All About Egg Laying Chickens, for Beginners
Raising egg laying chickens, for
beginners, may seem daunting at first. But in my experience, chickens
are one of the easiest and most rewarding farm animals to
have. Their needs are few and their care, simple and straightforward.
Some of the first questions potential chicken owners ask me is if the
birds are very messy, or very difficult to manage. My answer to both
is: No. Granted, if you are planning to raise your chickens indoors, I
would have to say that could be a very messy proposition. But
considering that chickens are generally running around on the dirt
outside, penned in for much or all of the time, their waste is not an
issue if there is enough room in the cage for the birds to spread out.
As far as difficult, again, chickens rank very low on this scale when
it comes to animals. They need to have plentiful water and food and
protection from predators. If you can automate all three of these
criteria, you could leave them to their own devices for days at a time
if need be. Of course, human interaction is ideal in order to keep them
tame, and their eggs should be gathered daily, but they will survive as
long as they have a supply of food and water and predators are unable
to reach them.
The coop and chicken run are the most important elements to a simple
and easy to manage chicken operation. It needs to be of sufficient size
to fit all your birds, with the enclosure walls high enough that the
birds can not fly over. If the wire fencing extends over the top of the
chicken run and covers the coop area with no points of entrance for
predators, you'll have more ability to leave the chickens for a day or
two when needed.
You can buy chicken feeders and waterers that can hold several days'
worth of food and water for your birds, depending on the size of your
flock. Multiple waterers should be used in the summer heat so they
don't run out. .
Resources about egg laying chickens, for beginners:
Care
of Baby Chickens
Best
Egg Laying Chicken Breeds
How to Make a Chicken Coop
(off-site)
You
can start your flock with birds of any age, from peeps (newly hatched
chicks) to pullets (young hens, usually not laying yet) to full grown
birds. As you experience raising chickens in your backyard, you'll
probably try all different ages and find what suits you best for
building your own chicken flock.
Honestly, the only way to overcome concerns about raising
chickens is to give it a try. Read through the articles on this site
and enjoy your new chickens when you get them!
Go back to Laying Hens, home to Egg Laying Chickens or check out other chicken-related resources online:
Best Coop Plans:
How to Build a Chicken Coop - detailed plans and construction guide for making backyard coops.
These chicken coop plans and building guide are the best I've found, and purchased them myself to build our first coops. There are five different chicken coops included, beginning with the most basic double-story ark and culminating with the largest design, the Chicken Barn with attached screened-in chicken yard. I want to use their plans again for their largest chicken coop, the chicken barn, when we are ready to upsize our chicken flock's habitat. The coop pictured here is a medium-sized all-in-one design.
Recommended Chicken Books:
- Homemade Living - Keeping Chickens: All You Need to Know to Care for a Happy, Healthy Flock by Ashley English
- Storey's Guide - Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow
- Barnyard in Your Backyard - A Beginner's Guide to Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Rabbits, Goats, Sheep, and Cattle
Favorite Chicken Quotes
“ A chicken you eat only once — eggs a hundred times." ~ Tajikistani Proverb
“ You cannot cook one half of the chicken and leave the other to lay eggs." ~ Sanskrit Proverb
“ You don’t have to kill the chicken to get eggs." ~ French Proverb
-
Don't Miss
-
Chicken Coops
A page with pictures of tried-and-true chicken coop structures as well as tips on building them and recommended plans to follow. Ultimately, your chicken coop and pen will be the main factor determining your success as a small scale flock owner.
-
Hens for Sale
If you're eager to begin a backyard chicken flock, you might not want to wait for day-old chicks to grow into pullets and finally lay eggs. To that end, if you can find some healthy hens for sale locally, you may be able to have fresh eggs almost immediately. It's best to buy pullets that are just about to start laying, rather than older hens who have already laid eggs and may be upset by a change in environment and stop laying for a time after the move.
-