Backyard Chickens for Beginners: Basic Requirements

There are many reasons why more and more people are looking into raising chickens in their backyard. Some raise backyard chickens to increase the safety of their own food supply by avoiding the risk of large scale salmonella or E. Coli contaminations that seem to happen on a regular basis with chicken and eggs among other foods. Others prefer the higher nutritional content of grass-fed free-range eggs compared to any eggs found in the supermarket. Still others prefer to get eggs from happy chickens that are allowed to live out their lives running and foraging outdoors, instead of from chickens that are confined within cages not even big enough to allow them to stand upright or stretch their wings for a year to 15 months before being discarded as worthless. Some people just enjoy getting back to nature and living closer to the land. I guess I'd say that all of those reasons factored into my decision to begin raising backyard chickens in the spring of 2009.

Basic Chicken Keeping Expenses

There are some basic expenses required to begin raising backyard chickens, in terms of both capital equipment and ongoing expense. As you might expect, expenses generally fall into the categories of food and shelter along with some miscellaneous equipment.

Even Free-range Chickens Need Store-bought Food

Chickens that are allowed to free-range will forage. They will eat insects, seeds and plants throughout the yard. They are especially fond of anything that you don't want them to eat, such as your entire vegetable garden. If you want to have both chickens and a garden you'll need to fence one or the other in. Free range chickens, however, also need chicken feed in addition to the forage for proper nutrition. Although it is possible to mix your own chicken feed, that's not an option for most beginners. Instead you'll need to buy chicken feed from a local farm supply store. It comes in 50 pound bags for between $10-15 per bag. Free-ranging will help reduce the amount of chicken feed they eat, but will not replace it entirely. My flock of 15 free-ranging chickens goes through about 50 pounds in a month on average.

How Big Should A Chicken Coop Be?

Chickens will need a place to sleep and a place to lay eggs. They can be combined in the same coop. Coops should be well-ventilated, but secure against the entry of predators. Wire mesh is often used to cover openings used for ventilation. A good rule of thumb is that the inside of a coop for which chickens also have free access to the outdoors is about 2 square feet of floor space for each chicken. This doesn't sound like much, but bear in mind that chickens will spend most of their time outdoors. When they are inside, they will generally prefer to roost off the floor. If the chickens do not have free access to a large yard, then they should have a minimum of 4-5 square feet per adult bird.

DIY Chicken Coops

If you are handy, you can build your own coop. If you do, you will save a lot of money. Chickens are not that choosy about appearances. If you can make it secure and sturdy, you don't need to worry about appearances. Chicken coop cost will vary tremendously depending upon size, aesthetics, and the amount of sweat equity you put in. A ready built, cottage-like coop will run in excess of $1000. You can build your own that is functionally just as good for about $200 in new lumber, less if you have scrap lumber and plywood lying around. I argued a local farmer into building me one (24 square feet) for $300 delivered.

Chicken Tractors

Depending upon your climate and predator situation (which should include any neighborhood dogs), you may opt to go with a lighter coop designed to be moved from place to place. These are called chicken tractors and allow the chickens to be confined in an enclosed area while having access to fresh forage every time the tractor is moved. Chicken tractors should generally be moved to fresh turf every 1-2 days. Chicken tractors are cheaper than even a DIY coop, but are less secure and generally not as well equipped to handle very cold weather. Most chickens can handle temperatures well below zero, if they have a dry place sheltered from drafts, but those with large combs may be prone to frostbite. Plan accordingly.

Heat Lamps and Chick Brooders

A heat lamp can be used inside a coop to help keep the temperatures warmer in the coldest of climates. Bear in mind, however, that chickens will become adapted to the warmer temperatures with the lamp and a power outage during a cold snap may kill chickens that haven't become cold-hardy. All baby chicks must be kept in a brooder with a heat lamp. They need to be kept at constant temperature of about 95 degrees after hatching. The temperature gradually decreases as they begin to feather out, but plan for some type of brooder box and a heat lamp if you are raising your chickens from hatchlings. Heat lamps are inexpensive and will run about $12-15. Brooder boxes can be home-made or any large crate or bin can be used. Brooders should be well-protected from cats, dogs, and any other animals.

Chicken Feeders and Waterers

You'll need special waters and feeders for chicks and another set for the adult chickens. These are not a big expense, but just another thing that adds up. Ranging from $4-5 to $12-15 depending upon size and type, you'll need enough so that every chicken can eat at the same time. If you have too little feeder space, those chickens lowest in the pecking order will eat last or not at all, most likely the latter.

Heated Waterers for Cold Climates

Unfortunately for those of us in the northern parts of the country, water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit and the outdoor temperature spends quite a bit of time below that here. That means you'll need a heated waterer, or you'll need to replace frozen waterers with thawed one several times a day. Since they most likely won't thaw before the fresh one freezes, you'll need enough waterers to keep the cycle going. Chickens should have access to fresh, clean water 24 hours a day. If they have access to water when they go in to roost at sunset, however, then you need not worry about it again until they wake up first thing in the morning. Chickens are very inactive in the dark of night, remaining still to avoid attracting nocturnal predators. Heated waterers vary in price. I purchased a 3 gallon heated waterer for $45. It works well down to about 10 degrees above zero, then it freezes, too.

Litter for the Chicken Coop

You'll need fresh straw or wood shavings to line the layer boxes and the floor of the coop. Wood shavings run about $5-8 per bale here in New Hampshire, your mileage may vary. Keeping the layer boxes lined with fresh shavings helps prevent dirty eggs. By dirty, I mean covered in chicken poop. Check the condition of the layer boxes daily and clean them as needed. Sometimes chickens prefer to sleep in a layer box and leave ample evidence of their presence there.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

If you have a small yard or choose to pen your chickens, you'll need fencing and lots of it. First, make no mistake, chickens fly, and they fly very well. They can clear an 8 foot fence with only a couple feet of lateral room to gain height. Predators will dig under fences, rip through fences, climb over fences and reach their claws through fences to kill chickens. Most predators are nocturnal but hawks, dogs, and a few others may attack during the daytime when the chickens are outside. At night, you'll most likely want to close the coop door to keep predators out. Chickens, once they learn where home is, will tend to go inside the coop every night as it begins to get dark. If you really want your chickens confined to fenced in area, then you'll need to cover the run area as well. Fencing can be expensive. Without it, expect chickens to wander a hundred yards in any direction, sometimes more, sometimes less. As Robert Frost wrote, "Good fences make good neighbors."

Buying your First Chickens

You'll also need to buy chickens. Day old chicks should cost roughly $2 each for ordinary breeds. AT that price you'll get a mix of hens and roosters since sex is not checked on straight run chicks. You can buy chicks that have been checked if you don't want roosters, but be prepared that sexing at this age is, at best, 90% accurate. You can and should purchase chicks that are vaccinated against Marek's Disease. Almost every hatchery will do this as a matter of course.

My Total Costs to Date

That's about it for expense. Vet bills are extra if your chickens have any health problems. Many vets don't handle chickens so you may want to find one that does before you have the need for them. I spent roughly $1000 for my set-up. I had an existing raised platform dog house that is now a second coop for chickens of a different age or new additions to the flock before they all get used to each other. I spent minimal amounts on fencing since my chickens free-range. Most of the expense was start-up overhead such as the coop and other items that will last many years.

How Many Eggs can You Expect from your Chickens
Good laying hens above the age of roughly 5 months will begin producing as many as 200 to even 250 eggs per year, during their first year of laying. Their production drops off each year after the first. They also lay far fewer eggs during the lead in to winter as the days grow shorter. While grass-fed free range eggs might be sold for $3-5/ dozen at a farmer's market, small flocks are seldom profitable. Get backyard chickens for all the reasons listed in the introduction to this article, but don't expect to make it a profitable enterprise on a small scale.