Above is Big Betty, one of our beautiful buff orpington chickens.
You will spend the most money on infrastructure and equipment. The housing you provide your chickens and the equipment you will need especially when you first bring home your chickens is by far the most expensive part of the process. The chickens themselves are the cheapest part of the whole equation. Your infrastructure (your coop and your run) don’t have to be needlessly expensive. There are many simple plans available and it is possible to build these structures from reclaimed or recycled materials. The small hutches that are advertised as housing for chicks are too small for adult chickens! These small hutches while great to transition chicks outside will only be adequate space for them for a few months. You will need to plan to build infrastructure for your chickens.
MOLT. No one warns you about molt. Annually, chickens shed their damaged and old feathers and replace them with healthy, new feathers. If you don’t know about it ahead of time the process can be startling. It appears like someone dumps a feather pillow on your lawn. The severity of the molt varies drastically between breeds of chicken and even between individual chickens of the same breed. Molt can last anywhere from 1-4 months. During this time your chickens will benefit from increased protein intake and a calcium supplement to help them regrow their feathers.
Chicken nutrition is essential to their productivity and health. Underfed or improperly fed chickens cannot be productive or healthy. The purpose, breed, and age of your chickens among other factors will impact what nutrition is best for them. Our backyard flock has flourished with a combination approach of using processed pre-made layer feed and healthy kitchen scraps. We have never fed only one or the other. We have always fed both and our flock has thrived.
Different chicken breeds have different purposes. Similar to how dog breeds have been tailored to fill particular roles likewise chickens have been bred for various purposes. Why you want chickens will determine the best breed for you. The kind of breed you select will also impact the kind of care and nutrition your chickens require. Do your research around why you want chickens and this will help you find the best breed for you.
You will have to actively protect your chickens from predators even in urban and suburban environments. Predators exist regardless of your region or your proximity to the city. Research what livestock predators exist in your specific area to know more about how to best protect your flock. Remember chicken wire is meant to keep chickens in, but will not protect them from all predators. Hardware cloth provides superior protection from predators.
Chickens have a pecking order and a complex social structure. Every chicken in your flock will have a role in relation to the other chickens you own. Your rooster has a role. Your lead hen has a role, and so on down to the very bottom chicken in the pecking order. This social structure will impact the best way to incorporate new chickens into your flock and how they will interact in the space you provide them.
No one tells you how much you’re going to love them. Prior to owning my first chickens I was so ignorant. Even after a year of research I was blown away by everything I didn’t know about chickens. They immediately find a way into your heart. I thought I wouldn’t like my roosters. I thought I would be able to have meat birds and not feel attached to them. I was very wrong about so many things. Chickens are incredibly smart and they make amazing pets. I had no idea what fascinating and complex animals they were until they were part of my life. I now call them little pieces of my heart running around the yard because each one is precious to me. That is specific to my lived experience with chickens but I think you will find them charming too. I think it is impossible to be around these birds for any length of time and not love them.
Want to see more of our backyard flock? Follow the links below!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6CjdDVs4qN1xxxJXAH6sOg?sub_confirmation=1
Chuck and the Chicks 