If you’re living in the country and have a few acres, or even if you live in the city and have a small backyard, raising chickens is an easy way to get fresh eggs. You get all the benefits of eating organic eggs with none of the hassle of driving to the store every week! There are just five simple steps to raising backyard chickens: choosing your breed, getting chicks (or eggs), preparing your coop and run, watching for common problems that might arise in your flock and taking good care of them so they stay healthy. This guide will go through each step one by one so you can raise backyard chickens with ease.
Step 1: Choosing A Breed
Before you get too excited about the prospect of having chickens in your backyard, it’s important to choose a breed that suits your needs. There are many factors to consider when choosing a breed: climate, lifestyle and family dynamics are just some of them. Your choice should also take into account whether or not you can afford to feed them and if they’ll thrive in your particular environment.
Step 2: Getting Your Chickens
Once you’ve decided that you want chickens, it’s time to get them. The first step is to decide how many chickens you want and whether or not they will be pets or for egg production. Chickens can live for 5-10 years, so make sure to choose wisely! Chickens are social animals; one hen will not be enough for a happy life. In fact, it is best if you get two hens so that they can keep each other company while they lay their eggs and raise their chicks together. If possible, try visiting some local farms or farmers markets where people sell baby chicks (or “chicks”). This way, when choosing which ones are right for your family – whether it be by color or personality traits – there will be no surprises later on down the road when things don’t work out as expected!
Step 3: Preparing the Chicken Coop
Now that you have your chickens, it’s time to build them a home! Here are some tips for making sure that your coop is the right size and shape; You should make sure that there is enough room in the coop for all of your chickens to lay eggs and sleep comfortably at night. The size of each individual chicken should not exceed 4 square feet of space, so if you have 10 chickens total (and one rooster), then they will need 40 square feet of living space. This means that if your coops are 10 x 10 feet wide and tall respectively, then they should be fine as long as they aren’t too crowded inside! Be sure not only build walls around their sleeping area but also include windows so that light can get inside during daytime hours–chickens need sunlight just like humans do! You’ll also want to include vents along these same walls so fresh air can circulate through out during hot summer months when temperatures rise outside during midday hours.
Step 4: Preparing For Chicks
Now that you’ve got your coop set up, it’s time to prepare for the arrival of your new chicks. The first step in this process is preparing a brooder–a warm and safe place where they can stay until they’re old enough to be moved into the coop. Make sure that wherever you are keeping your chicks has adequate lighting and ventilation (you don’t want them getting overheated or getting too cold). Make sure there are no drafts coming through any cracks in windows or walls, either! Your brooder also needs to have good drainage so that water doesn’t pool up on top of their bedding material and cause them harm by drowning them in their own filth (eww). You can easily accomplish this by placing cardboard boxes under each corner of your raised wire cages; this creates an indentation where excess moisture will collect instead of sitting directly on top of any hay or shavings used inside those cages.
Step 5: Common Chicken Problems
There are a few common chicken problems that you should be aware of. Most of them can be easily treated with some simple home remedies, but if they don’t get better in a few days, it’s time to call your vet and make an appointment. Egg laying problems are one of the most common issues that backyard chicken owners face. Sometimes chickens just stop laying eggs altogether, or they’ll lay fewer than usual for no apparent reason. If this happens to your flock and you want them to start laying again quickly, try increasing their protein intake by adding some oyster shells (or crushed eggshells) into their diet as well as offering them more bugs such as grasshoppers or crickets from time-to-time! If none of these tips work after about two weeks then consider bringing them in for testing because there could be something else going on here which isn’t related directly back towards how much food/water is being provided each day.
Raising chickens is easy. They’re a source of food, eggs and entertainment. And they can be fun for children too! Chickens are great for the environment because they help convert waste into compost that improves soil quality and reduces pollution. They also eat bugs which makes your garden healthier by reducing the need for pesticides or other harmful chemicals that harm bees and other beneficial insects. Now that you have all the information you need, it’s time to get started!
