Raising Chickens 101: How to Get Started
Raising chicks is exciting! Knowing how is just as important. This beginner’s guide to raising chickens is the first article in our Raising Chickens series. Let us help you “start from scratch,” so to speak!
Why Should You Raise Chickens?
There’s a lot to like about raising chickens in your backyard. The eggs are a real temptation—tastier and fresher than any store-bought eggs, and better for baking, too. The shells, along with the chicken poop, can be tossed right into the compost pile. Much of the day, the birds entertain themselves, picking at grass, worms, beetles, and all of the good things that go into making those yummy farm eggs. Plus, with their keen eye for insect pests, chickens make for great gardening companions.
Remember, though: Nothing good comes easy!
Things to Consider Before Getting Chickens
First, check local town ordinances to ensure that keeping chickens is even allowed in your neighborhood or if there is a limit to the number of chickens you can keep at once. The last thing you want is to invest time and money into preparing for chickens and then find out that you can’t even keep them!
Make sure you have the space for a henhouse or a full-size chicken coop. It has to hold a feeder and water containers, a roosting area, and a nest box for every three hens. A proper coop should be large enough that you can stand in it to gather eggs and shovel manure comfortably, but a simple henhouse can be quite a bit smaller. Plus, any housing must be sturdy enough to keep your chickens safe from all the predators out there! Here’s how to build a chicken coop in your backyard.
Chickens need food (and water) daily. Feed is about $20 per 50-pound bag at my co-op, but prices vary depending on your location and the quality of the feed. How long a bag lasts depends on the number of chickens that you have.
Hens will lay eggs through spring and summer and into the fall, as long as they have 12 to 14 hours of daylight. Expect to collect eggs daily, or even twice a day.
All year ‘round, you’ll have to shovel manure. Yippee!
If you go away on vacation, you’ll need a reliable chicken-sitter—and they can be scarcer than hens’ teeth!
Continues:
https://www.almanac.com/raising-chickens-101-how-get-started
Lovely chart. The local feed store where I get peanuts for the outdoor animals has a “Crazy Chicken Lady” that I adore. Every spring she brings out the baby chicks that she only sells after strenuous investigation of prospective parents.
I’ve been watching Cupid’s Kitchen, a Chinese drama about cooking, and made a few food music videos, but I have to admit that I avoided the clips of chickens and ducks as they included the heads in the recipes. I was horrified by a friend who came for Thanksgiving once and brought a duck with its head still attached. Sensitive to the look on my face, she rushed into the kitchen and “fixed” the problem by putting the head in her purse.
Cupid’s Kitchen - No Sugar Tonight - The Guess Who - the chef refuses to have sugar in ANY recipe in his Michelin kitchen.
Cupid’s Kitchen - Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar - the apprentice he’s training mercilessly is cheated on at every stage of the cooking competition
from Grandmother Catharine Burnett's book, Hot Shots
Lots of work to do in the garden, especially weeding. I always think I can do it all myself but I am getting overwhelmed.
I repotted all of my orchids over the summer hoping to get a few blooms - but have since learned that after repotting it can take two to three more years for them to bloom again.
This is the defiant one:
I also made this and hung it in the patio area - it was actually a gift but I may keep it for myself.
We've got lots of monarch butterfly caterpillars in the yard.
After digging in the garden, he's ready for his 3:00 yoga class:
A video of husband’s photographs of our Night Blooming Cereus. Unfortunately, it was deeply happy in a tiny little pot and stopped blooming when I repotted it.
Timely tip: We got 6 birds last summer. We also got one of those chicken houses from Ocean State Job Lots. When we moved the birds out to it, a predator, I think a raccoon, opened the door and pulled out and killed one of the hens. The latches were a joke!
We had the chickens, four hens and an accidental rooster, living with the ducks in the coop. Well, last week, a predator killed two of the hens in the late afternoon. The remaining two hens and the rooster are now in the chicken house with better latches on the two doors.
We have 9 hens on order from Crackle Hatchery, due in towards the end of the month. My mission is to convert the area on the north side of the now named “Duck House” into a predator-proof run for the existing and future chickens. Then, I need to design and build a suitable hen house in the area on the north side of the Duck House.
It is going to be fun, but a lot of work.
I wish I could have chicken or quail. You can have them in nearly every town around around here but mine.
Used to raise Rhode Island Reds and BB RedsMiss them.
Had them in chicken tractors.
Been tempted to be a scofflaw and get some quail as they are quiet.
I have been saving eggshells in the freezer and had accumulated a gallon bag plus another half gallon. The bags have been annoying me lately because I keep shifting them around to make room for other things in the freezer. Inspired by the chicken edition thread, I decided it was time to get rid of those shells so I baked them and then ground them up in my blender. I now have a pint jar of ground eggshells.
The eggshell ‘dust’ is something that can be consumed as a source of calcium either by people or pets. I did not take out the membranes which are pure collagen so that is also in the dust. What I will most likely use the dust for is when planting tomatoes, adding a couple tablespoons to mix in the dirt.
Two more major kitchen projects remain on the to-do list. I need to make two batches of Blackberry Merlot jelly and I also have hog fat to render into lard.
Pickled chicken feet are really good too!
I planted some eggs in the ground but they never grew
The past week here in Central Missouri was mostly warm-ish with a bit of rainfall. We’re still way behind from last year’s drought so anything at this point is better than nothing.
Mrs. Augie and I spent most of Saturday cleaning up around the yard. I cut up a mulberry tree that was leaning on the arena fence and hauled that away. It took four loads on my 16’x7’ flatbed trailer to get rid of all the brush. I managed to get another six loader buckets of limestone cobble placed in the pond. By the time I put in what’s left of the pile I should have the dam pretty well muskrat-proofed.
I had another greenhouse mishap last week. Had three flats of seedlings up and looking good when the temperature controller for the heating mat lost its mind and went non-stop wide open. By the time I noticed it the soil temps were over 100 degrees and most of the baby plants were toast. I ditched the broken temp controller and replanted yesterday. Hopefully this time will work out better. At this rate I’m going to have to make another seed purchase.
Today our chickens are celebrating the Chiefs Super Bowl win with a nice bowl of leftover party snacks. With the temps moderating and daylight increasing they have started to lay enough eggs that we’re able to give a few away. Won’t be long and we’ll have eggs coming out of our ears.
Spent the last few hours cleaning/reorganizing the seedling room and sowed 30 peas.
Grabbing a couple of heat mats from ebay for $12/ea. https://www.ebay.com/itm/254759712271
Seed Factor ???
Rated for 10-20 degrees F over ambient temp which is fine in most cases.
Getting some of these lights that are not grow lights but are 6500k; https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08B4LCPTV
It’s what I found cheap and I’m all about cheap. The two grow lights I have are $20/ea and the above are $44 for 6 so even if I have to double up, it’s still cheaper. At 1,100 Lumens, I suspect doubling up will be best. Gonna get a 6 pack to start with and get another if it looks like I need to, once I see how bright they are.
Not set up for hanging but I’m handy so I’ll come up with a way.
Irish man killed by chicken in vicious barnyard attack
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4131607/posts
“The coroner recorded the dead as one by “misadventure,” though they noted that he also appeared to have a heart attack at the time of the vicious chicken mauling.”
+++++++++
YIKES!!