CHICKENS 101

I would do some research on the most common breeds and see which appeals to you. Rhode island reds, Orpingtons, Brahmas, Cochins, Easter Eggers, Barred Rock, Leg Horn, etc. We started our journey with Leghorns and Rhode Island Reds, and now have quite a spread! I personally love mixed breed chickens, they give me an array of color eggs and personalities, and I’ve found that they are less likely to be sick. 

I would avoid buying broiler breeds like Cornish cross or freedom ranger/red ranger, as they won't live healthy lives or lay well. Those are for people looking to eat their birds. If eggs are most important you probably won't want bantam breeds either, since they lay very small eggs. You can buy from a feed store and get something like 90% chance of getting a female if you buy "sexed" pullets. A feed store like Tractor Supply is known to sell lots of chicks, but you can’t rely on the labels. People make mistakes, especially when selling and shipping chicks. 

If you buy from local sellers or hatch your own, about 40% will be male, just my experience, which means you'll have to re-home or eat some of them. There is the option of  buying older pullets or laying hens. It's ideal to buy them at "point of lay" or right after they start laying for maximum production, but that's also when people are less likely to sell them or they will cost more. Older hens will still lay eggs but less frequently, sometimes only a few a week. You can go on Facebook livestock groups and find better deals, but the only issue is you not really knowing much information on how they’re raised. Ask around your neighborhood groups for good breeders, that helps so much. 

A quality coop is essential to backyard chicken production. Coops must provide protection from the weather and predators. No gaps and open roofs in the coop, that can cause respiratory illness and a place for predators to come in. 

The hens need nesting boxes one per 4 to 5 chickens. They also need a roost, a bar of some kind that they can fly up on to go to sleep at night. 

Be sure the coop is  well-insulated for the winter months as well as ventilation for fresh air. The goal for space is a minimum of 3 to 5 square feet per bird, including outdoor space. The bigger the better honestly. 

There are so many coop designs with a wide range in cost. Find a design that fits your situation. There are so many books and websites with coop designs. 

Their main predators are raccoons, rats, owls, hawks and strays. An enclosed space for chickens to stay at night is essential to their protection. Ensure that the coop is sturdy and is free of small holes for predators to sneak in. The space should be free of unnecessary objects like woodpiles or equipment, as they attract predators, like rats. Yuck! Also Chicken wire is not my favorite or in my opinion the safest option. Use a heavier duty galvanized wire to protect the flocks enclosure. 

Chickens are omnivores and will eat (or try to eat) just about anything they can get their beaks on. So be sure to keep your property free of small dangerous trash. When free ranging in the yards, chickens will find lots of protein and vitamin-rich food on their own, including insects, grubs, vegetation and seeds. You’ll even notice them running around with  toads or small snakes. During the warmer months, a huge portion of a chicken’s diet may come from foraging.

But what happens when you can’t free range? Don’t worry about it, most backyard chicken raisers can’t, and that’s why there are feed stores full of bagged chicken feed. Even those who free range have to buy pellets to ensure proper nutrition. We almost always shoot for more organic options, and even mix our own when we can afford it. 

In warm weather or cold, the primary food for backyard chickens should be layer feed. Available in pellet or crumble form, chicken feed is formulated to provide laying chickens with the nutritional requirements to keep them healthy and consistently producing well-formed eggs. Protein and calcium are key. 

Supplementing their diet is still important, especially in cold weather when their food intake needs to be higher and foraging is not an option. They love fruits, vegetables and grains! A variety that we throw, include leafy greens, cooked beans, corn, oats, grits, berries, and apples.

Are you looking to mix your own feed?
here is a good recipe that has worked for us. 

-30lbs Whole Oats

-20lbs Wheat or Corn

-20lbs Black Sunflower Seeds 

-10lbs Split Peas

-5lbs Flaxseeds

-1 Bag All Flock (Optional) 

Extras: Diatomaceous Earth, Meal Worms, and Soldier Fly Larva.
🚨I use this mix for my Chickens, Ducks and Turkeys. I source the ingredients from Azure Standard and Local Feed Stores.
There have also been times where I purchased Nature Wise All Flock and Mixed It With an Organic Scratch Grains Bag!

Chickens need to be fed and their water need to be clean. They need to be let out of the coop each morning and put into the coop at dusk each night to protect them from predators. Eggs should be picked up at least once a day. The coop and pen should be cleaned out at least once a month to maintain a clean area and odor control. Coops full of piles of waste and fluids will make your flock very sick. It’s so important to keep the area clean. We use a deep bedding method, where we layer pine shavings and straw. Then we take it out and add it to the compost. Be sure your compost sits for at least 3 months though so it can compost down for your garden. Chicken Manure is a hot one, it’ll burn plants if it hasn’t fully composted. 

Hens begin laying at around six months of age and can continue for up to like five years. The best production is within the first two years. They will hopfully and ideally lay about 5-6 eggs each week. Egg production drops each year when the hens molt (replace their feathers in the early fall) and as daylight hours are lost. Hens need at least 12 hours of light each day to continue laying eggs.

Unlike the eggs you see at the local grocery store, there are lots of variety and range of egg colors other than just brown and white. That’s one of my favorite parts about a variety of different chickens in our flock. Theres no difference in egg taste , so no worries! 

There are 2 Methods I’ve used to incubate eggs in my Nurture Right 360 Incubator.
You want to choose the biggest, and cleanest eggs to incubate, but be sure not to wash them. Also the eggs shouldn’t be more than a week old. These eggs will take 21 days to hatch.

The first method: 99.5 Degrees kept at 50-60% humidity for 18 days. Once the 18th day comes, it will be time for taking the egg turner out, and adding water to increase humidity to 70% . Be sure not to open the incubator at all in the last 3 days. That is hatching zone, and if you start seeing them cracking the egg open aka pipping, then there’s a huge possibility of shrink wrapping them in the egg if you open the lid. The air will hit the membrane and they will be trapped and unfortunately die.  

The Second Method: 99.5 Degrees and 15-30% humidity for the first 18 days. This method is called dry hatching. Once day 18 comes around, you’ll take the egg turner out, and add water to increase the humidity to 65-70%. Then wait on your Chicks! This method is known to do best for darker eggs, like black copper maran eggs. Not sure why it works, but it does.

If you’re wondering why some incubators like the Nit true Right 360 has a light, it’s because that’s for candleing the eggs. You’ll sit the egg on the light or a candleing flashlight on day 6, and 10 to ensure that there are visible veins and embryos. This helps a lot with the smell, the last thing you need is to be cooking a rotten egg! Trust me.

After your chicks hatch, you have 30 hours that they can be in the incubator to dry, I usually get them out as soon as the majority are dry and running crazy in there. Then I immediately take them to a brooder. A closed in well ventilated safe area with water, chick starter food and a heat lamp. Warmth is key. Their area should be 93-95 degrees for the first week, 88-90degrees the second week and lowered little by little as weeks go on, until they no longer need the extra heat by 6 or so weeks depending on where you live and how warm it is outside. I usually add my young Pullets and cockerels to the main coop at 10-15weeks