Raising Backyard Chickens

Whether you want to know exactly where your food comes from, or just want a fun hobby, Raising Backyard Chickens is a great way to produce fresh meat or yummy eggs. Chickens are wonderful backyard poultry that keep giving back when well taken care of. Your backyard chickens can feed your family, friends and neighbors with eggs and meat straight from your home. They also produce fertilizer wonderful for gardens and flowerbeds. When you sit down to eat your chicken, you will know that they were raised and killed humanely, unlike chicken you would buy from the grocery store. Also unlike bland grocery store chicken, they will taste flavorful and delicious.

Before you decide to raise backyard chickens, check local ordinances and laws about raising backyard animals. It would be a shame to get your chicken coop going only to have it taken away, or even face prosecution. Once you have examined the local code and are free and clear to raise chickens in your backyard, you need to get the chickens!

The chicken or the egg?

When raising backyard chickens, first choose the breed. Some breeds are meant for meat, some for laying eggs, and some breeds can serve both purposes. There are three ways to start your chicken coop. You can hatch your own chickens, purchase chicks that are already hatched, or even start out with mature hens. Starting with mature hens may give you the biggest fighting chance of food success, but who can resist raising baby chickens? Consider how many chickens you will need. A chicken can lay an average of one egg a day, so two or three chickens can give you plenty of eggs. While egg laying hens can take up to five months before they are ready to start producing eggs, when you're raising meat chickens, they can be ready to eat in as little as two months.

Where will your back yard chickens stay?

There are many pre-made chicken coops on the market, but building your own chicken coop can be a fairly easy project. In addition to a nice space to roost with a clean saw dust or straw floor, egg laying chickens need a nice cozy box to nest in and lay their eggs. Be sure that the nesting box is easily accessible for gathering eggs. If you are raising chickens to be slaughtered for meat, their needs are simply food, water, and shelter from the elements.

If you want tasty chicken and tasty eggs, you need to take good care of your chickens and feed them well. Let your chickens out to pasture, and provide chicken feed, garden and food scraps. Access to a compost pile where worms and insects are abundant is also great for your chickens. Pamper your backyard chickens and you will be rewarded with delicious, fresh chicken that lived a good life.

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