Elevating yard chickens is rewarding, enjoyable, however like something, it might have just a few challenges. Right here is my final information on the way to elevate and take care of chickens. You’ll get all of my execs, cons and the fee breakdown that can assist you funds! Don’t overlook to take a look at the way to make a simple raised backyard mattress and the way to begin a frugal city backyard.
The whole lot You Must Know About The way to Increase Yard Chickens
Our homesteading journey has been lengthy and gradual.
It began in 2009 or so after we lived in a townhouse in coastal California. Our yard was basically a ten’ x 10’ sandbox, however I constructed a raised mattress for zucchini and planted tomatoes in large pots. The zucchini flopped, and the tomatoes had been simply so-so, however I cherished having management over the meals we ate.
Quick ahead to 2016, after we moved to an HOA-ruled subdivision exterior Atlanta. We had ¼ acre of hilly property to work with, and all I actually wished was chickens.
We had no thought what we had been doing, however we took the plunge and acquired child chicks… 2 ½ months earlier than we moved to a 30-acre farm!
These child chicks discovered their strategy to a buddy in the identical neighborhood, and we began a brand new flock on our farm exterior Greenville, SC.
When you’re a newbie and excited about elevating chickens within the yard, this tutorial is for you!
Elevating Chickens for Rookies
There are clear benefits to elevating chickens for eggs in your yard, however there are disadvantages too, and you need to know what you’re getting your self into earlier than you start.
Benefits of Elevating Chickens for Eggs in Your Yard
- They’re cute.
- They offer you eggs.
- They’re simple to take care of, even once you’re out of city.
- They’ve personalities, similar to typical home pets.
Disadvantages of Preserving Chickens
- They poop typically.
- You need to clear out their coop and nesting bins usually.
- They require just a little additional work in chilly climate.
- They are often noisy (not any noisier than a canine barking, however they’re not silent).
- Generally you by accident get a rooster.
What number of chickens ought to a newbie begin with?
We initially began with 4 chickens as a result of that was the minimal buy required at Tractor Provide. That turned out to be excellent for our household of 4 residing in an HOA neighborhood.
Once we moved to our homestead, we purchased 30 chicks. Our aim was to feed ourselves in addition to promote eggs to the neighborhood.
In order for you a constant provide of eggs, I’d say 1 hen for every 1-2 folks in your house.
Totally different breeds will lay a special variety of eggs annually, in order that’s a variable too. White Leghorn, Rhode Island Crimson, and Ameraucana lay probably the most eggs in a given 12 months.
What do you’ll want to elevate yard chickens?
On the most elementary stage, chickens solely want 3 issues:
- Meals
- Water
- Shelter (chicks might have an elective warmth lamp)
As with something, you have got two sides: what “they” suggest and what precise yard hen house owners are doing. I’ll share what I’m doing and why, together with among the widespread suggestions, so you may make your individual selections.
Meals for Elevating Child Chickens
Child chicks want particular nutrient ratios, so that you need to begin with a grower feed for poultry. Natural and non-GMO would be the costliest, and traditional would be the most reasonably priced. On common, every child chick goes by means of about 1 pound of feed per week till they’re 16 weeks previous.
Child chicks do very well with feeders like this one as a result of it prevents them from making messes with the meals.
Meals for Taking Care of Chickens
As soon as the infant chick reaches 16 weeks previous, you may change to a layer feed. (This text is a good clarification of the distinction between grower and layer feed.)
Once more, natural and non-GMO would be the costliest, and traditional would be the most reasonably priced. When you’re ONLY feeding the chickens layer feed, every hen wants about 1 pound per day.
You possibly can offset the price of feed by feeding the chickens kitchen scraps. Some say don’t feed them nightshades, some homesteaders feed their chickens the whole lot however bones.
We give our chickens the whole lot however bones and hen. For some motive, it doesn’t really feel fairly proper to feed the chickens hen… though we do give them crushed eggshells! (They want this for calcium to supply eggs.)
When you’ve got just some chickens in a small coop (we’ll discuss shelter in a minute), lengthy flat feeders like this one, or hanging feeders like this one, do effectively.
When you’ve got a number of chickens in a big coop, lengthy flat feeders secured to the coop are finest. This prevents the chickens from pushing the feeder round and losing feed.
Chickens can get feisty at feeding time, so we’ve additionally poured the feed into a number of small piles on the bottom to maintain everybody joyful. (When you go this route and pour the feed onto the bottom, a feeder wouldn’t be vital.)
All chickens – child and grownup – want a provide of recent water.
You should buy a easy hen waterer like this one (small with nipples), or a actually large one (massive measurement with nipples) when you have a big flock. Otherwise you can provide them a shallow bucket like this one.
To maintain prices down, re-use what you have already got or search used provides. There are at all times homesteaders and farmers trying to downsize.
Additionally, heads up, it’s regular for chickens to poop of their meals and water.
Shelter for Elevating Yard Chickens
Child chicks begin in a brooder, which is basically a field. They’ll simply match by means of the hen wire for a number of weeks after they’re born, and are too small to be protected by predators by something aside from “strong” partitions. You’ll need to maintain this field away from the weather, ideally someplace indoors, for at the very least 8 weeks.
Child chicks want warmth, so relying on the place you reside and the season, you’ll desire a warmth lamp like this one (right here’s the substitute bulb) to maintain them heat. Put it at one finish of the brooder (reverse of the meals and water) so the chicks can come and go beneath the warmth as they need.
Our first flock of 4 chicks (from Tractor Provide) began in a cardboard field. We positioned them within the storage close to a hook, so we may dangle the heating aspect on the hook. When the chicks outgrew this field, we upgraded to an extended field. They stayed on this field till they may fly out, which was round 12 weeks or so.
Teenage and grownup chickens want a coop, which is a shelter that has safety from floor predators (i.e. fox, snakes, and so on.), air predators (i.e. hawks, vultures), and shade to maintain them cool in the summertime.
When you resolve to free-range chickens, the coop needs to be accessible to the chickens always. Do know although, that chickens can hop and fly… so maintain this in thoughts if you happen to’re free-ranging in your yard. It’s possible you’ll need to contemplate fencing in among the space and making a chicken-wire ceiling too.
Coops ought to embrace a clear place for the chickens to put their eggs. That is known as a nesting field they usually usually look like this (right here is the bedding) or a hanging possibility, however you don’t HAVE to purchase a nesting field. You possibly can simply construct one out of scrap supplies.
Lastly, coops ought to embrace a roosting bar. That is the place the chickens will “relaxation” through the day. When you don’t have a roosting bar, they’ll discover a place to roost… which is often on high of the meals or water.
You could have the choice to construct or purchase a pre-made coop. If you wish to purchase a pre-made coop, we in contrast costs on-line (together with new vs. used) and ended up with this model for our neighborhood dwelling. It appeared good (to appease our neighbors) and it value the identical as shopping for used. The children assembled it over one weekend.
On the farm, our coop is the equal of an animal stall, with nesting bins, feeding trays, and roosting bars inside.
The way to Increase Chickens in Winter
Most hen breeds can deal with chilly winter temperatures, but it surely’s price double-checking the chilly and warmth tolerance of the breed(s) earlier than you buy them. That is very true if you happen to dwell the place there may be excessive warmth or excessive chilly.
Some homesteaders take additional care of their chickens within the winter, out of need or necessity, doing issues like:
- Giving additional scratch (corn) at evening so the hen’s digestive system retains them heat
- Including additional bedding to the coop
- Including a warmth lamp
Chickens will huddle collectively for heat in cooler temperatures, so so long as your coop affords safety from the weather, your chickens needs to be high quality.
In our neighborhood, we positioned our yard coop in between our home and the neighbors, and near a retaining wall. This gave safety from main storms and such. We didn’t add any additional bedding or give any additional feed, because the hen breed was chilly tolerant.
Our farm already had a coop after we purchased it, however I nonetheless don’t add any additional bedding or give any additional feed. I additionally test the chickens every day, and there haven’t been any indicators of them needing any further safety.
FAQs
Chickens can dwell a LONG time… 7-10 years! They constantly produce eggs for 2-3 years, after which change into “previous girls.” Some homesteaders cull their chickens once they cease laying usually (typically due to the fee to maintain them), whereas some homesteaders maintain them as pets.
No! Chickens are born with a specific amount of eggs of their ovary, and mature chickens will lay eggs with no rooster. You DO want a rooster if you’d like fertilized eggs.
Does elevating yard chickens prevent cash?
I just lately did the maths with a reader, and right here’s what we got here up with. All costs are as of this posting and approximate.
The value of a dozen pastured eggs at Walmart is $6.42 per dozen.
Price for Weeks 0-21:
- $18 (4 ISA Brown chicks)
- $0 (DIY brooder and coop utilizing current provides)
- $33.76 (grower feed for weeks 0-16)
- $14.84 (layer feed for weeks 17-21)
= $66.60
Price for Each Week 22+:
ISA Brown chickens begin laying round 22 weeks of age and every hen lays about 6 eggs per week. With 4 hens, that’s 2 dozen eggs per week.
Beginning at Week 22, and with every subsequent week, we cease shopping for eggs and now “save” the price of 2 dozen pastured eggs – $12.84.
Subtract the price of feed and each week you save $9.12 elevating your individual yard chickens for eggs versus shopping for eggs on the retailer.
Word: I’m not together with the price of shopping for eggs for weeks 0-21, since amount and high quality will range with every household. I’m additionally not together with the price of a brooder (since we used a field) or a coop (since you may construct one with scraps). Your value might go up if you happen to select to buy these, however you may improve how a lot you save by feeding grownup chickens kitchen scraps to offset the price of feed.
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