Before you make a decision about raising chickens, there are a few things to consider. Although raising chickens can be very exciting and rewarding at the same time, you will have to know how to take care of them, make a chicken coop, and a lot more.
Getting backyard chickens might take more work than you thought it would. Hence, it is integral to note down these few points that will help you make the right decision with confidence.
Table of Contents
1. The Right Size Of The Coop
For chickens to lay an egg and sleep in, they will require a space to protect them from predators. The size of the coop should be spacious enough for the chicks. Most importantly, they should have around three-five square feet available.
You will likewise require 8″ of perching bar per chicken and one settling box for each 3-4 hens in which to lay their eggs.
2. Check The Law
You must know the rules and regulations of the state before getting chickens. The main reason is that some places only allow a particular number of chickens, which is a crucial factor to consider.
Moreover, you might want to get permission from the place you live in since most places require the same.
3. Roosters
In exchange for hens, you could also get a rooster, but they do not have the same advantages as getting hens. There is no need for the presence of a rooster for the hens to lay eggs. Hence, in case you were reluctant to get roosters, you might as well not.
They’ll lay eggs for you whether there’s a male around. The eggs just will not be fertile and won’t ever incubate into chicks. However, you might not need a rooster because you can still eggs.
4. Noise
Noise is one of the essential factors that you will have to consider before getting chickens. This is why getting roosters might not be an ideal option. Roosters make a lot of noise, and this, in turn, might be very disturbing as well.
On the other hand, hens are very quiet, and since they are the ones who lay eggs, it is better to keep your chickens. However, hens do make some noise before or after they lay an egg. It is said that they “sing a song” with joy.
Other than this noise, they are very quiet. Hens make some noise, but they are more hushed, and most of them will neither disturb you nor your neighbors. You can always check the breed before you decide on which chicks you would want.
Some breeds are much louder than others; hence, keeping this in mind is very important.
5. Smell
Chickens that have been looked after properly don’t smell too much. On the off chance that you disregard coop support, very much like in the event that you disregard to clean a feline’s litter box, it will smell.
The more chickens you have, the more regularly you should clean. Before you bring chickens home, be certain you have an arrangement for the waste. Set up a fertilizer region where you can dump messy litter. In the event that you add leaves and turn the manure once per week or somewhere in the vicinity, even that should not smell.
6. The Time To Lay Eggs
A chicken will just lay routinely for around 2-3 years. From that point forward, her creation will come around about 20% per year until she stops through and through, yet with appropriate consideration and insurance from hunters, a chicken can live to be ten or more years old.
Even though great layers will lay an egg each day during the great spring and summer laying months, and no chicken lays all year. When the days get more limited in the fall, they will begin “shedding,” which means dropping their quills and filling in new ones for winter.
Most hens quit laying during the shed. The more limited days additionally mean they aren’t getting the 14 hours of light expected to animate the ovaries, so you probably won’t see eggs again until spring.
The egg production and the first fresh eggs that you bring from your backyard can be used immediately. You can add light to your coop to keep your chickens laying through the colder time of year, yet that doesn’t offer their bodies that common break.
7. Lifespan
Chickens in a protected terrace coop typically live 5-8 years, yet they can live for as long as 10 years or more! A hen’s pinnacle laying years, for the most part, end at some point between their second and third-birthday celebration.
They will, in any case, lay eggs into their mature age. However, the recurrence will turn out to be less and less the more seasoned they get. At a plant ranch, the hens are butchered when their creation diminishes.
What you need to choose is the thing that you will do now. Some will send the hens to the stew pot (on the off chance that you can’t carry out the thing, you can pay a butcher to set it up for you).
Some will permit the hens to experience their common life (here, you need to consider that you could have a herd of hens to take care of with not many eggs consequently), and others will part with the hens to individuals willing to take in resigned hens.
8. Eggs Should Not Be Washed.
Eggs for commercial purposes are washed prior to being transported off to the supermarket, yet eggs from your own group don’t should be – and shouldn’t be – washed until not long before you use them.
Each egg is laid with an imperceptible defensive covering called the “blossom” that keeps air and microorganisms from entering the egg through the pores in the shell. Washing eliminates that covering, so best to save the washing for some other time.
Furthermore, when you wash your eggs, a delicate flush under warm running water should be adequate. You can leave it on the shelf and let it stay for a while. Moreover, keeping it inside a refrigerator is also not required.
9. How To Protect Chickens
When you plan out your chicken setup, consider the type of predators in your area that would love a tasty chicken dinner.
Some of the main concerns arehawks, raccoons, opossums, coyotes, & dogs/cats. Take into account the types of animals you need to protect your chickens from and how best to accomplish that when planning.
Providing places to hide while free-ranging is helpful for aerial predators. Complex or multiple latches are needed to stop smart raccoons; buried wire in the run prevents predators from digging in.
10. How To Take Care
On the off chance that you live in a metropolitan or rural region, numerous veterinarians are not set up to treat animals. You may need to venture out a distance to arrive at the nearest prepared vet. Have the name and number of a vet that treats chickens convenient to be safe.
On most occasions, the terrace chicken attendant will treat their chickens themselves with the assistance of other experienced chicken proprietors in the event that you’re not fortunate enough to be companions with another person who keeps chickens.
Chicken individuals like to take care of one another and can be a priceless asset for new chickens.
11. Check The Egg Laws Too
On the off chance that you are anticipating selling your additional eggs, make certain to get familiar with the Egg Laws in your state. Your neighborhood expansion administration or state college poultry office are acceptable spots to begin.
Each state has various standards administering how eggs should be taken care of and marked to be sold. Fresh eggs that you first store and after hours of daylight, can be made into food and sold as well.
Endnotes
Chickens are incredible however there several things to consider before getting chickens and focusing on bringing those charming fluffy chicks home. Keep in mind, these are living creatures and you are making a pledge to really focus on them appropriately. Raising chickens isn’t really tough if you know a few things.
When you start your group, you will likely be shocked at how savvy, tender, and amicable chickens are. In choosing to raise chickens, you have added some new pets to your family and these birds will simply end up giving you new, delectable eggs for breakfast!
James Fields is the founder of Gardener to Farmer. His passion for gardening goes back to his childhood days when he would visit his grandfather during the holidays and help him with the plants in the backyard. This has now translated to creating a dependable resource for gardening.