Backyard Chickens

I am in no means an expert when it comes to backyard chickens, but my friends that have met my flock have been asking a lot of questions, so I thought I'd share my limited knowledge with anyone interested in getting involved with the world of poultry.

Getting Started

You don't need a lot to get started. We used a rubbermaid tote as the brooder. Sprinkle some wood shavings on the bottom and put in a feeder and water dish designed to be used with young birds. We clamped a heat light to the top of the crate and used the door (poultry mesh on a wooden frame) from our coop as a cover. The chicks lived in there for about 5 weeks - it started getting cramped towards the end.

You'll want to change the shavings every couple days. The food and water will need to be refilled daily and they'll probably kick shavings into the water, so elevate it or you'll be changing that 4 or 5 times a day.

After 5 weeks

Once the chicks reach about 5 weeks you can start letting them out. We began putting the chickens in the coop during the day (closed up) and then bringing them back in the house at night. It wasn't terribly warm out at night at this point, so it made sense. They also had time to roam about in the lawn and look for bugs. They really enjoyed eating ants.

Eventually, when they got too big for the brooder we moved them to the coop full time. I think we could have done it before that point, but my husband was concerned about predators. We keep the coop in a large (55 feet long by 16 feet wide) fenced area near the house. Because it's close to the house, we think we won't have as big of an issue with predators going after the chickens. It's also large enough that they haven't picked the land clear yet and they don't smell.

What happens next?

Now, we're just waiting for the hens to start laying. I've read that happens between 4 and 6 months, so we're looking at the end of the summer to get our first egg. I can't wait to see which of the ladies will lay first!