Chicken tips for beginners

When we moved to the homestead we knew one of the first things we would try would be chickens.  As luck would have it someone we knew was looking to get rid of some backyard chickens they had.  We received 3 roosters and 4 hens along with a small coop the November after we moved in.

And so our journey with chickens begins...

It has been almost 2 years and we are still learning and perfecting the art of keeping chickens.  We have lost several over those two years and each time we re-evaluate what we're doing and how we can make it better.  So here are a few ideas to keep in mind if you're considering chickens. (DISCLAIMER....I am no chicken expert.  These tips are things we have learned over the years.  Always do your own research before starting your flock.)

1.  Know where your birds come from.  There are many reputable hatcheries that will send you day old chicks via mail.  You can pick your breed and delivery date.  I recommend Murray McMurray hatchery. They will also vaccinate against very serious contagious disease that chickens often carry for pennies per bird.

2.  Know what breeds are suitable for where you live.  Certain breeds tolerate temperature change better than others.  Do some research and find out which birds are going to work well with the climate you live in.

3.  Know which birds will work well with your house hold.  Different breeds have different temperaments.  We chose all docile breeds (Black Australorps, White Rocks, Buff Orphingtons, Rhode Island Reds and Wyandottes) since we have children.  Again, do your research to see what breeds will mesh with the rest of the family.

4.  Choose birds for their intended use.  There are certain breeds that are excellent for egg production (Ameraucana, Australorps, Brahma, Rhode Island Reds to name a few).  You can also pick the breed based off of what color egg and productivity.  For example Australorps lay brown eggs and are excellent layers. Ameraucana will lay blue/green eggs and are also excellent layers. Leghorns will lay white eggs but their productivity is very low. Egg color is a preference.  The nutritional value is the same whether the egg is white, brown or green.  If you are wanting birds for meat choose birds that mature faster, like cross rocks.  They are ready to butcher anywhere from 6-8 weeks.

5.  Be very cautious when introducing new adult birds to your flock.  We had several issues when we tried to do this.  I will never mix flocks again.  Should you decide to mix flocks quarantine the new birds for a week or so to make sure there are no signs of illness.  I would also recommend worming them before introducing the new birds to the rest of the flock.

6.  If you can free range your chicken do it!  Our flock always does better when we are able to let them roam free.  When they are cooped up in small spaces the chance of illness spreading increases significantly.  For those who can not free range, consider a portable coop that can be moved often.

7.  Keep your feeder and waterer off the ground.  Chickens are filthy animals.  They poop everywhere, which includes their feeder and waterer.  My husband made this handy dandy waterer out of a 15 gallon tank, wood, pvc and chicken watering nipples (check amazon or farmtek for the nipples).

8.  Expect to lose some chickens.  We have a friend of a friend that raises meat birds for a living.  He always says a chicken wakes up in the morning and thinks "How can I kill myself today?".  It's true.  Sometimes chickens will die and you will have no idea why.  You can chalk it up to heat, cold, possible illness but sometimes you just never really know.

9.  Chickens are likely to get worms at some point.  My vet recommends worming once every 6 months should you choose a chemical wormer.  Chickens naturally have a small amount of worms in their gut at all times.  If those numbers get too high then the chickens will become ill and spread the worm infestation to the rest of the flock.  I have been using a natural wormer (diatomaceous earth) for our chickens over the past several months and it has worked really worked well.  It is in powder form and I add it to the feed once a week.  I also add apple cider vinegar to the water, which is supposed to be good for the chickens all around health.

10.  Roosters are the spawn of satan.  Ok, not always, but they can be extremely feisty when he's protecting his girls.  I would, however, suggest having one especially if you're live somewhere with a lot of predators.  It's pretty cool to watch the rooster round up the girls when he sees a hawk or neighbor dog that likes to hang around.

11.  Start small.  It's easy to go chicken crazy and take on more than you can handle.  Start with 3 or 4 hens and go from there.  When you get a good system set up then order more baby chicks to add to the flock later.

Those are my few tips to get you started.  There are many books out there that will also give you a good start to chicken keeping.  We liked The Joy of Keeping Chickens by Jennifer Megyesi.

Good luck and happy chicken keeping!!