How to Raise Backyard Chickens for Eggs
Learn the basics, getting started with chickens:
How to choose and care for baby chickens
How to set up your coop
What to feed your chickens to get lots of eggs
Everything you will need to know to get started
Do you enjoy real farm fresh eggs? They're so delicious and nutritious for you as well. A home raised chicken egg has a bright orange yolk. These eggs are the best for using in your kitchen. People always notice a huge difference. If you want your own eggs, you don't have to pay $5 a dozen at the store. Get them right in your from your own chickens, right out of your backyard. Chickens are great entertainment because they're fun to watch. Their prominent personalities and funny antics can keep smiling all day. It's incredible how quickly you get attached to them. They are also very kid-friendly. Kids love to feed them, watch them, and collect their eggs.
Before we get started, if you’re looking for specifics on chicken feed to help with egg production, check out these articles:
Chicken Feed: the Best for Egg Production
How to Ferment Chicken Feed for Hen Health and Better Eggs: A Beginner’s Guide
7 Mistakes When Fermenting Chicken Feed!
Hens and Roosters
Just so we are clear, a hen is a female chicken and lays the eggs, and a rooster is a male chicken and fertilizes the eggs. A hen doesn't need a rooster to lay eggs; she will lay eggs regardless. If the hen sits on the fertile eggs, in 21 days, they'll hatch into baby chicks. Whether you have a rooster or not, the eggs are edible. Either way, the rooster does not affect whether you can eat the eggs. You only need hens in your flock to enjoy fresh farm eggs. Even better, it will be quieter without a rooster. Roosters are very noisy. Some neighborhoods don't allow roosters at all, but they will let you have hens. After all, it's called a hen house for a reason.
Buying Baby Chickens: Cockerels, Pullets, and Straight Runs
Stores separate chicks into three groups: cockerels, pullets, and a straight run. Stay away from the cockerels; those are the roosters. Price-wise, they are the cheapest. A straight-line run is a mixture of hens and roosters. It is not uncommon for there to be mostly males in a straight run purchase, and you may be out of luck with just a few hens to show for it. Straight runs are usually in the mid-price range. Lastly, you'll see the pullets. These are all hens and the most expensive. While these are all females, sometimes you can have a male mixed in by accident. I recommend you start with just pullets, which are the hens.
Where do you buy chickens?
There are four places you can buy chickens:
A big superstore like tractor supply.
A local feed store. (you're going to need a feed store anyway so you can buy chicken feed and supplies)
Flea markets. But, if you're a beginner, I would stick with the superstore and the local feed store.
By mail. Baby chicks can be shipped overnight right after hatching. They're very delicate, but can be sent without issue. The convenient part is, there are more breeds to choose from when you order online.
How do I take care of baby chickens?
Shopping for baby chickens is so much fun. You can get carried away because they're just so adorable. However, it does take a little bit of skill to take good care of them, so they don't die. They are very fragile. There are some tips and tricks that I've learned through the years that I want to share with you so you can have success. This method is so simple and inexpensive that practically any family can enjoy healthy, fresh eggs from the backyard. It is important to note that you should get all of this set up before you go chicken shopping.
Keeping the right temperature for baby chicks
The biggest mistake people make when they take home newly hatched chicks is keeping the chicks at the correct temperature. The most important thing is getting a thermometer and a heat lamp. I like to use a temperature controller; you can set it, and it's automatic. It takes out all the guesswork, and you can get one quickly on Amazon. The babies needed to be 100 degrees for the first week. Drop it 5 degrees every week until it's about 75 - 80 degrees or maybe room temperature. Once they are a little older, the heat lamp will only need to come on at night when the little chickens may need it. This is why an automatic lamp controller is convenient; you don't have to worry about turning the light on or turning the light off. One of the critical attributes of a good heat lamp is that it is not a light bulb; it's a heat bulb. So, it won't turn a light on the little chickens. It'll just warm them up. That's nice because they can get some good rest. You'll see stores use red heat lamps, which are very hot. At nighttime, they might need that much heat, but it's powerful, and I personally never use those.
You'll need a big rubber container or a tote. You can even use a cardboard box with high sides, just make sure the sides are high enough, because within a week or so they can start to flutter and jump higher than you think, and you don't want them getting out.
First, I put sand in the bottom, and then on top of that, I'll put a thin layer of cedar wood chips. You can buy a bag of sand at any home improvement store. What's nice about this setup is when they're little they can get used to the sand particles for grit. You have to make sure the heat lamp only covers half of the container because that way if the chicks are too hot they can move to the other side. There has to be a hot side and a cold side. That's why you don't you don't use a very small box; the heat lamp will just heat the whole area and that's how you overheat and potentially kill the baby chicks. Once again, a controller is very practical and very convenient. It helps you in determining the proper temperature setting for the baby chicks.
Next, you'll need to provide water. You don't want the water to be too deep because the little chicks could potentially drown. Still, it doesn't have to be fancy or expensive to feed and water the baby chickens. For food, I recommend buying a commercial feed that is non-medicated. There is no point in medicating the baby chicks if they're not sick. You don't wake up in the morning and take medicine for no reason, so we're not going to do it to the animals. You can buy this chicken food or make your own. It's amazing how much your little chickens will pick and scratch.
How will you know when your baby chickens are ready to be moved into the coop?
Depending on where you live in what the climate is in your area a good rule of thumb is to wait until they're fully feathered. The chickens won't be full-sized when they're fully feathered, only about 6 inches or so, but there will be no more baby fuzz. Depending on the climate where you live you may still need the heat lamp at night. So, you'll have to move that out into the coop. I want to make a good point here you cannot take the babies which are small and put them into a coop that already has full-grown hens or a rooster. The problem is the older hens will pick on the baby chicks. Instead, move them into an empty coop.
What do I need for a coop and a chicken run?
A chicken coop has two parts. It has the enclosed weatherproof hen house where they sleep and lay their eggs. It also has a chicken run where they get exercise, sunshine, and fresh air. Personally, I like a large hen house. Especially in cold weather areas because I can keep a lot of chickens. When I enter to gather the eggs, feed them, and clean up, I don't want to bump my head, so I love a large door and plenty of access points. Sometimes the maintenance and cleaning of a large hen house can be easier than that of a small one simply due to the ease of access. Plus, my hens have plenty of access to deep, dark shade for hot summers. This is very important to ensure they don't overheat. I like to give my chickens plenty of room in the chicken run as well. This way they can run back and forth and get exercise. You can put the water tub at the end of the run which will help encourage exercise. This can also help keep the water clean and make it easier to get to for doing change-outs. You must make sure your chickens have access to fresh water at all times.
You'll want your chickens to have plenty of room to run back and forth, get exercise, fresh air, and sunshine. They do need deep, dark shade in the hen house, but they need sunshine in the chicken run. It's important to remember they need both.
There are many different kinds of coops. You can buy one that has been manufactured or build your own. Chicken coop blueprints are easy to find, but I recommend paying a small fee for quality blueprints. It will make the build much easier and you will be happier with the finished product. Hen houses can be various sizes and you have to find one that fits good in your backyard. The most important thing to consider before building or buying your coop is making sure it will be big enough for all of your chickens. Chickens need enough space so they can get away from each other. The number one mistake people make is overcrowding. Having too many chickens in a small coop will result in pecking and social problems between your birds. The chickens will become stressed out.
Do I need a roost in my coop?
Yes. In the henhouse, you put the roost where the chickens will sleep. The roost is a wooden stick attached to both sides of the hen house. It's basically a big perch like in a birdcage. The roost has to be long enough so that all the chickens can sit on it with plenty of space between them. Otherwise, they will start pecking each other and knocking each other off. It also has to be wide enough so that the chickens can easily balance. 2" thickness is the minimum, but 4" is preferred. Chickens don't wrap their legs around the roost as other birds do. Instead, they prefer to sleep flat-footed.
Do I need nesting boxes in my chicken coop?
You want to make sure your nesting boxes are nice and cozy for the hens. If the boxes are too big then two chickens will sometimes try and share the space simultaneously, and then they will break each other's eggs. You don't need a nesting box for every chicken. In fact, chickens like to lay their eggs where others already have. They will take turns using the boxes. I have found that three or four nesting boxes are plenty for a flock of 12 hens. Generally, the rule is one box for every 4 to 5 chickens.
When will I get eggs?
Now you're all set up and everything's perfect. The chickens are growing, so when are the delicious eggs coming? Be patient and give your young hens a chance. It could take up to 10 months for them to lay their first egg. Some will start laying as early as four months. If your hens take 10 to 12 months to lay their first egg it doesn't mean there is a problem. It could just be late maturing hens. They're all different, just like people. There are some things that you can do to help, however.
What do chickens need to lay eggs?
What chickens need to lay eggs is a balanced diet with enough calories plus peace and quiet. I feed my chickens a combination of crimped oats, whole corn, alfalfa pellets, or fresh alfalfa hay plus a non-medicated commercial egg-laying pellet. I look at the ingredients on the bag for commercial feed and try to find one without soybean oil or soybean in it because I don't want to eat that in my eggs. This is a personal choice, but just remember you will be eating the eggs so what goes into making them is important. I combine all ingredients (except commercial feed) in a large storage container at once and use that mix to feed the chickens as needed.
I use a hanging feeder because it keeps the bugs out. Insects will craw up and eat the food if left on the ground. A hanging feeder should hang about four inches off the floor. The chickens need access to commercial feed at all times, just like their water. Then I throw them oats whole corn and alfalfa hay by hand every day also. Make sure they have plenty of clean water and access to their food at all times.
Grit and gizzards.
Grit is a very important part of a chicken's diet. The chickens need it to digest their food. Chickens have to have it at all times. It comes in a bag and you can just dump some on the ground, or you can use some sort of a little grit pan. When consumed, the grit stays in the Chicken's gizzard, an organ that allows them to grind and digest their food. Oyster shell is a very popular type of grit because it provides the chickens with extra calcium. I highly recommend it and it is easy to find at the local feed store.
You will love your new backyard chickens even more than the farm fresh eggs! And if you want to ensure you get a colorful basket of eggs each day then look into Blue Egg Chicken Breeds, Which is the Best?