Keeping Chickens

Keeping chickens is one of the best things I have ever done. I've asked myself a few times when having fun "is this real life?" I mean, who knew chickens were fun?

I enjoy them so much, every single day. I'm involved with them enough that it's like a little soap opera! I had no idea chickens were intelligent, that they had their own language and interactive behaviours. If you spend enough time with them you will quickly see how much fun they are.

This poster was created by Justin Rhodes from Abundant Permaculture

Why chickens?

It is amazing what one chicken can do! Even having one chicken can solve pest control problems. We used to have a problem with slugs and no longer do. We live right next to some woods and as a result there was always a lot of bugs around. Not anymore. Chickens will even go after mice when they see them and if they catch it, they will consume it with great joy. Have you ever seen chickens play their keep away game? Nothing is more entertaining than chickens chasing one another because one found something special. Now when you hear someone say chickens attract rodents you can say why it isn't true, it's quite the opposite.

What about the neighbors?

There are some myths about chickens that you may find yourself needing to discuss with others when you plan to get chickens or once you have them.

Chickens attract rodents; this is a complete myth. Infact chickens will catch, kill and eat small rodents like mice or shrews if they happen to come across them. Feed has potential to attract rodents and that is why feed is kept in air tight containers! Not only does it help keep your feed fresh but rodents will not be attracted and there will be less waste. Chicken droppings do not attract rats as some will claim. Actually dog poop left around is far more likely to attract rodents.

Chickens smell! Not really, as long as you are keeping a decent cleaning schedule you will not find that they create much odour. Meat birds, if you raise broilers have a natural bit of smell to them, however heritage breeds and egg laying breeds do not carry that same smell. Avoid using "deep litter" methods so that the bedding is not sitting too long if smell is a concern.

One recommendation I have regarding your neighbors is to involve them. If they have children, invite them over to find some eggs. Offer them eggs from time to time for free to keep them happy. Happy neighbors don't complain.

Now let's move on to learning about the chickens

The first thing you need to do if you are considering chickens is research them. If you have a friend who has some, go spend some time with them. Do some reading, talk to some farmers/homesteaders and see if it is right for you.

What breed should I get?

Once you have done your general research, move on to breeds. This is an important one to decide on. Do you want eggs only, dual purpose for meat, heritage breeds and so on.

The only thing I would advise if that if you are getting birds that you plan to keep around for awhile it is always better to find a farmer breeding good stock rather than factory orders, the factory bred babies just are not bred with the same quality genetics and some may feel uncomfortable with how chickens are kept in factory farms. Heritage breeds will cost a little more, take longer to mature but you will be glad you took the time to do it that way when you have nice healthy birds to show for the extra work. Other considerations you may be looking into to make decisions is what type of eggs you want; do you want cute small bantam size eggs, colourful eggs or really big eggs, there is a chicken out there for every type of egg you could want. If you aren't concerned with what breed you have, some backyard mixes will do you just fine.

I have a particular fancy for Silkies so I concentrate my hobby on them but, I also have an interest in heritage breeds so I usually have the occasional one of those breeds around.

Am I allowed to have chickens?

Check your by-laws and zoning accordingly. At first I thought I was going to be limited to the residential by-law for my town. Residential zoning folks are allowed to keep three hens per household. This is great because literally anyone can have a few chickens here and enjoy them while gaining the reward of fresh eggs. I was beyond excited when I looked up my zoning to find out I am on the edge of an agricultural zone and in rural zoning myself. This meant I could get more chickens, they are like potato chips, you can't have just one!

Build your coop!

If you got this far, the next step is to figure out what kind of coop you want. I have a motto with my animals that bigger is always better and I kept that motto to some degree with my chickens. You can can some pretty small coops and prefab coops for a few chickens, but after buying a prefab first, I quickly realized they wouldn't hold up to our Canadian winters beyond a season or two. I would definitely enforce the coop if you buy a prefab to make sure it won't fall apart after heavy snow or winds.

I ended up doing something rather unique with our coop. We have an old pool house attached to the house that was an unused space we had yet to get around to doing anything with. One day we plan to fill in the pool area and create a solarium and work shop perhaps so a coop in a corner of the building wouldn't be out of place, and the chickens will be very easy to keep warm in winter. The building is not heated but has big windows for sun to shine in and able to block all drafts. I wasn't entirely sure on the air quality for humidity so we out in a dehumidifier to be sure there wasn't going to be too much moisture that could cause frost. When building your coop, it is not necessary and usually not recommended to heat it. Build it to keep out all drafts and make sure it is ventilated properly so the steamy heat produced by the chickens can circulate out and not cause a frosty coop. With these measures in place, most chickens are able to withstand cold winters.

It's a good idea to use something you already have that you can create or convert into a coop. Garages, sheds and greenhouses or even a frame from an old trampoline make great converted coops.

Our run connects to the outside through a chicken door. I build the run still so that they can go outside with some coverage on days that are not ideal for them. On nice days the door to the run is left open so they can go free ranging.

Chicks or older?

If you plan to raise your chickens from chicks, you will also need to set up a brooder and heat lamp. Brooders can be made from just about anything as well, an old pool or rubber made container a really big box, the idea is to have a safe place for them to grow and run around with their own food and water and heat when they need it.

I recommend using the ceramic bulbs in your heater or a panel heater that the chicks can go under as I am not fond of red lighting personally. The advantage to red lighting is that if everything is red, the chickens can't see blood, if you have anyone who gets in a fight, this is when that could matter.

Raising your first chickens from tiny chicks is a bit of work but a great experience especially if you are limited to three, The down side to this however is that if you are limited and in an area that does not allow roosters you may end up with a rooster or two you will need to find a pot I mean home for. If you don't plan to breed your chickens it won't be anything missed if you get yourself some pullets (hens not yet laying) so you know there are no roosters.

Free range or not?

You'll need to decide if your chickens will be free range, and if so be sure the area around your property is secure as needed. You want to keep predators out if at all possible and keep the chickens in. The last thing you need is to have a chicken wander off and get hurt, lost or end up on someone else's property and they complain to your city on you. So be courtesy of your neighbors when setting up your free range area. Close neighbors should always be spoken to before you begin, it never hurts to show respect and appreciation to your neighbor!

Chickens are relatively easy to keep in a space. Any sort of fencing can work. I used snow fencing first as it was the cheaper way to go and I didn't want to be spending money on a big fence that I couldn't afford. Plus when homesteading one of the points is to do things economically as possible. I don't have any close neighbors but if you do, that is the first thing you need to think about once again.

Supplies time!

Get your supplies! You will need supplies after you figured out and built your coop and run. Savings or sawdust, watering and feeding containers, heat lamp and extra cage for raising chicks or isolating a sick chicken. Special feed for the correct life stages, oyster or crushed egg shell for calcium and so on. Make a list and head off to your local farmers co-op store or have a look online for your supplies. Shop around, you don't need to spend a fortune preparing for your chickens.

What will I feed them?

Most people feed a standard pelleted food designed and formed specifically for chickens as their base food, the food that is always there for anyone who is hungry no matter what else you feed. in their appropriate stage. Chick growers feed or mash for chicks. Growers feed for the growing chicks over 6 wks and not yet laying, once laying you then use layers feed which will be either 16% or 18% protein. If you have bantams or small chickens 16% is sufficient. If you have heritage or large breeds you will want 18%

Scratch is useful as a training tool and treat to keep them busy. A standard mix of seeds and cracked corn. In winter the cracked corn is a good food that will generate heat as digested in chickens. If your chickens are bored a little scratch will give them something to do. The way I like to use it is to give it around the same time each evening that I want them in, they learn quickly to come back to the coop on time for scratch, if they linger outside the others will eat it all. When you feed seed you will also need to be sure your chickens are taking in the tiny pebbles needed to grind them. If they free range they will be picking these up anyway and you won't have to worry about it. If you are not free ranging a bit of construction sand (not play sand) will contain the small pebbles that they will need to take in, you can use it in their dust bath or elsewhere in your coop to ensure they have it as they need it.

Food scraps and compost can also be fed, chickens love leftovers! I keep a container in the kitchen that I add to daily depending on what we have eating ourselves. Avoid heavily salted items, potato peels, avocados and chocolate in the compost or scraps as they do not do well with those particular items, almost everything else is free game.

Plant material is great for good health, they will eat pretty much any fruit, vegetable or herb they have access to, I grow extra herbs to provide them and give them most of our garden trimmings. They also access plant matter on their own during free ranging. They will eat bugs and small pebbles as well. If you don't plan to free range you may want to look into purchasing or growing your own mealworms for them. If they won't be free ranging, you may want to consider growing fodder and/or various herbs to supplement their greens intake.

Other supplementals

Oyster shells or eggs shells are good picking items for the chickens to eat that will increase their calcium.

The list

Draft free coop

Drinking containers that can be hung

Eating containers that can be hung

Feeds and treats

Emergency or brooding container and heat lamp

Emergency supplies (it is a good idea to make a kit) such as an antibiotic spray, blue kote, bandage materials, dewormers etc

Bedding such as shavings and/or sand

Dust bath

Oyster shells or egg shells

If you enjoyed this post, please visit my other posts on chickens

Sexing a silkie chick

Cheetah the Hen raised Chick

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