Chicken Rules

How difficult is it to raise chickens at home?

My husband is considering raising chickens in a small coop at the back of our house. The person at the animal and feed store was very helpful and encouraging today (of course). For anyone who actually has chickens at home, what's it like? How long do chickens live? Any tips for those considering getting started? Thanks!

Public Comments

1. Not very difficult just put them in a chicken house(if you have a wide yard) then feed them atleast 2x a day. use water to clean their manure everyday, cause if you don't it will be smell badly.
2. We have chickens! I love them! It's easy, when you buy chicks, buy a lot, (some will probably perish). Feed isn't that expensive, you get eggs, if you have kids, they may want to get into the 4-H, and show them. Just make sure they have good living conditions. Get a hardy breed (Rhode Island Reds, my fave), to survive the winter. It's fun, go for it!
3. I would recommend chickens! We love ours!! Alot of people like chicken tractors (coops that move around the yard) if they are going to have a small amount of chickens. We let our chickens free range. We let them out in the morning to have free reign in the yard and at night they go in the coop and we shut and lock the door. You would need to decide how big of a coop you will need for the amount of chickens you would like to have. Then figure out with the yard you have if it is feasible to let them free range or remain in the coop with a run or have a chicken tractor you would move around the yard. Choose a breed that would meet your requirements. They have egg laying, meat, or dual purpose chickens. We have Rhode Island Reds which are a dual purpose chicken, (good for meat and egg laying) Isa browns-good egg layers and we also have just meat chickens, which grow incredibly fast. Once you decide what you are looking for in a chicken make sure they will be a good suite for your climate. We are in Michigan, so we wanted a winter hardy bird. Some people replace their chickens every spring for better/more eggs, some every two or three. Once again it will depend on what you decide. The hens will lay eggs w/o a rooster, but if you want your eggs fertile to hatch your own chickens either with an incubator or naturally with the hen when she goes broody (sits on her own eggs to hatch) you will need a rooster. We use pine shavings or straw for a liter in our coop. Some people only change their liters once or twice a year. We tend to do it quite often. You will learn the husbandry skills of it with time and some good books. Make sure they have plenty of water daily. It really is fun to watch the chickens, collect the eggs and hear the roosters crow. I hope you find joy in yours. Mel http://www.livingcreature.webs.com
4. Are you raising them for eggs, meat, or both? If you're raising them *only* for eggs and don't like the thought of killing them, then keep in mind that they live about 10 years, but only lay eggs for the first few years. Be sure that you check your local zoning laws, some areas don't allow them, or only allow a certain number of them. This website has a quiz for finding chicken breeds that meet your requirements, as well as some other information you may find useful on getting started. http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/which-breed-is-right-for-me.aspx