Raising Chickens - Tips for caring for your own flock
Believe it or not raising chickens is a very easy thing to do, even if you are not a farmer. A chicken doesn’t need much—shelter, a nest box, food and water. So what do you need to do to prepare for raising chickens?
First, you will have to prepare a house and an area for raising chickens. You will need to build a chicken house for them to be in at night where they can lay their eggs. Otherwise they will lay their eggs and hide them where you will never find them. A chicken house does not need to be fancy, only secure and dry with perches for night roosting and a few nest boxes. Hens will share nests, so plan on having one nest box for every three hens. Provide one foot of perch space for each hen. When raising chickens, always secure your hens at night to protect them from predators.
Raising chickens also requires an outside enclosure about twice this size for exercise. They like to scratch in the soil and catch bugs, so a pen with grass is preferred because the grass is good for them. Be sure to make the sides of the pen at least eight feet high or make cover with chicken wire so that the birds cannot escape and to prevent hawks and other predators from getting in. When raising chickens during the winter, it is a good idea to keep a light burning so that the hens get about twelve hours of light daily. Otherwise, egg production will suffer.
You must provide the proper food and plenty of water when raising chickens. Special food and water dispensers are sold at feed stores. Feed containers come with barriers to prevent the birds from perching above their food and soiling it. Select one or more of a type that you can clean easily. Feed stores also sell different kinds of chicken food. For a small flock, it is simplest to buy a pre-mixed all-purpose laying mash. You can add some scratch feed to this or buy whole corn to supplement their diet. The corn will make the yolks very dark yellow and full of beta carotene. When raising chickens, you can also feed them kitchen scraps such as greens of any kind, fruit peels, pancakes, bread and cooked meat. When raising chickens for eggs, you should feed them crushed oyster shells for strong egg shells. They also should eat grit to help them digest their food. Simply scatter it around their yard or place in their feeder. Oyster shells and grit can both be bought at the feed store.
When raising chickens, it is best to choose the right hens. Ask around to find out which breeds are available in your area and which breeds will thrive in your area and environment. It is recommended to buy year-old hens that are plump, with many feathers and bright eyes. Normal egg production is one egg every two to three days, although some hens will produce an egg a day.
For more information about raising chickens, collecting eggs, and whether or not to buy a rooster for your hens, search online or simply ask a local farmer for advice.