Considering Backyard Chickens? A Little Advice to Get You Going! (Quick Read)

Owning Backyard Chickens is kind of a fad right now for a few reasons.  Chickens are pretty easy to keep, do not take a lot of space, and they make food!  Personally, I got mine for practical reasons, but soon I loved them for their personalities and interesting social interaction.


*my photo above, although I may have used it in a blog

If you haven't jumped in yet, here are a few tips to get you started:

Research local laws around keeping chickens, some cities allow hens, but not roosters, and in some areas they are considered livestock and not allowed at all.

Consider where you live and if predators are likely to be an issue.  When considering predators remember the family dog is the #1 threat to your chickens.  Other predators to think about, coyotes, raccoons, hawks, owls, bear, etc.  The type of predators you are likely to encounter will help you consider what type of coop and housing your chickens will require.  If you are not sure ask on local community sites or ask local chicken owners.  In some areas chickens are quite safe wondering your fenced yard, in other areas they will become easy kill for hungry animals.

At a minimum, your chickens will require a safe place to sleep (Coop) fencing, if you would like to keep them in or out of certain places, like your garden.  A means of getting them food and water.  There are many ways to approach this, to be covered in a future article, one can go cute and fancy or economical.  

 *my photo above, although I may have used it in a blog

Once you have figured out the logistics, you can acquire chickens.  If you are a beginner, I recommend looking for young hens or chicks over 4 weeks old. You can find them in local livestock exchanges and on Craigslist in most areas. I also recommend starting with a small number maybe 4, until you have first hand experience managing your flock.  In another article I will address chicken math.

Once you have obtained your birds, get a couple of lawn chairs, observe their behavior and be prepared to fall in love!

Depending on the response I receive from this post, I will be posting additional chicken articles.  Please feel free to post questions or topics in the comments.

One more picture of beautiful eggs below!


Happy Steeming!!!

I am currently a chicken blogger and admin a chicken forum on another social media site.  We have over two-thousand crazy chicken men and women who post daily on the antics, health and development of their flocks.  If it looks like there is interest here, I will ask them to post here as well.