How to Raise Chickens in your Backyard

Keeping Laying Hens in an Urban Home

Keeping chickens in your backyard is an inventive money saving enterprise, and the latest craze in urban renewal.

Chickens not only make great pets but they also supply a staple of the breakfast table. Some of the best breeds to own are White Leghorns, Plymouth Rocks, and Rhode Island Reds.

Benefits of Keeping Chickens in Your Backyard

By keeping 3-5 laying hens, an urban household can expect 2-3 dozen eggs per week. If you are getting too many eggs every week, sell them to your neighbors to make a little extra money. Also, capturing the hens' waste material and mixing it with the soil makes an outstanding fertilizer for a vegetable or flower garden.

Chickens as Pets

Chickens are not your typical pets. They will not chase mice, catch Frisbees or talk like a parrot. They can provide hours of enjoyment by watching them chase bugs, dusting themselves or feeding from your hand. Hens make the better pets because they are more docile than roosters and generate less noisy.

The best way to get kids involved in caring for chickens is allowing them to participate in egg collection; it's like a year-round Easter egg hunt. After handling chickens or eggs always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water to eliminate the threat of salmonella.

Chicken Care Requirements

Chickens need 2-3 square feet of coop per chicken. The coop needs to provide protection from the weather and predators, especially at night. During the day an owner can let the chickens free range if the backyard is enclosed. They require fresh water and food daily. Hens need a good production layer feed but their food can be supplemented from table fare.

Most pet owners only get companionship from their pets but with chickens they also get breakfast. What better way to start your day than with food you have raised and nurtured.