Chickens are almost as easy to care for as an outside cat.
The day-to-day care of chickens is not very time consuming. Because everything wants to eat chickens, the initial investment to set up a secure coop and run is what scares most people away. It is not unheard of to spend $500 to $1,000 to set yourself up properly from the beginning. After that, you feed them, water them and tend to their general health. They don’t need booster shots or yearly vet exams, which is nice.
Don’t Go the Cheap Route
When it comes to chickens, buy-once-cry-once tends to be the better option. I have known a few people who bought the adorable painted coops from a big box farm supply store only to have the low quality MDF board the coop was made of literally dissolve in the weather outside. The coops were several hundred dollars, so why did they not last longer than 6 months in normal rainfall? Companies make money when you must buy and replace items often, which is not what you want to experience when it comes to your coop. Many pre-fab coops are made with sawdust, matchsticks and indoor-use-only type screws, which is a borderline scam attempting to capitalize on unsuspecting first-time chicken owners. Don’t let this happen to you.
How Do You Get Set Up?
Ideally you’ll have a main coop prepared before your chicks arrive. The absolute best option is to have your coop built of lumber, painted using exterior paint and use pressure treated wood or concrete blocks where the coop touches the ground. This is the option you will be happiest with in the long run and allows you to build a large enough coop. (Plan for “chicken math”. They are so fun that owners almost always add to their original flock. I started out wanting six hens and now maintain a flock that hovers around 20 birds!) If you are converting something made of wood into a coop, buy durable exterior paint and paint everything inside and out to help your coop last for years. Sheds and metal buildings can make wonderful coops if enough hardware cloth covered windows for air flow can be added and feeders can be somehow mounted inside.
The Real Chicken Math:
It is wise to have a minimum of 4 square feet of space for each hen. Anything less than 2 square feet of space per bird may not be legal in your state and will lead to much more noticeable odor. “Coop space” means all the area where they live during the day, or the total coop and run space combined. Chickens only sleep in the coop so spending your money on a large run is wise.
Why doesn’t this sound easy?
Crating a secure coop that you like the look of is the hardest and most expensive part. It is worth the time and money invested. The fun stuff comes next!
Chicks
Chicks require much more care than adult birds but are so cute that the task doesn’t feel burdensome. By the time you pick up that first chirping box from the post office, everything should be in order at home to make the process as smooth as possible. (Did I follow this advice? No. I had chicks in my bathtub and then the garage for a month because the coop was still under construction. Learn from my mistake!)
Fledglings
Your chicks will be hopping and flapping out of the brooder by 4 weeks old and pooping all over everything. You will be ready for them to be in a coop. Like, yesterday. If you were smart and got chicks during warm weather, they are fine to go into the coop. 4 week old chicks can withstand temperatures that drop to 70°F if they are out of direct wind and are not wet. Once standard breed chicks have passed 8 weeks, they are at low risk of being harmed by cats and can now be accompanied outside by a trusted family cat, whose presence deters hawks. (Hawks will be a life-long threat to your flock.) Bantam (miniature breed) chicks and adults are typically at risk from both cats and hawks for life.
Juveniles
You’ll notice your pullets (and cockerels if you have them) are acting very much like adult chickens between 12 and 19 weeks. A pullet is a female chicken that is not mature enough to lay eggs. After she begins laying she is called a hen. A cockerel is a male chicken who is not mature enough to mate and guard his flock. After he begins mating he is called a rooster. The males will begin crowing around 14 weeks, which is a sign that he will soon begin mating the pullets that he can tell are nearing the point of lay.
Adults (20+ weeks old)
Now owning chickens is easy! They spend their days scratching and pecking, eating pesky bugs and tiny bits of delicious things they find in the grass. My routine is to feed my flock in the morning while they are still in the coop/run until the hens have laid most of the eggs I will get for that day. In the afternoon, I gather the eggs and let them out to free range. They range until they put themselves back in the coop to roost at dark. I go out with a headlamp to do a quick count and then lock them up for the night.
Any Advice for Those Thinking of Getting Chickens?
Invest time to research how to create a sturdy, long-lasting and secure coop.
And then get chickens!
I have yet to meet a person in real life who hated owning chickens. I have known many people who get chickens, fall in love and want to get MORE chickens! There is something wonderfully fulfilling about collecting eggs from your own hens that you love and care for on a daily basis. You know what they eat, how healthy they are and that your orange-yolked eggs are providing your family (and neighbors!) with delicious nutrition. It is a phenomenally worth-while hobby that can benefit the whole family!