Raising Chickens!
5 Reasons to Raise Chickens & Build a Coop
RAISING CHICKENS: 5 Reasons to Build a Backyard Chicken Coop
Sometimes it’s hard to believe. Just 120 years ago, most Canadians still lived in the rural countryside, not cities. Our Mounted Police still patrolled by horse, dogsled or boat.
And most country folk, if they didn’t live on a family farm, kept a vegetable garden and classic chicken coop. Even in the fishing communities along the shores.
Dad grew up on the farm. And I grew up around farms and harness racing stables. I can remember when horses were all around us. And I’m not that old.
We kids helped out too. I remember going into the chicken coop and helping my friend Mary Queen feed the chickens and gather fresh eggs.
Maybe that’s all gone now. But I know folk who are seeking a path back to raising their own food. And their numbers are growing. Especially here in North America.
Here, with a lot of help from some old ezine writer friends, is an article on just that topic:
Thinking of raising chickens? Your very own hens and eggs?
Why not? Building a great chicken coop to house little yellow poultry chicks has become a growing, popular — and profitable — new backyard hobby. Some are starting from scratch.
The result is a bunch of happy hens that — unlike commercial chickens and eggs — will be free of steroids, hormones, antibiotics and a Witch’s Brew of chemicals. Free Range Hens are about as Back To The Land as most families can get. In a time of Animal Rights, it’s a humane vocation.
Raising chickens should not be a fuss. There are actually several reasons why people want to cultivate chickens in their backyard.
Reason 1 – Chickens love leftovers.
A chicken’s appetite is incredible. They can eat almost everything, even their own kind! You can now say bye-bye to those unwanted leftovers being left rotten in your fridge. You feel less guilty of throwing them out into the garbage can. Plus, you can save on chicken feed. But be very careful with what you give for it may be their last supper. Tone down on the onions and garlic.
Reason 2 – Raising Chickens for Eggs!
Who doesn’t love fresh eggs? Have them boiled, scrambled, sunny side up, etc. Admit it, pets that live comfortably inside your houses don’t give anything more than barks, meows, purrs, and sometimes a chirp. Well, hens, on the other hand, have lots of benefits. One of the many benefits chickens give is their egg. Growing happy, free range chickens on wholesome scraps (no chemicals or mega anti-biotics) gives you natural, healthy hens.
You can eat fresh eggs right from the source. Either raw (good for pregnant women) or cooked. Eggs taken from chickens minutes or hours ago are more tasty and nutritious than those purchased in the grocery store. You’ll notice the texture and color is way different than that of the fresh ones.
When do chickens start laying eggs? [1]
Reason 3 – Low Maintenance Pets
Bright yellow, fluffy Baby Chicks come out of the shell radiating cuteness. Peep-peep-peep! Then they grow up to be just naturally funny — real comedi-hens. Baaawk bawk bawk! Kids love ’em. [2]
Unlike dogs who need combing and brushing everyday to keep their fur alive and shiny, chickens don’t need such soulful treatment. All you have to do is provide them their daily needs like food and water. And a predator-proof home.
You also have to clean their pad at least twice a month and change the bedding, too. In return, you can gather all the eggs. Aside from just gathering, you can also start a small business of your own by supplying stores with fresh eggs.
Domestic Chickens can live for 15 years or longer.
Reason 4 – Source of natural fertilizers
Your lawn or backyard has never looked better. Chickens love to freely walk around. Chickens also love to peck on anything they see that can be considered as food. And what is food to them? Possibly anything that’s organic. If you let your chickens roam around your space, you’ll find out how reliable they can be. They eat pests living in your backyard — grubs, beetles, grasshoppers, earwigs, ticks. Anything that comes close.
(Yes — ticks! I know an old timer who says that the reason we never saw ticks in the woods years ago was because “the hens ate ’em all!”)
After the digestion has set its due, they will transform what they’ve eaten into poop. But this is not just any kind of poop but a treasure called natural fertilizer. And you know what natural fertilizers do right? They keep the soil healthy for plants to grow. Cool. GREAT FOR YOUR GARDEN!
Reason 5 – Grass and weed clippers
Got that right. Now you can save on mowing your own lawn by getting yourself chickens! For chickens, grasses, weeds, and leaves are treats. It’s like a lifetime dessert offering. It’s like having a cow in your own backyard. They will dig through whatever it is without even complaining about the hard work. Chickens will clip it then clean it all at the same time.
With these reasons, why bother getting yourself a dog or a cat? No offense but they can’t even water the plants nor lay eggs for breakfast. In cases of chickens, you can have a best friend, a lawn mower, a supplier of organic fertilizer and an egg producer all in one.
So how do you prepare for the arrival of the chickens in your own backyard? You have to be geared up before presenting your not so baby chicks outside the world. The transition period can be quite stressful — or downright easy and exciting — IF YOU ARE READY.
You have to purchase a NUMBER of items for your chicks to stay comfortable from where they would lay. You need to pamper them so that they’ll be successful layers. Or ready for outright selling, depending on your plans.
RAISING CHICKENS: 5 Essentials for Growing Happy Healthy Hens.
Here’s the FIVE ESSENTIALS:
1. Food
Without this, who will live? The food you will give will entirely depend on the kind of chicken that you have. But to sum it up, just give something that is complete. It must contain the right food substance that your chickens will need like carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and minerals and if the budget can still take it, buy them vitamins.
There are two kinds of feeds: conventional and organic. Either of the two can be purchased online or at an agricultural poultry store.
If the time has come for your hens to lay eggs or is about 20 weeks old, purchase a layer feed. But if they are younger than 20 weeks, starter feed is highly recommended.
2. Waterer and Feeder
Purchase a waterer and feeder that are suspended from the ground. They should hang at least a couple inches off it. A very good advantage when purchasing such items is that they will prevent your chickens from jumping on top of it. And smudging off their feet filled with feces inside the container.
An automatic refill feature is also included which is very reliable during times when you have to go somewhere and will take you a couple of days before you come back. Worry-free.
3. Home: Backyard Chicken Coop
How to start a chicken coop. If you are a beginner in the world of raising chickens, the most important thing you should consider is a secure coop! You can protect your raised chickens without being on shotgun watch for 24 hours every waking day.
You need a predator proof chicken coop. And need to know how to keep rats out of chicken coop. In other words, you need professionally designed chicken coop plans.
A complete Chicken Coop is the best protection for hens. Providing a cozy home, safety from predators and shelter from the storm.
The quickest, easiest and safest (for the chickens) coops can be ordered online. They arrive to your door as kits, ready to assemble. In fact, the panels come pre-assembled. You can even get houses, hutches and cages for cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters, Guinea Pigs, ferrets, turtles, and a variety of small farm animals and pets.
4. Bed
Chicken Beds? Yes, no matter how absurd it seems, you have to provide them with the proper bedding. It keeps them warm, comfortable, healthy and happy. But this doesn’t mean that you have to get them Egyptian Percale Cotton Sheets from L L Bean. Beddings can be in the form of a pile of clean haystack, even old or used newspapers. Or if you wanted it to be extra special, there are beddings that can be bought online or in a poultry store.
Beddings are best inside the coop where it can provide chickens a soft surface to roam around with. Beddings are also beneficial for your flock because it absorbs the fowl odor and droppings. You don’t want a foul-smelling coop, right?
Another advantage of the bedding is that is saves the eggs from cracking, making it an area where eggs are safe to land.
There are a lot of bedding varieties. But whatever bedding you’ve chosen, always make it a point that it is at least two inches thick and is truly absorbent.
5. Dust Baths
If you see your chickens digging a shallow hole and creating a mess with dirt, they are dust bathing! Chickens enjoy bathing in dust. But did you know that when chickens take dust baths, they are actually protecting themselves from parasites? Those creatures that find it interesting to live inside their legs and feathers. Therefore, it’s necessary to have dust baths.
If you have a dry area in your chicken run that has patches of fresh ground, it’s the perfect spot to do their thing. But if your pen consists of entirely cement, worry not, because there are artificial dust baths available in agricultural stores.
These are trying times, eh? And getting back to traditional ways has become suddenly an essential step to surviving. Gardening and basic farming techniques are new again. If you are interested — Go for it!
“BEST CHICKEN COOP PLANS!”
[1] Q. When do chickens start laying eggs by breed?
A. It’s about size. Smaller lightfooted breeds such as Leghorns & Golden Comets start laying from 16 to 18 weeks. Bigger heavy breeds like Plymouth Rocks & Wyandottes lay from 6 to 8 months.
[2] A Chicken Story:
Clem always said, “I’m the unluckiest man around. Everything I try just doesn’t work out.”
Then he read online that “Raising chickens is fool-proof!”
So he went to his local Feed&Farm store and asked the owner, “How many chickens do I need to get my home farm started?”
“Oh, 22 live chicks should do it.”
“I’ll take ’em!”
A week later Clem went back and purchased another 22.
When he went in again a third time and asked for 22 more, the owner commented, “Sounds like yer chicken farm’s really coming along.”
Clem answered, “Nope. Not one of ’em has growed yet.”
The owner was shocked. “They’re not growing?”
“Yeah,” said Clem. “I wonder if I’m planting ’em too deep?”
(Please Note: No chickens were harmed in the telling of this story. I grew up with ’em and always got a kick out of their antics.)
Are you looking for something simpler to start your home farm? Check this out! HOME GARDENING IDEAS: Easy Organic Hay Bale Gardening. Our most popular Home Farming Post!
“Live Free, Mon Ami!” – Brian Alan Burhoe
See Us on Our CELL PHONE FRIENDLY Format: BrianAlanBurhoe.com.
RAISING CHICKENS: 5 Reasons to Build a Backyard Chicken Coop.
Updated August 5, 2023.
Thanks to Stacy Pessoney and other home farming specialists who inspired this article. For more about Stacy, Search our “Home Gardening Ideas” posts.
Image top of page, “Feeding the Chickens,” is an oil on canvas painting by Walter Frederick Osborne (1859-1903), from Wikimedia Commons. “Dad with Kids & Hens” photo is from our Country Scrapbook.
Baby chicks, best chicken coop plans, backyard chicken coop, chicken coop plans, chickens for sale, chickens laying eggs, free range chickens, hen house, laying chickens, organic. Chickens for sale, fodder for chickens, fresh eggs daily, raising chickens and slim chickens. Predator proof chicken coop, how to start a chicken coop, simple chicken coop plans for the chicken coop. When do chickens start laying eggs by breed?
