Raising backyard chickens has become very popular both as a hobby and a small business for many. It is both fun and profitable, takes up little time once you get everything set up, and is a great family hobby.
If you begin with day old baby chicks from a hatchery, you will need to provide constant warmth until they feather out. This usually takes a few weeks. Their ambient temperature should begin at 99 degrees Fahrenheit the first week and decrease by 5 degrees each week until the temps reach 75 degrees.
This can be accomplished with a simple light bulb or a heat lamp hung from a height that the chicks can’t touch. You can use a box, aquarium, or plastic storage container for housing, with newspaper in the bottom, until the chicks are feathered out.
Once the chickens are fully feathered, or if you begin with adults, they can live in a chicken coop with an exercise run. They will need four square feet of space per chicken at a minimum.
You can house any number of hens together as long as there is sufficient space available, but there can be only one rooster per pen once they become adults.
When raising backyard chickens you can expect your hens to begin laying eggs by the time they are six months old, unless they mature to this age in the winter. If you are in a cold climate, they may wait until spring to begin laying eggs.
Young hens may lay outside of the nest boxes. One remedy for this is to place a wooden or plastic egg in each nest box to encourage laying in the right place, and make your egg gathering much easier.
If you are raising chicken for meat, you will need to buy breeds that are will be a good size by the time they are 16 weeks old. Cornish crosses are often used for this purpose. They utilize their chicken feed efficiently and grow rapidly.
For the best egg production many people choose White leghorns or Rhode Island Reds. They lay an egg nearly every day. However, many of the more personable and friendly chickens lay almost as well, such as Standard Cochins, and they make great pets for kids.
If you want to raise baby chicks from your adults, you will need a breed that goes “broody” (sits on the eggs) once she has a full nest, or you will need an incubator. Some chicken breeders keep broody hens such as Silkies to sit on the eggs of their other livestock.
For selling fertile eggs or day old chicks, look into the rare and endangered species. The fertile eggs and chicks will sell for a larger profit, and the adults don’t cost any more to keep than a normal barnyard chicken. These include some beautiful heritage breeds and flamboyant exotics.
When choosing your chicken breeds, choose breeds that will adapt easily to your climate. Cochins are good cold climate chickens with their full, fluffy feathering that reaches to their toes, while some like the Silkies, need warm weather.
Silkies have to be kept dry because their feathers have fur like qualities. This is an attribute that makes them unusual and endearing to their owner, but they get soggy quickly in rain and the chill can kill them.
Before beginning your hobby of raising backyard chickens, research all the various types of chicken and make your selections wisely.
Source: chickencoopplansonline.com/raising-backyard-chickens
If you begin with day old baby chicks from a hatchery, you will need to provide constant warmth until they feather out. This usually takes a few weeks. Their ambient temperature should begin at 99 degrees Fahrenheit the first week and decrease by 5 degrees each week until the temps reach 75 degrees.
This can be accomplished with a simple light bulb or a heat lamp hung from a height that the chicks can’t touch. You can use a box, aquarium, or plastic storage container for housing, with newspaper in the bottom, until the chicks are feathered out.
Once the chickens are fully feathered, or if you begin with adults, they can live in a chicken coop with an exercise run. They will need four square feet of space per chicken at a minimum.
You can house any number of hens together as long as there is sufficient space available, but there can be only one rooster per pen once they become adults.
When raising backyard chickens you can expect your hens to begin laying eggs by the time they are six months old, unless they mature to this age in the winter. If you are in a cold climate, they may wait until spring to begin laying eggs.
Young hens may lay outside of the nest boxes. One remedy for this is to place a wooden or plastic egg in each nest box to encourage laying in the right place, and make your egg gathering much easier.
If you are raising chicken for meat, you will need to buy breeds that are will be a good size by the time they are 16 weeks old. Cornish crosses are often used for this purpose. They utilize their chicken feed efficiently and grow rapidly.
For the best egg production many people choose White leghorns or Rhode Island Reds. They lay an egg nearly every day. However, many of the more personable and friendly chickens lay almost as well, such as Standard Cochins, and they make great pets for kids.
If you want to raise baby chicks from your adults, you will need a breed that goes “broody” (sits on the eggs) once she has a full nest, or you will need an incubator. Some chicken breeders keep broody hens such as Silkies to sit on the eggs of their other livestock.
For selling fertile eggs or day old chicks, look into the rare and endangered species. The fertile eggs and chicks will sell for a larger profit, and the adults don’t cost any more to keep than a normal barnyard chicken. These include some beautiful heritage breeds and flamboyant exotics.
When choosing your chicken breeds, choose breeds that will adapt easily to your climate. Cochins are good cold climate chickens with their full, fluffy feathering that reaches to their toes, while some like the Silkies, need warm weather.
Silkies have to be kept dry because their feathers have fur like qualities. This is an attribute that makes them unusual and endearing to their owner, but they get soggy quickly in rain and the chill can kill them.
Before beginning your hobby of raising backyard chickens, research all the various types of chicken and make your selections wisely.
Source: chickencoopplansonline.com/raising-backyard-chickens
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