Let’s put it this way, if you wait for a few years to kill your dual purpose hens, don’t expect to use them for much more than stews and soups.

Raising chickens: additional tips and FAQs

While we’ve gone over the general process of raising chickens in varying levels of detail at this point, here are a few other miscellaneous head-scratchers that you may find yourself wondering from time to time:

Tip: Chickens are filthy animals.

Don’t be duped by those sleek, shiny feathers. Chickens are disgusting. Like, worse than that scene from Beethoven when the Saint Bernard slobbers all over the parent’s bedroom. If you’re going to have chickens, make sure to stay safe and clean as you handle them to avoid catching things like Salmonella. The CDC recommends thoroughly washing with running water and soap after each time you handle your chickens or their surroundings.

FAQ: Can you add new chickens to your existing brood?

If you don’t butcher all of your chickens at once, you may consider overlapping younger chickens with your older ones. If you do so, though, make sure to carefully study how to integrate new chickens into the coop. If you’re not careful, it can lead to a lovely activity known as poultry cannibalism, which, yeah, that one speaks for itself.

FAQ: What will you do with the extra eggs?

Eggs can last quite a while, but if you’re not ready for them, you may end up with dozens of extra eggs on your hands. Make sure you have plenty of empty egg cartons ready to go and consider who you can give the extra eggs to before you find yourself scrambling.

Tip: Gather eggs the right way

When it comes to gathering your eggs, make sure to do so regularly, multiple times per day if possible. If you leave eggs lying around, your chickens may eat them — which, yeah, gross. As you gather eggs, make sure to store them properly. Don’t wash your eggs unless they’re filthy from the coop. Unwashed, they can last for a month at room temperature. If you put them in the fridge they last even longer.

FAQ: How do I know if an egg is still okay to eat?

Try the floating test. Drop them in a deep bowl of water. If at least one side of the egg still touches the bottom of the bowl, you’re good to go.

Tip: Watch over your chicken’s pecking order

Chickens may act like they’re from “Lord of the Flies” when left on their own, but you can still trump their behavior if necessary. If you see your chickens picking on a weak or maimed member of the group, separate them so that they can heal properly before the whole flocks goes all Charles Darwin, survival of the fittest on them.

Tip: Always have an exit plan

You may be tempted to just get dual purpose chickens and then “see what happens” when it comes to eggs and meat. However, it really is worth setting up an exit plan before you get your birds. On the one hand, if you want meat, make sure to track the best time to butcher them before they get too tough. If, on the other hand, you want eggs first and meat later, don’t wait so long that they get gamy and stop laying. At that point, you’re looking at maintaining your chickens purely as dirty, useless outdoor pets — which, if that’s your goal, more power too you. The point is, go into your chicken adventures with an exit plan in place.

Dominating your backyard chicken venture

Well, there you have it. Raising chickens for dummies (seriously, you’re not a dummy) all boiled down into a single post. Of course, reading through our experiences, suggestions, and sage advice is one thing.

It’s quite another to launch out on your own chicken raising adventures.

If you decide to take the leap and get your own backyard chickens, we want to hear about it. Everyone’s experience is different for so many reasons. What did you find went exceptionally well? What caught you off guard? Are your omelets and soups that much better now that you’ve hand-fed the source of your nourishment?

These are the questions that absolutely must be answered sooner or later in life. Godspeed to you as you embark on your own journey to answer them.

Jaron Pak