Chickens… I think EVERYONE with even a postage stamp sized garden can easily raise chickens. Yes, you heard me right, they are easy to keep, quieter than your neighborhood dog, they live as long as dogs, they eat your leftover food and give you something to eat almost every day.
However, as with all good things, comes a responsibility. First of all, young children should not play with chicks and generally children should be supervised around chicks because they are very fragile and easily hurt. They also need to be protected from dogs, cats, and other potential predators, so they need a roost and an enclosed area where they can safely rest. But trust me, it’s well worth it.
My Big Advantage… In the nine years since I started raising chickens, I haven’t had to buy a single egg.
I enjoy collecting fresh eggs every day of the year, although when the days get shorter and it is very cold or very hot, the hens are very delayed in laying. They are also excellent soil cultivators, rivaling most dogs in how well they dig. They also eat weeds, seeds, and insects, providing a rich fertilizer along the way. In addition, they are natural composters. I push all my food and yard waste into the chicken coop and let the chickens do their thing. Then once a year I collect everything and put it in the compost bins I keep in the chicken run. That way, the chickens are doing most of the work.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. For several years before acquiring my first hen, the mystery of raising chickens kept me from taking the plunge. After all, I live in the heart of the fifth largest city in the United States, and I was wondering: How can I raise chickens? What do they eat? When they eat? Where they live?
I often visited my friend, Debee, affectionately calling the chicken lady, and frequently chatting about her chickens. She was selling me a dozen eggs for a dollar. Then a mutual acquaintance offered to help by giving me some adult chickens and specific advice on raising them. I was out and running.
The actual keeping of chickens is easy. First build a small coop to live in at night, make sure they have food and water every day and you are good to go. Your local grocery store will have all the tips, supplies, and food you’ll need. I started with some adult chickens (I value my sleep so no roosters, plus hey I don’t want to disturb the neighbors). At some point though, I really suggest getting a few day old chicks and raising them to adulthood. That is also easier than you think.
I started with a large box the size of a dishwasher and a smaller box the size of 10-ream paper. Cut a small hole about the size of a chicken in the smaller box and place it open side up in the larger box. This creates two rooms for the chicks to live in. Now get a 25 watt light bulb and hang it in the smallest room so the chicks can warm up and/or cool down when they need to. Add a small bowl for water (keep it small as chicks can easily drown) and a plate with some high protein feed for them. Change the water and add food daily and in a few months they will be ready for the garden.
Once you have adult chickens, transfer them to their permanent home, which can be a stationary coop or a portable coop, called a chicken tractor. (They can survive in your yard and find places to perch in trees and shrubs, but they are not protected from predators and love to eat vegetables, grass, flowers, and plants.) Chicken tractors are great because you can move chickens from the bed. to the bed letting the hens clean up the bugs, weeds and fertilize. This makes the planting process much easier.
I selected a permanent spot in my yard and put up a small 4 x 8 foot chicken coop for them to retire each night. I then created a 20 x 30 chicken coop for them to live in during the day. This is where I feed them, collect their eggs, and generally let them socialize.
How many eggs does a hen lay? A hen begins to lay eggs at around 5 to 6 months. You can tell when they are laying as they have a tendency to squawk as if they are laying an egg. The first year or two, since they are not overly stressed; They will lay about 6 eggs per week. Then, as they get older, they lay fewer, but the eggs get bigger. Stressors include heat, cold, a dog nearby, or anything else you might think would make them a little nervous. They also stop laying when they are shedding. And to completely bust the urban myth, you DON’T NEED a rooster for hens to lay eggs!
Here are the spring chicks and the happy egg-gathering for the fall.