Welcome to our Raising Chickens 101 Guide, a series of chapters especially geared to helping beginners! It’s even more essential for more rural situations. Welcome to your one-stop-shop for all things you need to know about laying hens. Hey there! Plus… they’re FREE! You may have less ability and likelihood to get females only, if that is what you desire. Chickens with large combs and wattles are more susceptible to frostbite. Pullets can be kept outside without heat from the start. I suggest having an easily-cleanable designated “chicken yard” pair of shoes like sloggers, plus a shoe scrubber near their space. Don’t want fences at all? Water misters. A new BFF for your toddler. As a result, raising backyard chickens has become a popular new interest. Not only does candling make sure you don’t have rotten egg explosions, it’s just plain fun to see what’s going on in that egg. The sustained popularity of backyard chicken coops in Silicon Valley over roughly the past decade is a phenomenon that's ⦠Rodents are not an issue in our garage. The same goes for roosters. Like human women, chickens carry only a set amount of eggs in their bodies from the time they are born until they die. Organic isn’t cheap. have been so helpful and inspiring. Loved reading this post! We still had a fox this year and we’ve dealt with raccoons in the past. I much prefer the Precision Pet Excelsior Nesting Pads. This leads to serious health issues. What do you put on the ground to keep them from digging holes in the mulch?? I don’t care where you live. Here is an article all about what to expect when caring for ex-factory farm chickens. Your email address will not be published. Organic Gardening | Real Food | Natural Health | Good Vibes. You must have a decent amount of space then, huh? The birds are usually larger than cats by then, and startle them with their flapping and squawking! Our home sits on less than 0.25 acre lot. If you’re looking for something extra and you’ve got the funds, the Magicfly Bright Cool LED Light Egg Candler is pretty nifty. Sometimes it can be tough to find the right documents that spell out the rules. Our girls little coop door always stays open – the one that leads from their coop out into the large, safe run – but not into the yard. Predators to chickens include hawks, weasels, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, opossums, bears, bobcats, mountain lions, or other large wild cats. Commercial hatcheries may have potential for more health issues due to large-scale operation and breeding, and you don’t get to see your bird and choose based on vitality and behavior. Chicken keepers come up with creative ideas for “boredom busters” – entertainment to keep them happy and busy, especially in a confined run space. So, the auto door is open to the yard all day. The “starter” and “grower” feeds the younger birds eat have more protein in them, to support their rapid growth. Especially if you raised your chickens from young chicks. Do a little research ahead of time to know what is available to you. Male baby chicks are usually culled. Our yard is also long, narrow and fairly small, making it much more difficult for a hawk to dive in to. Therefore, washed eggs must be refrigerated to prevent bacterial invasion and spoilage. October 28, 2020 Author : Backyard Poultry Contributor Categories : Chickens 101 Add to Favorites Reading Time: 4 minutes By Jodi Helmer At Van Ruab Elementary School, in Boerne, Texas, lessons about science, engineering, math, and art often start in the chicken coop. They offer layer pellets as well as starter crumbles, but shop around. So comprehensive. I know that was a lot of information to digest, and you probably still have a lot of questions, but I hope you now feel more prepared to add backyard chickens to your homestead! Thanks for saying hi, and the kind words! Are you ready for Raising Chickens 101? Find out the best way to grow your flock, because backyard chickens are like potato chips. I would suggest every 2 to 3 days, minimum. First off, WOW. Otherwise, probably not. by Heather Zimmerman. So we eventually fenced them out of “no poop zones”. Hey! Or, maybe only supervised free range? My question is, should we be concerned with keeping a rooster? and Tums (in case they need extra calcium crushed and added to a meal while really sick with egg binding issues). The ground of the run can be anything from native dirt, sand, wood chips, pea gravel, or straw. In addition to the roost they sleep on in the coop, plan on having some roosts in their run or in the yard they spend time in. Backyard chickens 101 Backyard chickens 101. They have non-solar ones, but it’s nice to not have to run extension cords all over the place. I started my own worm composter last year. I was wondering how everyone else managed this. He’s just now starting to crow and it’s so cute! The recommended size for a coop is 3 to 4 square feet per chicken, minimum, and about 10 square feet per chicken in the run space. Hey! In our eyes, they’re like any other pet and deserve the same care and love. Tyler Snortum-Phelps, who has been keeping chickens for more than 20 years, offered this fun and informative class on keeping backyard chickens. There is still a great chance of forming a close bond with them if you put in some dedicated hang out and treat time! Yes, feeding them back their own eggshells is okay. It’s also a real pain to clean up the mess when that happens. We bought our first 2 chicks this weekend and 2 more again today! If they drop an egg there, it may break. Otherwise I have used human type stuff – hydrogen peroxide and ointments for cuts. Chickens are pretty much toddlers – they’ll put just about anything in their beaks they can can. If you keep chicken feed outside or in a shed and have minimal wildlife activity, consider a heavy-duty, BPA-free, plastic container like this one. We don’t eat meat in this house, but even if we did, we wouldn’t eat our pets. Both of these things help to cut the cost so we can afford to feed organic feeds.