Backyard Chicken Raising – 10 Vital Steps Before You Start

Backyard chicken raising can be a lot of fun. The eggs will be fresh and taste delicious. If your aim is to have these birds as pets (like many people) you might not want to consider them as potential Sunday dinner, but raising meat chickens is something to at least consider as a good source of income perhaps.

None of this can be done without looking after your chickens properly. So here are the 10 vital steps you need to consider before you start, for raising backyard chickens happily and in great condition:

1. Breed
2. Quantity
3. Time
4. Housing
5. Security
6. Health
7. Regulations
8. Diet
9. Climate
10. Environment

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Here, in more detail, are the 10 essential planning measures and best ways to keep free range hens:

Step 1, choose the breed. It is vital to choose the right breed for your area and requirements.  Preference for warmer or cooler climes, egg-layer or dinner table, hobby or chickens farming – these are just a few of the considerations when choosing your flock.  You can get good advice from your local hen supplier and from poultry farmers in your area.

Step 2, decide on the right number of birds. Your hens will need sufficient room to exercise, forage and nest comfortably. At least 10 square feet per bird is a good rule of thumb.  Measure out the area in which you intend to keep the hens, to determine the maximum number you can keep comfortably. For social reasons (the chickens, not you!) three is considered the minimum number of hens for a flock.

Step 3, decide how much time you will have available. Keeping free range chickens needs a small time commitment from you.  Allocate a period each day for providing food and water, cleaning out the coop and other jobs such as checking the security of perimeter fencing. Allow 10 or 15 minutes for a small flock, and expect them to follow you closely as you walk around their pen.

Step 4, build the accommodation. Your birds will need  safe places to roost and nest, particularly at night, and safety from predators. They also must have a place to shelter from too much sun and they need a supply of fresh water. The hen house design should allow easy cleaning and egg collection without too much disturbance for the hens. Building chicken houses yourself is quite easy, incidentally, and you can find loads of chicken coop ideas here.

Step 5, provide security. Safety from predators is vital when raising free range chickens, and threats come from many creatures including cats and dogs, rats, wild animals, birds of prey, even snakes.  Many of these are expert at getting through, under or over fences given time.  The coop and fencing for chickens must ensure safety and security from all such predators.  If there could be a threat from birds of prey you should provide a covering for the run as well – it also prevents the hens flying away!

Step 6, consider health precautions. Hens can get sick quite easily, so you should find out what diseases are likely in your neighborhood.  Speak to the vet, other chicken keepers and online forums – you will get a lot of help from the chicken-keeping community.

Step 7, identify applicable regulations. You must know and comply with all applicable laws for keeping backyard chickens in your locality, although these are not usually very taxing.  Go to your local town hall, government offices or planning department for guidance.

Step 8, provide a good diet. Chickens need protein, grains, greens and water. Protein is particularly important – talk to your local feed supplier for advice on this.  You might need to include protein supplements and grit in the hen food, but most likely free range hens will get enough from their own foraging. There must be a constant supply of fresh, clean water.  If you are away during the day or on vacation, you should investigate automatic water dispensers for your hens. They will probably get all the rest of their diet requirements from foraging.

Step 9, consider weather and climate. So long as they have shelter from hot, midday sun, most chicken varieties are able to adapt to a wide range of weather and climactic conditions. Make sure, however, that they are able to keep their feet dry.

Step 10, consider your local environment. Usually keeping chickens is viewed as a good thing, so you should not encounter significant problems here.  You might need to reassure some of your neighbors about possible noise and smells, to get their support.  Often the promise of fresh, free range eggs can work wonders!

You will note that none of these vital steps is anything other than common sense.  If you follow them you will have happy, healthy hens.

Oh, one more thing – a happy hen should lay 6 eggs a week during the spring and summer months!

We can recommend an excellent source of chicken housing plans for making easy chicken coops, which is produced by our friends at ChickenDIYguides.  It is one of the most popular manuals of its kind on the market at present, for good rfeason.  Not only does it have a good range of plans for building chicken coops easily, cheaply and quickly but also a huge amount of expert advice on raising and keeping hens.  It doesn’t cost a lot and makes an great reference manual to keep handy.  It has a full, no hassle refund guarantee as well, which makes it a risk-free investment.

Good luck with your birds – we know you will enjoy them!

Click here to check out the best chicken coop ideas and plans