Backyard chickens have skyrocketed in popularity. Keeping laying hens is an excellent way to fortify our relationship with our food and an ideal activity for people cooped up at home due to the pandemic.
Laying hens make great companions for children, who will likely want to name the birds and bring them tasty treats. Chickens require relatively little daily maintenance and just a bit of knowledge to get started.
Preparations for Your Laying Hens
Clean Water
Chickens need regular access to water. In fact, lack of water can create a dramatic drop in egg production and is harmful to their health.
Provide the hens with fresh water daily and clean the canister to ensure it is free from debris or dirt. If your chickens kick dirt into it, elevate it on a block or platform to keep the water clean.
Chicken Feed
Their diet consists primarily of seeds, plants, and animal protein. Many chicken keepers provide a pellet or loose feed, which costs roughly $20 for a 50-pound bag or a bit more for organic feeds.
A chicken eats about a pound and a half of feed per week. They tend to eat more in the winter than in the summer because they burn more calories to stay warm in cold weather. Consider buying organic feed, which should be free of pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and genetically-modified ingredients.
Although chicken feed is a good staple, it is ideal to provide as much fodder as possible by providing access to the outdoors. Let your hens forage for some of their food. Consider fermenting or at least germinating the feed to boost its digestibility. Ensure that your chickens get enough calcium and grit by providing crushed oyster shells, granite grit, and even ground-up eggshells in a separate container from the feed.
Many household food scraps are suitable for chickens, but avoid dried beans, moldy food, highly processed foods, citrus, and uncooked potatoes. Hens typically have enough common sense to avoid harmful foods — except for junk food, so keep that away from them.
The Chicken Coop
Most chicken keepers have an enclosed coop to protect the hens from the elements and predators at night. A coop should contain nest boxes, perches, bedding, and a light for the winter months (to help keep egg production up).
If you are handy and have some materials on-hand, consider constructing a DIY coop from reclaimed materials. Other options include searching Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for a used henhouse or buying a kit from a local farm supply store.
Sizing the Chicken Coop
It’s recommended to have at least 2 to 3 square feet in the coop per bird and at least 8 to 10 square feet of outdoor space each. Avoid overcrowding because it can encourage disease and aggressive behavior like feather picking. Provide as much outdoor space as possible so the hens can forage for food and explore. In the fall after the garden season has ended, let the chickens help clean out your garden beds of unwanted seeds, insects, and damaged produce while spreading manure that augments the soil.
When sizing the coop, consider how many chickens you want or are able to care for. Keep in mind that there may be local ordinances that restrict the number of chickens you can have in your yard. In many areas, there is a limit of roughly six hens, and roosters are prohibited. Also, the ideal hen to rooster ratio is 12 to 1. Beware of having too many roosters as it can result in damage to the hens.
The number of eggs you get will depend on the age of the hens, their overall health, the breed, and other factors. Some will lay an egg a day while others will provide one or two a week. A typical hen provides two eggs every three days. In northern regions, egg production can drop significantly in the winter months without artificial light in the coop. Laying hens are most productive for the first couple of years, although some experts say much older chickens can still provide a plentiful supply.
Keeping Out Predators
It’s highly recommended to construct a coop that locks the chickens up securely for the night.
Dogs, foxes, coyotes, hawks, skunks, possums, minks, cats, rats, owls, and raccoons can eat the eggs, feed, and even the chickens. Store the feed securely to avoid luring unwanted wildlife near the coop. One advantage of having roosters is that they can help protect the flock.
Coop Bedding
Line the coop and the nest boxes with bedding material, such as wood shavings or straw.
Used bedding can be composted for a season or two and then applied to garden beds to augment the soil. Keep the bedding dry to avoid moisture and odor issues. Change the bedding as needed, depending on the type and thickness.
Starting Your Chicken Flock
Selecting a Breed
Consider what breed of laying hen you want, depending on your climate, desired egg color, size, and quantity, bird temperament, noise level, and appearance. There are a variety of ways to get started.
You can get fertilized eggs and hatch them using an egg incubator or even a broody hen. You could buy baby chicks and raise them in a brooder with a lamp for heat. Likewise, you can buy pullets that are old enough to live without a brooder. Keep in mind that baby chicks need starter feed, a version of chicken feed that is higher in protein. Pullets will typically start laying eggs between 16 and 24 weeks of age.
Buying the Chicks
There are several ways to buy chickens, including through a local hardware store, farm supply store, Facebook marketplace, a hatchery, Craigslist, mail order, or local farm. The price varies widely depending on the breed and age of the bird. Buying fertilized eggs can be the cheapest way to get started if you already have an incubator and brooder or a dedicated broody hen.
Once you have all the basics covered, there are many other fun things to explore, including how to boost egg production and sourcing local feed. Stay tuned for future articles with helpful ideas and tips on backyard chickens.
This post was originally published on August 17, 2020.