Chickens for Beginners!

--First of all, really fresh eggs ROCK.
There is a world of difference between a store-bought battery farm egg and one that is still warm from your favorite hen. You can see it instantly when you crack each type into a bowl. The fresh eggs will have a nearly-orange yolk that stands up higher and firmer than the flaccid pale yellow yolk on the commercial egg. Also, according to a recent study by Mother Earth News, eggs from free-range hens contain three to six times more vitamin D than typical supermarket eggs. Better baked goods and better nutrition? Sign me up.

--Save the world, one chicken at a time.
Anytime we choose to eat local, fresh food we use less fossil fuels (for transporting and manufacturing food), save money (almost always), support a local economy (buy at feed stores, or sell our extra eggs), and actually KNOW what is going into our food.

--Chicken Poo is GOOD.
Once composted, chicken manure is an amazing fertilizer, with a nicely balanced range of nutrients N-P-K 1.1 .80 .50 . Be sure to do the composting part, though, or you'll burn the plants that come in contact with it.

--Comedy Relief.
Chickens are funny, social, endlessly entertaining little mercenaries, who love you best when you have some scratch in your pocket. How can you not smile when you see those bottom heavy ladies stampeding toward you at a desperate waddle, thrilled to see you and wanting to know what goodies you brought them?

--Education, whether you have kids or not
Yes, chickens are a great animal to help teach your children about the responsibility for caring for an animal, where our food comes from, and the cycle of life. Still, I think all the adults could use a dose of that, too.

--Chickens: The Ultimate Recyclers
Ever thought about how much food gets scraped off your plates into the trash, or tossed because it is stale? Eat good food without gunky chemicals in it, and when you have leftovers you're not going to eat, feed it to the chickens. They will think you are a ROCK STAR. (note: don't feed them spoiled meat, citrus, or potato peelings)

--Can I own chickens where I live?
Maybe. If you live in the country, probably, but even there some areas of housing may have restrictions (called CCRs), In urban areas, the laws vary with each city. Many towns will allow several hens, but check this website
to see if your local ordinances will allow chickens in your backyard.

--What do I need to house my chickens?
Chickens do okay with cold (they still need protection, mostly from frostbite) but they don't like to be wet. Also, chickens can die from heat, so whether you decide to put them in a henhouse or a chicken tractor, be sure to including venting for hot summer days. They need access to water and food, a place to roost, and a place (usually a box) in which to lay their eggs. Keep reading for more specific info on chicken housing! :)

--What am I going to feed them?
For adult chickens, I use organic layer pellet feed, bought from my local feed store. If you're raising birds for meat, use the feed specifically for meat production. For baby chicks, I use medicated chick crumble. The medication protects again the most common illness chick diseases, and will be out of their systems long before chickens start to lay eggs.

--What sort of equipment do I need?
Scroll down farther to see the list for baby chicks, but for chickens old enough to live outdoors, you'll need
* a feeder--I use a hanging feeder so the chickens can't roost and poop on it
* a waterer--I also use a hanging water dispenser, for the same reasons.
* bedding for the henhouse--I like straw because it is clean, cheap, and
composts beautifully. Don't use cedar, as it is toxic to chickens.

It is also nice to have
* oyster shell--gives the chicken something to peck at, and helps make
their eggshells thicker
* scratch--a chopped up dried corn, like candy to chickens!
* water close by
* a light in the henhouse--helps egg production in the winter, and makes it easier for you, too

--Where can I get chickens?
Baby chicks can be bought online (I use McMurray's Hatchery), at your local farm supply store in the spring, or from a farm in your area. Hens can be bought locally--I often sell on Criagslist. If you're going to buy locally, check a few things, as some people will try to pass off older hens, which lay fewer eggs, as younger ones. Don't buy a hen over a year old--ask the seller when they were hatched or press on the breastbone to see if it is still flexible (they are when the chicken is young) I love Craigslist, but a bit of knowledge goes a long way.

---What can you recommend for further research on how to keep chickens?
Check the links below--lots of great stuff there!

--If you gave me one piece of advice, what would it be?
Oh, I love it when people ask me this question! Be sure to talk with someone local who has experience with chickens. Ask to visit their coop, get used to picking up a chicken, read everything you can, and GO FOR IT! :)

Do I need a rooster to get eggs from my hens?
NOPE. Hens will lay just as much without a rooster. The eggs you get won't be fertile, though, so they won't be able to hatch baby chicks.

Then what good is a rooster?
Depends. If you're in the city, having a rooster is almost certainly illegal, because you'll probably irritate your neighbors. If you're in the country (and can keep the rooster in a pretty noise-resistant henhouse until a decent hour) a rooster can help guard your hens, alert them when a predator or food is nearby, and help guide them back to the coop if you let them free range. Also, nothing is quite so "country" as hearing that cock-a-doodle-doo!

How long before my chickens start to lay eggs? I CAN'T WAIT!
Most chickens will start to lay at 5-6 months of age. During the summer, my heavy layers produce about two eggs for every three days (unless it gets too hot).

Don't chickens smell bad?
The key is good maintenance, which means the henhouse gets cleaned out when it needs it, and the run area isn't overcrowded. Throw in extra bedding when necessary.

What's the difference between brown and white eggs?
The color. That's it. Nutritionally they're identical.

So, we've had chickens for several years now, since the first day we got a 6 AM phone call from our local post office, saying our box of 26 cheeping chicks had arrived from McMurray Hatchery. They're a great addition to the farm--educational and entertaining, eating scraps and giving eggs, and just fun and decorative! Here's the things no one told me before I got chickens:

1)-- Chickens, including chicks, make DUST. I don't know what it is, but if you put the chick brooder in a room in your house, pretty soon everything will be covered by a thick layer of pale, powdery dust. If I brush up against the henhouse wall, my coat gets big swipe of baby powder fine coating.

2)--YOU have to be the Big Rooster.If your rooster thinks he's tops in the food chain he'll try to terrorize you, your children, and your dog. We used to have the World's Meanest Rooster, named Sonny (we thought he was a hen--he was originally a cute little yellow chick named SUNNY). We'd chase that rooster around every once in awhile, and hang him upside down by his feet when he was really obnoxious. Don't believe me? Check out this article http://shilala.homestead.com/roosters.html
. Definitely written by someone who knows a thing or two about roosters...

3)--Chicken are smarter than I thought. Sometimes.

4)--Chickens don't see well in the dark. I have a light that comes on inside the chicken coop before dusk, so they can find their way back inside, but I have had times when the little chicken door has been shut, or the light has been turned off, and there are a dozen snoozing chickens sleeping on the ground right outside the doorway. They wake up about as quickly as my son (hint: they're still asleep when I gently chuck them inside the henhouse) but perk up as soon as they can see the light is on.

5)--Chickens, especially roosters, have their own language. Our mellow Welsummer rooster, Kellogg has a different call for when he finds food, or when he 's afraid of something, or if he's just acknowledging my presence. Our cranky ex-rooster used to have a specific call when he was going to try to chase my son around the chicken yard. I read that someone had documented 300 different 'calls' that chickens use, and I believe it.

6)--The Pecking Order is REAL. Everyone in the flock knows right where they fit, and who's farther down the ladder than they are. They are also cannibals, and will relentlessly pick on another chicken if they see blood. Chickens are smart enough to try to hide any injury or illness as much as possible, so they'll try to escape this.

7)--Too much Chicken Sex is BAD. Just ask our rooster's favorite hen, who has no more feathers on her poor, abused stub of a tail.

8)--I get emotionally attached to chickens. I'd originally thought I was going to slaughter some of the hens we got, but once I raised them from babies...well, I can do it, but I don't like it. Yes, I know--I am a barbarian. We got a batch of 20 straight run (translation: don't know if they're male or female) chicks from a friend, and we deliberately didn't name them. If someone is going to be dinner, they're it. My dozen or so laying hens all have names and personalities, and I doubt they'll ever end up as pot pie. Chickens are not exactly cuddly critters, but they have such fun, mercenary personalities (meaning that if you have food, you're their new Best Friend!). The first time we found an egg in the henhouse, still warm, we actually did a crazy happy chicken sorta dance--our neighbors must think we're smoking dope in our free time...

9)--Homegrown eggs are absolutely amazing. The whites stand up more, they taste different, and they make a real difference when I'm baking. It is also great fun to have an extra dozen or two to just give to friends and neighbors. Fresh organic eggs are like jewels--only give them away to people who appreciate them! :)

10)--Chickens GRAZE--meaning, if you put 'em on a grass pasture or lawn, kiss it goodbye. They're not only great about ferreting out bugs, they'll be happy to eat down just about anything green as well. They are also a wonderful, natural leftover disposal! Being omnivores, they'll eat almost anything, including leftover chicken (Eeeeewwwwwww.....). I am careful to feed them non-spoiled, healthy food. What you put into the chickens will make a difference in the quality of the eggs and meat.

11)---I can kill a chicken. Yep, it was a surprise to me, too. Hubby chopped off the first head, and I've killed the ones after that. I don't like it, I do it with a serious mindset, and do a lot of thinking about food origins as I sit and peel the chicken. Yep, I don't pluck it, I PEEL it. Much easier. I have about a dozen hens and two roosters that have names, and the rest are deliberately not named. As soon as I find them in my tomato patch or doing something obnoxious, it is chicken for dinner....

12)--Chickens diseases can wipe out your chicks. I take my chickens' health seriously, so I buy from a reputable hatchery (McMurray's), and have my chicks vaccinated for Marek's and Coccidiosis. Had several of my home-hatched chicks that died, and I'm suspicious coccidiosis is the culprit.

13)--Chickens make me smile! Just seeing their bottom heavy, lumbering bodies making a run at me when they see I'm bringing food is great comedy to me. To my chickens, I'm a Rock Star--who cares if my day was cruddy? :) Yes, they're a bit of work (checking on 'em twice a day to let them in and out, and feed and water them) but to me, it is worth it!

First things first....what do you want your chickens to DO? Are they for pets, eggs, or meat? Do you have the space for large chickens, or would feel better with smaller bantam-type hens?

FOR EGGS:
Most of my chickens are layers, which means I have mostly heavy laying breeds-- Australorps, Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Black and Red Sexlinks, Araucanas. These heavy duty ladies are big, mellow, personable, and produce brown, white, and light blue-green eggs. Smaller banties produce smaller eggs, and are alert and fun to raise.

FOR MEAT:
I've raised Dark Cornish (a surprise benefit was that mine got broody and were excellent mothers), and many love the Jumbo Cornish X Rocks, bred for massive breast meat.

There are a few benefits to raising your chickens from the time they're small balls of fluff:
--you know what they've been eating
--you know how they've been treated and housed
--they do bond with you better than if you get them when they're older (I can
tell a definite difference between the ones raised from a day old, vs. the
the ones I got who were several weeks old)

What equipment do I need for raising baby chicks?

--Some sort of box to put them in (the official term is BROODER.) I usually use plastic bins/boxes. They are cheap, block drafts so the chicks don't get chilled, and easy to clean

--Bedding--I use paper towels for about the first week, until the little guys are able to manage their feet pretty well. After that, pine shavings work great (again, no cedar due to it being toxic to chickens)

--Heat Lamp-- Head to your local farm supply store, and get a decent one. Chicks can easily die from being too warm or cold, so be sure to adjust it weekly. Red infrared bulbs help deter the chicks picking on each other.

--Thermometer-- Start them out at 95 degrees F and slowly lower the temperature 5 degrees per week as they grow. When they reach outside temperatures and have their feathers (around 6 weeks), you can remove the lamp.

--Feeder and Waterer --Chicks need constant access to food and water, and are messy little critters when they eat. Get the feeders with holes to peck through, specifically designed for baby chicks, and change their feed and water daily.

What can I do to protect their health?

--Cleanliness is key. Change their bedding often, disinfect your hands before and after you handle them, sterilize their food and water containers. Make sure their bedding doesn't get too moist--it is a prime environment for breeding bacteria.

--Predators--whether your babies are inside the house or in an outside building, watch for other animals who would like to taste or harass them. House pets, snakes, other poultry, or children can all kill your chickens.

--Start with good stock. Buy your chicks from a reputable hatchery or farmer with good bloodlines and few genetic problems, and you'll have the best chance of having your flock be healthy. Some chickens can have problems laying correctly, or have twisted legs or neurological problems, and all these things can be addressed by getting good, healthy babies. I love http://ljcfeed.com/ - my local feed store in Camas, They take their jobs seriously, have great stock, and are an amazing knowledge base for the new chicken farmer. Thanks, Gordon!

--Vaccinations--some people choose not to vaccinate their new chicks because they want them to be very natural. I have mine vaccinated for Marek's and Coccidiosis, and the research I've seen states that these vaccinations are out of the chickens body by the time they are producing eggs or meat. Of course, your mileage may vary :)

PETS
If you look at the photo, you can see our massive barn cat, Fluffy, eyeballing our chickens. He's a natural-born hunter, but after the hens ganged up on him and ran at him as an angry mob, he hasn't tried anything since. We are careful, however, with younger chickens, as Fluffy gleefully picked off a couple one sunny day. We also haven't had trouble with our dog going after the chickens, but there are some dogs that are just wired to kill chickens (or so it seems). The age-old "cure" was to hang the chicken carcass around the dog's neck for a couple of days, but if you have a dog that can't be deterred, you may need to either keep him/her very separated from your coop, or get a shock collar to remind him of who's in charge whenever he starts to go after them.

OTHER POULTRY
Our chickens currently share their coop with two noisy ducks, and they all seem to get along pretty well. Since their diets are similar, they are able to eat the lower-protein organic chicken pellet food. We tried having turkeys in with the main poultry, but discovered that game birds like turkeys need a much higher level of protein in their feed, and that it was difficult to separate them out to feed them correctly. Also, turkeys can carry disease that can wipe out an entire flock of chickens, so as soon as we learned that, the turkeys got their own comfy spot in the barn, and the chickens didn't have to worry about the turkeys picking on them anymore.

PREDATORS
I can't tell you how many sad tales I've heard of chicken owners who have spent time, money and emotion on their hens....only to have a raccoon come in and wipe out their flock overnight. Other predators may include owls, hawks, possums, or other people's pets (dogs and cats). We also have coyotes. First things first--to foil the nocturnal predators, be sure to lock your chickens in a strong henhouse with a very strong floor. It isn't uncommon for the little bastards to try digging up through the flooring.

CHILDREN
Your kids may be little angels, but it is human nature to mess with things as soon as Mommy and Daddy are out of sight. We used to have a pretty mean rooster, which the kids would harass through the fence (I think they thought it was payback). We talked to them about their responsibility as caregivers and stewards of the poultry......and the next time it happened, the perpetrator got Shovel Detail and had to muck out the henhouse. After a sweaty afternoon in someplace that doesn't smell good, they got the message.

BROODY
Term used to describe a hen that decides she needs to sit on a nest for three week so she can hatch out chicks. She'll hop off once a day for a quick poo and some food and water, but otherwise will guard her nest with every bit of instinct in her. Many of the modern breeds of chicken have had this broodiness bred out of them, but you may see it occasionally.

COMB
That floppy, fleshy bit on top of the chicken's head. It is a great gauge of health--a pale comb means your chicken is probably sick.

COOP
The name for the entire chicken enclosure, not just the little building, but you will also hear it used to identify the building. Be the first on your block to know the difference between a coop and a henhouse.

HENHOUSE
Yep, that's the little chicken building.

SCRATCH
Corn, chopped up and dried. Don't use scratch as the main food for your chickens--the nutrition and calories aren't what they need--but they sure love it as a treat! We give it sometimes for added calories in freezing weather.

TRACTOR
Chicken tractors are small, portable housing for chickens, usually moved from place to place over grass, so they chickens can't decimate the grass.

VENT
The slit in a chicken's bottom that they use for pooping and laying eggs. That's one reason you may get bits of poo on the eggs you find.

Cleanliness, knowledge, and prevention can help keep both you and your flock safe from disease. Here's what we're trying to prevent:

Avian Flu--if you pay attention to the news, you know that Avian Flu (a type of influenza that can infect humans, with sometimes fatal results) has been in the media for some time. If you Google 'avian flu" along with the word 'pandemic', you'll be scared right out of your socks. Keeping your birds, family, and neighbors healthy is of utmost importance, and right now the best way to do that is prevention.

E.Coli--A very nasty bacteria, which can lead to liver damage and even death.

Salmonella--another fun bacteria that can make people pretty ill. Think food poisoning.

Okay, so what do you do about it?

--Wash your hands with soap and water before and after handling birds, eggs, or feeders.

--Keep a pair of shoes (we use rubber garden clogs) specifically for walking where your chickens poop (i.e. the coop).

--Use disinfectant on any used equipment you get from someone else

--Isolate new members of the flock for awhile, to be sure they won't infect your existing poultry.

--support small-scale egg production! The H5N1 virus (Avian flu) of affected poultry may be spread via airborne transmission. Chickens housed in batteries (those huge chicken production plants) will be easily infected through the close quarter to all that excrement.

--cook meat and poultry products well before you eat them. You know that scene in the movie Rocky where he slurps down all those raw eggs? Please don't do that.

--minimize contact with wild bird populations. Some people put a net over their poultry enclosure, to keep raptors (hawks, etc) from grabbing their birds, and to keep wild birds from coming in contact with their chickens.

--keep your immune system, and the immune systems of your chickens, in great shape. Good health, space, solid nutrition, and cleanliness are the keystones to keeping disease from taking hold and spreading.