Tips for Raising Backyard Chickens

backyard chicken farming for eggs, meat or both should be a fun and productive adventure. You don’t have to play with your hens or take them for walks, but you’ll likely enjoy the time you spend caring for them and might even think of laying hens as pets. The basic requirements for raising backyard chickens successfully are proper housing, proper feeding, protection from predators, and routine health maintenance.

A coop, where the hens and roosters can rest at night, with four walls and a roof to protect them from the elements, as well as a corridor fenced with mesh or chicken wire on all sides, is the standard accommodation for when raising backyard chickens. A fully enclosed chicken coop attached to a chicken coop allows for flexibility in caring for your flock: you can sleep in late and not worry about waking up early to let them out of your coop or coming home at night before dark to coop them up for the night. . As long as there is enough room for your birds and the coops are safe, just about any coop will do, whether it’s a redesigned shed, a custom coop, or a shelter crafted from scrap materials.

The feed you buy for your chickens will depend on its purpose. Layers eat a special layer mash and need calcium supplements due to their egg production, while broilers and broilers eat a broiler feed mix. All chickens will benefit from free range feeding and grazing as fresh grass, weeds, insects, ants and worms are very good for them and improve the quality, flavor and nutritional value of your chicken. meat and eggs. Raising backyard chickens also gives kitchen and table scraps like vegetable peelings, leftover rice, wilted lettuce, apple cores, and sour milk a purpose—chickens will love them.

Natural predators, including foxes, opossums, raccoons, hawks, cats and dogs, can pose a major threat to the life and productivity of flocks when rearing chickens in the backyard. Preventing them from having access to your birds is paramount to the success of your backyard chicken business. A well-maintained coop, in which the birds must stay if you are not going to be on the premises, as well as surveillance when they are free, should be adequate to keep your flock safe.

Veterinary care is rarely warranted for poultry. Chicks are usually vaccinated at the hatchery and when raised properly with exposure to sunlight and away from sick animals, they generally remain healthy. Any chicken that becomes ill, as in commercial chicken operations, is generally removed from the flock to prevent further illness. It is actually very unusual to have diseases in your flock when you raise backyard chickens; hope your birds are healthy. Give them space to run around, as well as a sandy scratching area and an area that gets direct sunlight plus a shaded area.

Overall, raising backyard chickens can be a fun and highly productive experience. They love eating kitchen scraps and having access to green grass, but even basic chicken feed will keep them going. As long as your birds’ basic needs are met, you can expect eggs or meat or both from your own backyard.