I love talking about our chickens. Let’s face it: chickens are essential for farm-fresh eggs and are interesting and fun. Lately, I’ve noticed more interest in hearing about the crazy antics of my chickens. They especially love Bruno, our attack rooster, named after judge Bruno on Dancing with the Stars for his “colorful and loud” personality. Sadly, Bruno is no longer with us, but his stories live on. We couldn’t ask for better security patrol; the neighborhood dogs still don’t try to dig under our fence.
Many people who love our stories are raising their own backyard flock. It’s not just the funny stories driving more urban adventurers into backyard chicken farming. The healthy benefit of eating eggs from their own hens and living a more humane lifestyle is also a driving reason.
Most people raising chickens do intensive research into the positives and negatives of being a backyard chicken farmer. Unfortunately, many never try because of the misplaced belief that chickens are strictly farm animals, needing lots of space, feed, and supplies not readily available. In reality, just about any backyard will do; if it’s big enough for a dog, it’s big enough for chickens. As for the supplies, if you don’t have a farm supply store near you, most poultry supplies, including the chicken coop and food, are available to order online, 24 hours a day.
Before you decide to welcome these fun and fascinating animals into your yard, there is some general knowledge needed for becoming a backyard chicken farmer. There are two experts in the poultry world, with books I highly recommend: Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow and The Chicken Health Handbook by Gail Damerow and Jeanne Smith DVM. Both books are a must for any backyard chicken farmer.
Here are the top 10 chicken questions I get asked most often.
1. Do you need a rooster for the hens to lay eggs?
Answer: No. This is the biggest misconception about chickens. A rooster is never necessary for your hens to lay eggs. If you want chicks, you need a rooster to fertilize the eggs, but the girls don’t need the boys to produce those yummy fresh eggs.
2. How many eggs will my chickens lay, and how often?
Answer: This depends on several reasons. First is the breed of the chicken. Some hens are bred for egg production, and if the chickens are healthy, they may lay an egg daily. However, this is not the norm, and you can usually expect 4-5 eggs per chicken each week or one egg every two days. A good rule of thumb is that three hens will give you two eggs daily.
The hen’s age is another reason. Most hens start laying at 4-6 months of age, with their first year being the most productive, with the egg amount decreasing each year after that.
Finally, the seasons have a significant impact on egg production. During the winter, when there are fewer daylight hours, the number of eggs decreases drastically, while the summer months are more productive.
3. How long do chickens live?
Answer: When shielded from predators, many standard chicken breeds are hardy animals and have a life expectancy of 8 to 15 years. However, it is rare that a chicken lives for 15 years.
4. How much care do chickens need?
Answer: Chickens are low maintenance, making them an ideal pet. With proper housing, chickens are easier to care for than dogs and have minimal requirements.
- Daily egg collection
- Fresh water and feed often
- Clean or change bedding every 1-2 weeks
- Clean and disinfect the coop twice a year. I do this at the beginning of spring and the end of fall.
5. How much do chickens cost and where can I get them?
Answer: Baby chicks cost $3-$5 each, females being on the higher end of the scale while the fancy breeds are more. If you want grown hens, you will have to source them locally. Grown hens average between $20 and $50 each. You can get baby chicks at your local feed store or order them online. One of my favorite places to order baby chicks is the Cackle Hatchery. They have the largest selection of chicks to choose from, and I have always received healthy, beautiful baby chicks from them. I believe you can’t go wrong with this company.
6. What do I need for my new chicks?
Answer: Your new chicks must stay warm and cared for until after the first four weeks. A brooder with a single infrared lamp is the best and most economical choice. Use a thermometer to keep the area a constant at 95° F. Use an inexpensive, 18” high corrugated paper chick corral for the pen.
After 4-5 weeks, your chicks are ready to roam their new outside enclosure.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases which helps with website upkeep.
7. When will my hens start laying?
Answer: Normally, your hens start laying between 5 and 6 months of age and based on the breed, they will lay roughly 200 to 300 eggs a year. My favorite layers are Rhode Island Reds and the Buff Orpington for their wonderful brown eggs. The White Leghorns are prolific layers as well, laying large white eggs.
For my pick of the top 5 egg layers, see the post Best Laying Hen Breeds.
8. Which are healthier and tastier, brown eggs or white eggs?
Answer: Another frequent question I hear. The egg color makes no difference in taste or health benefits. However, what you feed your chickens and how they are kept has a big effect on the taste and health benefits of eggs. Research proves that if your chickens roam freely in your yard, your eggs are higher in Omega-3 fatty acids and lower in cholesterol. Even if your chickens can’t roam free, the eggs are still healthier and better tasting than store bought eggs.
Tip
The more orange the egg yolk, the better-tasting and healthier your egg is.
9. Does having chickens save me money?
Answer: This is a big, resounding No. Some people decide to raise chickens for the perceived money savings. There are many benefits to having your own chickens, but saving money is not one of them. Considering the feed, water, and time of raising chickens, you may break even by buying cage-free organic eggs from the store. Having the health benefits and great taste while raising your chickens humanely is worth the effort and cost. Honestly, you can’t do better than eggs from your own chickens.
10. Are chickens noisy?
Answer: If you have roosters, you have noise, and roosters not only crow in the morning, but they crow all day long. Hens, on the other hand, are much quieter—you might say they make a soothing sound until they lay an egg or are threatened. Even then, they aren’t as noisy as roosters. I urge you only to raise hens if you live in the city. Check your city ordinances since some cities don’t allow you to raise roosters.
I have 14 buff Orpington’s and they will not roost in the coop I have enlarged it,there’s no other animals around the coop,I have gone out there night after night and put them on the roost and they still set on the ground rain,cold don’t matter.Have any suggestions?
Chickens are very picky at times. We didn’t think we would ever get them to roost when we built our new hen house. We had everything set up correctly. The coop was protected with no chance of predators; it was clean, dark, and quiet. We had roosts around two inches wide, flat, and away from the nesting boxes, perfect for roosting. It took about three weeks before they finally caught on to the idea. I went out every night after the hens went inside. I started with one chicken and set her on the roost, thinking the others would get the idea since they watched with interest. No such luck! I would check on them, and the single hen would be back on the ground. After a few tries, we started putting all of them on the roost. It was time-consuming, but we did it every night. After about three weeks, they finally started roosting. It just took patience.
We were advised to also supply a small roost for baby chicks to get them accustomed to roosting. This worked like a charm so any new chicks in the flock have their own special roosting spot.
Chickens are amazing because they have such distinct personalities. Some are leaders and take to roosting right away and others take a while to get used to it.
Good luck, I hope this helps.
we have white leghorns flighty but great white egg layers..also a australop rooster nice to us but likes to pick on hens…we just started with barred rocks friendly so far..
great page.