Backyard chickens can be a fun, educational, and entertaining way to keep animals on your property, even if you live in the suburbs. Chickens make great pets and can be used for access to your own organic eggs or as meat birds, but it is important that you understand the rules and recommendations for a successful flock. Here are some recommendations to help you choose the right chickens and set up their coop to keep them safe.
Choose Your Chickens
There are many different types of chickens available that you can raise in your backyard. You can find chickens around springtime in many local agricultural supply retailers and also through online suppliers. If you cannot find the type of chickens that is local to your area, you can have a crate of chicks delivered right to you. Check around to see what types of chicks you can purchase, which makes for a better and successful raising experience.
Also, consider the type of chickens you want to raise and whether you want to raise the chickens for eggs or for their meat. Egg-producing chickens will usually start laying at about nine months old, and they will continue for several years as they taper off their production the older they get. And you can raise chickens that lay blue- and green-colored eggs in addition to white, pink and brown.
However, if you want to raise chickens for meat, look at a dual-purpose chicken that will be a good layer but also can be used for meat later on. These types include Barred Plymouth Rock, Ixworth, and Delaware chickens. Ultimately, the choice of chickens is up to you and what type of flock you want to raise.
Set Up a Coop
Your chickens are going to need protection from the weather and also predators, so a good coop should be out of the dirt and mud and keep them dry when it gets wet outside. Be sure your coop has enough space for how many chickens you have, provide roosting poles inside for them to sit upon, and have good ventilation so the interior does not get too humid. In the winter, humidity inside the coop can lead to frost damage. It is helpful to have a coop in which you can fill with straw or hay so you can clean it out regularly when it gets soiled.
Your chicken coop should also contain nesting boxes enough for your chickens to sit when they lay. Be sure they include clean pine shavings or other filler that you can replace when it gets dirty. You can build the nesting boxes out of lumber, or you can buy prebuilt nesting boxes.
For more information about how to raise chickens, visit websites like Chickens.org.
Share30 April 2021
When we bought our first home, I was really excited to get out in the garden, grow something, and watch it bloom into a gorgeous space. However, I quickly discovered that growing things was much more difficult than I imagined, which is why I decided to create a website all about gardening and agricultural concerns. I wanted to share the things that I learned with other people, so I made this easy to read blog. Check out these tips for ideas on how to create a garden area, help your plants to thrive, and make sure the entire area is gorgeous years later.