Raising Chickens (A Beginners Guide)

Raising chickens is both a family hobby and passion.

My 5 year old runs into the kitchen, delight sparkling from his brown eyes. He reaches into his pocket and produces two beautiful brown eggs.

Raising chickens is a passion for him, supplementing his schoolbooks and adding lots of nature based joy.

We added 9 chickens and 1 rooster to our family this year, resulting in an unexpected addition to the curriculum of our homeschooled children.

From clipping chicken feathers to letting a broody hen sit on her nest, we have jumped in the deep end and are swimming in.. well, eggs!

If you are interested in adding a fluffy flock to your family or just curious if you can squeeze a chicken coop to your backyard, then read on!

Reasons to Have Backyard Chickens

Before we dive into the tips, lets briefly review the benefits of keeping chickens. Chickens provide beautiful and nutritious eggs, pest management and daily entertainment, plus tons of education for kiddos:

-Once set up, chickens are low maintenance. They require just a few minutes of daily care.

-Chickens make amazing pets for kids. They are educational, fun and teach responsibility.

-Keeping your own chickens provides a wholesome food source. Eggs are filled with nutrition: vitamin A, protein, and omega 3 fatty acids, just to name a few! Check out more nutritional goodness here.

-Chickens are entertaining. While they won’t ask for kitty like cuddles, they each have their own personality and are fun to watch.

-Chickens provide garden maintenance and veggie loving manure.

Are backyard chickens easy?

I have cared for all sorts of creatures in my lifetime (from iguanas to crows, really!) and I am here to tell you chickens are not high maintenance.

They do, however require minimal care each day:

You will need to let your chickens out of their coop each morning and make sure they are secure at night. If you are gone, you will need to find a chicken sitter.

You will need to give your chicken fresh water. We currently have ten hens and a rooster and we water daily.

You will need to give your chickens food. From kitchen scraps to chicken feed, I go over this more in detail below.

You will need to provide enough space for your chickens.

How Much Space Do My Chickens Need?

Unless you want to buy

How Do I Set Up a Chicken Coop?

There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and certainly more than one way to pen a hen! If you are a crafty builder, you may be able to build your own chicken coop. Here is an amazing article that shares 61 chicken coop plans.

You will need enough room for all of your chickens to roost at night as chickens like to return to their coop at night to roost and sleep.

You can also buy a pre made chicken coop and set them up, like this one from Amazon.

How Much Does a Chicken Coop Cost?

Creativity is key here, as is budget. If you are a clever craftsmen, you may be able to put together a chicken coop for mere pennies.

That being said, I have a neighbor who spent several thousand investing in a Taj Mahal for his feathered friends.

There is no right or wrong way to do it, but in general, setting up a coop will cost several hundred at the start and is by far the largest investment you’ll make in your chicken foray.

The adorable chicken coop above was an add on my Dad built to his tool shed. A walk in chicken coop makes cleaning the coop much easier!

Essentials for your Chicken Coop

No matter what route you take for setting up your chicken coop, you’ll need to include a few essential details.

You’ll need 8-10 inches of roosting space per chicken (this depends on the breed and size, but I would go with 10 inches if you aren’t sure!).

Roosting space provides chickens with a safe place to perch and hide from potential predators, and gives them a place to sleep at night. Roosting is an instinctual need for chickens.

While a roosting bar should be simple to make, you can also purchase roosting bird stands like these.

You will also want to make sure your chicken coop has ventilation and secure way to lock the chickens in at night and keep wily predators (think raccoons and coyotes) out.

Rats and raccoons can be very common in cities and both will attack chickens if given the chance!

Make sure you chicken coop has roosting, or nesting boxes.

How Many Nesting Boxes Per Chicken?

A nesting box is the place where magic happens… its where your hens will lay there eggs! 🙂 As a general rule, you will need one nesting box per 4 chickens.

What To Feed Backyard Chickens

What is the ideal diet for a chicken? To start with, think about the available space your chicken has. The more they are allowed room to forage, the happier and healthier they will be.

Chickens are carnivores and will devour bugs, slugs and your beloved vegetable garden if given a chance.

Chickens also love scraps from the kitchen: we feed ours leftover rice, oatmeal, fruits and vegetables, bread and more.

The main course for your chickens should always be a solid chicken feed. We use this Layena brand and it seems to meet all of our chicken’s needs.

Our chicken’s diet: commercial feed + kitchen scraps + foraging.

How Much Will Chickens Eat?

My husband and I were both surprised at how much our flock of 9 chickens and one rooster can eat. We typically go through two 25 pound bags of Layena layer hen feed per month.

We also give scraps from the garden and kitchen, and occasionally let them forage the backyard.

It took us a while to get a feel for how much our chickens needed to eat, so pay close attention when you first get your flock in order to create the feeding rhythm they need.

In general, about 2/3 of your chickens food should come a quality feed, and the rest from foraging and scraps.

The Purpose of Oyster Shells for Chickens

What is the purpose of oyster shell and grit for chickens?

Oyster shell provides calcium for chickens, resulting in thick strong egg shells. We supplement with this oyster shell brand. You can also feed your chickens their own egg shells for extra calcium.

A chicken egg is about 95% percent calcium, and the extra calcium also goes to support your ladies! Not all chickens need extra calcium, so it is best to put the calcium in a separate container and not with their feed. Layers need more, roosters may not need additional calcium.

Adding Grit to Your Chickens Diet

Grit aides in chicken digestion and is an essential part of their diet! While some soil has grit in it, you will want to make sure your chickens have ample access to grit by giving them a quality source. We use this poultry grit.

The Best Way to Water Chickens

Chickens drink a surprising amount of water. You will want to make sure they have access to ample clean water every day. Hanging your watering trough is a really clever way to do so:

You can also use a block to set your water trough on so it does not get dirt in it. We use a couple of these double wall poultry drinkers.

Other Supplies For Keeping Chickens

You will also need a few miscellaneous supplies for your backyard chicken keeping:

-A pitchfork or snow shovel to clean out the coop (snow shovels are great for scooping)

-A solid pair of gloves for cleaning

-Rubber boots for keeping feet dry (I love these cute Wellingtons!)

-Heavy duty containers for keeping food and bunjie cords for keeping the lids extra tight

How to Clean Your Chicken Coop

Cleaning your chicken coop is a routine task you’ll need to address. While you can do a deep cleaning on your coop yearly, you’ll want to clean out the bedding and refresh it often.

Cedar shavings are the best coop bedding. They have a wonderful smell and don’t pack down. We clean out our shavings about once a month and add in 4-6 new inches. You can use a snow shovel to deep clean the coop.

We clean out our nesting boxes weekly.

A clean coop will keep pests and rodents away and chickens disease free.

What Breed of Chickens Should I Buy?

Knowing what you want from your chickens can really help you narrow down your breeds. Just like dogs, chickens are bred with specific strengths in mind.

Here are a few popular chickens and their strengths:

Friendly temperament: Plymouth Rock, Buff Orpington, Wyandotte, Cochins

*Handling your chicks a lot from a young age will help with friendliness!

Good Egg Producers: Austrolorpes, Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds

Beautiful and Unique Appearance: Gold Laced Wyandotte, Frizzle, Welsummer

The best thing you can do before purchasing chickens is to do thorough research! A beautiful, well designed resource is The Illustrated Guide to Chickens by Celia Lewis.

Lewis’ book has lovely watercolor illustrations and profiles everything you need to know about each breed: what type of chicken, personality, origin, color, egg production and more!

How To Care For Backyard Chicken Eggs

One of the best things about raising backyard chickens is the bounty of eggs your chickens will produce.

Hens need 12 to 16 hours of daylight to lay an egg, so your hens will have high production during the spring and summer months. Due to lack of light and cooler weather, egg production slows dramatically in fall and winter.

Each egg that is produced has a protective layer called a bloom. This keeps bacteria out. If you retrieve your eggs and there is no dirt/chicken poo on them, you actually don’t need to wash them!

Unwashed eggs protected by the bloom can sit on the counter for up to one month!

If your eggs are dirty, use warm water to wash them. Cold water can drive bacteria into the shell.

Our Everyday Backyard Chicken Routines

Here is a simple routine our family follows in caring for our flock:

Morning: Every morning my kids run out to the coop and let the hens and roosters out. They check the water supply. Later in the morning I feed the birds, and if need be water.

Mid day: If we are home, the kids check for eggs throughout the day and toss them treats like leftover rice or oatmeal.

Night: Once dusk hits and the flock has gone in to roost, we put the water into their coop and lock it up tight.

Weekly: We clean out the nesting boxes weekly.

Biweekly (or so): We do a thorough cleaning of the coop.

Best Books on Raising Chickens

The following books have helped us learn so much about raising backyard chickens:

Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens

Fresh Eggs Daily: Raising Happy, Healthy Chickens…Naturally

The Chicken Chick’s Guide to Backyard Chickens

Best Kids Books on Raising Chickens

Here are a few educational books about chickens my kids have loved:

Chicks and Chickens by Gail Gibbons

Where Do Chicks Come From by Amy Sklansky

Chickenology: The Ultimate Encyclopedia

Conclusion

We have so enjoyed our family hobby of raising backyard chickens. I hope this beginners guide to raising chickens encourages you to add a flock of your own.

Do you have feathered friends in your family as well? I’d love to hear your stories, feel free to share below!

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