::Raising Chickens::

Benefits of raising chickens and how to start your adventure!

Fresh Eggs
Chickens not only provide you with nutritious farm fresh eggs, much fresher than store bought eggs, their eggs are much better for baking too!
Chickens lay eggs daily. Hens lay through the spring, summer and fall- Some even go into the winter if you are lucky- as long as they have about 12 to 14 hours of daylight (light in general) a day. Chickens need light to lay eggs due to the light stimulating the gland in their eyes to produce egg laying. 

My eggs from home have many differences than the store bought egg. They are much tougher to crack and the yolk is darker too. A nice, golden yellow/orange. They are much tastier, the flavor is richer. Denser too. Also, they are much better for baking- everything just turns out - well - better!

The free range egg will also have more nutrients in it and more omega 3. They're better for you all the way around.
• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene  

Farm egg vs Store bought egg:
Farm fresh eggs are typically free-range, natural, and sometimes organic. The hens are always kept in better conditions, and to get better laying rates are usually very happy and healthy. The eggs from these hens is almost always more nutritional - due to the free range factor. They will have more Omega 3's than store bought.
Eggs from stores come from places where a hen has less than 67 square inches of space, crammed into a cage with 4 to 11 other hens (cage free means the chickens are all in one area, but is still just as crowded). They will never see sunlight, scratch in the dirt, roost, nest, or free range as a chicken is meant to. They are fed nutritionally deficient food. The eggs are laid on, or in the presence of the rotting corpses of the hens that could not survive the horror of their environment.
Sources: http://wiki.answers.com
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081116132830AAKUxOI

Inexpensive and easy to maintain

I have about 26 hens and a rooster and I go through about a bag of layer crumbles a month (if my goats stay out of it that is). It is under $16.00 for a 50lb bag at my local co-op, Strotz's Farm or Costal Farm and Ranch.
They are very low maintenance animals. They need fresh food and water daily (depending on your chicken count). They need their coop cleaned as well. I do this about once a month or so. I lay new straw/hay(optional)and clean out the old with a pitchfork. It doesn't take long. Other than that, chickens spend most of their time entertaining themselves by picking through hay and grasses. Searching to make a meal out of your pesky neighbors - worms, caterpillars, aphids, beetles and other buggy creatures.
As long as they have food, water and a clean coop, they are happy chickadees.
They rise with the sun (sometimes before) and like to go to bed just before dusk.

They make great pets
When you raise and handle chickens from small chicks they will happily eat out of your hand, sit in your lap, and follow you around the yard. They are very social so they love company. You never want just one chicken, they will get lonesome.
The more attention they get, the better friends they become.
Hunter has a chicken "Hot Sauce" that would wait with him for the bus at the driveway and would run to greet him when he got off. Like clockwork. She also sat in his lap and followed him everywhere, sometimes even into the house (pictured above together).

Pest Control and Fertilizer

Chickens are free bug and weed control, not to mention your grass will be greener with the worlds best fertilizer! They are incredibly curious so they are always on the move.










How do you get started?
You'll need a coop, I prefer having a chicken run to keep the happy factor up- they love outdoor pecking and scratching. Coop size: at least 2 square feet of coop floor per chicken. The bigger the better.
A Poultry feeder and waterer to go into the coop.
Nesting boxes, one box for every three hens. Make 
sure your boxes have soft hay or wood chip bedding. Hens like to lay their eggs in a cozy place.
Roosting Bars are important. The chickens roosting bars should be higher than any other thing in the coop. A chicken will most likely roost at the highest point (if they can sit, they will roost).

What Chicken is right for you?

There is a very long list of chickens. Over 400 breeds!
Deciding factors include: the amount of eggs you will want. What color of eggs you want. The breed’s temperament, its noise level, and its adaptability to confinement. If you can’t let your chickens range free, the confinement factor is important for a happy, healthy flock. Noise level matters if you do not live in the country.
Some sources advise against mixing ages. I have had little to no trouble with this in my own experience. They usually hang out in their own age groups if I do this.
Combining multiple breeds is fine. They'll all get along, and whether you have one breed or ten, they will establish a pecking order.

Here are a few of our favorite chicken breeds!

Our personal opinions along with some helpful facts for you.

Silkie- Great "lap chickens". Very soft feathers (hence the name Silkie/Silky)They love a good petting and are very laid back. They are also very good mommies and will even adopt abandon chicks. 
Fair layers: about 3 eggs a week. 
Hunter takes our Silkie to the store down the road with him. She loves the attention and the walk-abouts! He is thinking of buying her a lightweight harness so she can be walked to the store. (Insert laugh here!)
Small, Cream or tinted eggs.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silkie

Americana- Fun with many personalities, loving and social. They have silly little beards and stuffed cheeks (muffs). They do well both cooped up or free range. 
Exceptional egg layers: About 250 eggs a year! 
Medium sized, beautiful BLUE eggs! 
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ameraucana 

Rhode Island Red- Curious and loving chickens. Great pets talkative and social. 
Excellent layers: An egg a day. 
Large brown eggs. (our favorite chicken)
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island_Red


Frizzle- Sweet personalities and soft feathers, making them great therapy and show chickens. They look like they lost a fight with a curling iron. 
Fair layers. 
Small white and cream tinted eggs.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frizzle_%28chicken%29

Polish- Very funny chickens. Not only are they silly looking, they act "flighty" due to their lack of vision from their own puff-ball (crest) heads. 
Fair layers. 
Small white and cream tinted eggs.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_%28chicken%29

Start with Chicks?

 After you pick your breeds, check at your local farm/feed stores in March & April for chicks. I was pleasantly surprised this year at Costal Farm and Ranch, they has so many breeds to look at and pick from. It was heaven for my boys.
Caring for baby chicks in the first few weeks is a fun process. They need a little extra care at first being babies and all.
Housing is important for chicks. They need to be warm and safe. The box or "home" has to be tall enough so that they can't jump out, they grow fast and they can die without their heat lamp. I use a large wood box with wood shavings for bedding and floor cover. They need food and water daily. 
Heat lamp, heat lamp, heat lamp. Monitor their temperature because they need to stay warm!
Chick food, medicated or non-medicated?
This is a personal choice and there are many different opinions. I, myself, have not used the medicated chick starter but am not opposed to using it. My chicks have been vaccinated before I take them home and have yet to get a sick chicken.
Medicated starter generally has amprolium which is a thiamine blocker for cocci. As a result, cocci doesn't reproduce as quickly and the chick can develop resistence (Not immunity) to cocci. Antibiotics (which medicated starter IS NOT) kill the bacteria and allow the immunbe respose to develop antibodies. This response is confusing the immune response to exposure to allow the immune system to develop.
Source: http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/498936/medicated-vs-non-medicated-chick-food
As they get their feathers, every week you can lower the temperature until they are comfortable at outside temperature, and then you can remove the heat lamp and move them to the main coop. They will hide in a corner for a day or two but will get comfortable soon.

I hope this helps and I would love to hear your own stories!