Fresh Eggs From Your Own Backyard!
By Tom Seest
Are Backyard Chickens the Key to Fresh Eggs?
At BackyardChickenNews, we help people who want to raise backyard chickens by collating information and news blended with our own personal experiences.
When starting a backyard chicken flock, you may want to know about the different breeds available, their cost and housing requirements, and what to feed them. The requirements for safe handling of eggs differ from state to state, so it’s important to know what the requirements are in your state. It’s also important to know the best practices for safe egg storage and handling. You can reduce the risk of bacterial contamination by using fresh eggs and storing them properly. Also, be aware that dirty eggs can be an indication of a bird’s problems.
Are Backyard Chickens the Key to Fresh Eggs?
Table Of Contents
How Much Will Backyard Chickens Cost?
The costs of backyard chickens for eggs can vary greatly depending on how old they are and the breed they are. Commercial egg producers usually raise hybrid laying breeds, and their hens are usually about two years old. However, the prices of laying hens aren’t too much more than the cost of pullets. Commercial egg producers also have to pay an ongoing electric bill for their hens’ coops.
The cheapest way to get a chicken flock is by raising chicks. A dozen chicks cost about $25. Despite the low upfront cost, chicks often die within the first two weeks. Moreover, you will have to invest in a heat lamp, small dishes, and a brooder (which can be made of odds and ends).
When purchasing chicks for backyard chickens, it is important to keep in mind that they won’t start laying eggs until they are around five months old. Therefore, you’ll want to buy point-of-lay pullets, which are hens that are less than a year old. Depending on where you live, these hens can cost $15-30 each. A backyard coop can be built from recycled materials to keep the cost down.
In general, the costs of backyard chickens for eggs can range anywhere from a few dollars to several hundred dollars. The cost of a full-grown hen can range anywhere from $2.00 to $50 or more, depending on the breed and age at which it is purchased. The costs of a point-of-lay hen are slightly higher than the costs of a pullet.
How Much Will Backyard Chickens Cost?
What Coop is Best for Backyard Eggs?
Backyard chickens are a wonderful companion, and you can also use them as fertilizer for your garden. They’re also a part of the local, organic, and sustainable food movement. According to the HSUS (Humane Society of the United States), they can be a great way to reduce your reliance on eggs from factory farms. However, they do require dedicated care.
Firstly, you need to make sure your hens are safe and comfortable. They’ll need a clean and enclosed nestbox and an elevated roost. In addition, they’ll need access to grass and vegetation for foraging behavior, so their housing facility should include lots of space. Providing straw bedding will also add to their comfort, but you’ll want to be sure to replace it regularly.
In addition to providing shelter during the day, you should also ensure the chickens have a safe henhouse where they can hide during the night. Chickens are vulnerable to attack by urban animals, so it’s important to make sure your coop is secure. Predators can be particularly dangerous if they dig under walls or fences. Therefore, you should make sure your coop has a full perimeter fence. This will protect the chickens from daytime predators like neighborhood dogs and free-roaming cats.
Secondly, you need to consider the size of your flock. Larger breeds require more floor space than smaller breeds. You should also consider the age of the chickens. If you’re starting a small flock, make sure the hens are at least six months old before you start taking care of them. This way, you can ensure they’re healthy and safe.
What Coop is Best for Backyard Eggs?
What Feeding Options are Best for Backyard Chickens?
One of the best ways to provide healthy food for backyard chickens is to provide them with a varied diet of fresh fruit and vegetables every day. You can even give them raw vegetables and fruit, including vegetable peels, bananas, and apples. You can also provide them with cooked foods, such as carrots, bok choy, and silver beet.
Chickens will eat until their energy requirements are met. If they are not fed enough vegetables and fresh fruit, they may become obese and have poor laying abilities. Another healthy option is cheese, which is rich in protein and fat. Cottage cheese is much less fattening than traditional sliced cheese.
During cold weather, chickens need a lot of energy to stay warm and produce eggs. They also have shorter days, which means they need more food. This can lead to a slowed egg-laying process. To supplement this food supply, you can also give them oyster shell supplements every week. Oyster shells are an excellent source of calcium, which chickens need to build strong eggshells. You can also provide chickens with a healthy environment by keeping a clean and comfortable nesting box.
In addition to fresh food, chickens enjoy leafy greens. Spinach, kale, collards, turnip greens, and chards are excellent choices for chicken food. Aside from providing a nutritious food source for your chickens, greens are also an excellent way to add interest to your chicken’s environment. If you have space, consider hanging bundles of greens in their coop to make foraging more interesting for them.
What Feeding Options are Best for Backyard Chickens?
What Care Does a Backyard Chicken Need?
The care of backyard chickens for eggs requires regular maintenance and observation. The chickens need a clean environment and fresh water. In addition, you need to check for health problems on a daily basis. A large hanging feeder is recommended. Feeding your chickens the right amount each day will ensure clean, fresh eggs.
Chickens can spread diseases, which makes proper hygiene vital. Wash your hands thoroughly before handling the animals. Also, supervise young children when handling chickens. Never cuddle or pat chickens on the head. Moreover, don’t let them touch your face or put unwashed hands in their mouth. Always cook eggs collected from chickens thoroughly before eating them. A healthy chicken is a happy and contented chicken.
Fresh water is an essential nutrient for chickens. You should provide them with fresh water every day. Avoid using dirty water because shavings, straw, and poop can get into the water. Chickens are susceptible to worms and parasites, so it’s important to keep the water container clean at all times. Use chlorine bleach or oxygen bleach to sterilize the water container. Clean it as often as possible, especially if you have young or old chickens.
If you’re planning to raise backyard chickens for eggs, there are some things you need to consider. First, you need to understand that laying chickens need a lot of time. It might take up a month or more to get an egg, and you’ll have to spend extra time caring for them. In addition to watering the eggs daily, you also need to feed them well.
What Care Does a Backyard Chicken Need?
How Much Space Does a Backyard Chicken Need?
Before you start raising backyard chickens, make sure that the area you have allotted is large enough to accommodate your flock. For example, a small flock of five or six chickens needs at least ten by 16 feet of space to roam. In addition, the pen you build must be fenced in to keep the chickens contained and predators out. Make sure to fence in water sources and the backyard itself as well.
The space required for backyard chickens will vary depending on the breed and type of coop you choose. Most chicken breeds need three square feet of floor space inside the coop and eight to 10 square feet of space outside. Keep in mind that the larger the breed, the larger the space required. Chickens that live in overcrowded environments are more likely to get sick or pick their feathers.
The space needed for laying hens will depend on the breed of chickens you choose and their size. For example, a small flock of bantams will need approximately five square feet per hen. Standard-sized chickens, on the other hand, require about eight square feet.
Too many chickens in a small space will cause social problems. Crowded chickens get cranky and may even begin pecking and fighting with one another, which is bad for egg production. They also need enough room to clean themselves and sleep. Overcrowding can also lead to aggressive behavior, cannibalism, and patchy feathers.
How Much Space Does a Backyard Chicken Need?
Be sure to read our other related stories at BackyardChickenNews to learn more about raising chickens in your backyard.