It’s important to give your chickens plenty of space. Overcrowding can lead to all sorts of problems. Pecking. Aggression. Poor health. Transmission of diseases. Chickens don’t thrive in an overcrowded coop. How much space is enough? A common recommendation you’ll hear is one that is insufficient — 4 square foot per chicken. Not only is…

If you are new to raising chickens, here are several articles and other information that will be useful to you when planning your flock. Articles Planning to start your flock How many chickens should I get? How much space do chickens need? — An important question to answer when your are planning to build or…

A brooder is a space to raise baby chicks. A place that supplies warmth and protection. When baby chicks hatch in an incubator (or when you first purchase them), they need additional heat in order to stay warm. That’s because their bodies are small and because they have only downy feathers. Over the next 4-6…

Started pullets are female chickens that are at least a few weeks old. Different suppliers sell them at different ages. It’s common to find started pullets anywhere from 4-5 weeks old on up to several months old. If you’re new to raising chickens, started pullets are an excellent way to start your flock, for several…

Figure out how many eggs you want per day. Multiply that number by two and get that many hens. That’s the simplest approach. Below, I’ll explore alternative approaches and answer other questions you may have about raising chickens. How many chickens do I need for a family of 4? Suppose I eat an omelet about…

My parents first started raising chickens in the early 1970s. When I was 6 years old, we moved to a small town in southeast Texas. We built a coop and bought a small flock of meat chickens and began raising them in our small backyard. Soon I learned how to help pluck chickens. A few…

It’s good to watch your chickens and notice what they do. You can learn a lot more about them that way. And knowing them better will help you care for them better. It’ll also help you see how to integrate them into your farm more effectively. This last summer, we were raising a group of Black Australorp…

It’s essential that chickens have access to plenty of clean, palatable water. During hot weather, it’s best to put the waterers in the same shady area that the chickens tend to hang out in. If it’s too hot, they’ll be reluctant to venture out of the shade to drink water. If you had asked me…

Straight-run simply means that you’re getting the chickens “as-hatched.” No attempt has been made to determine the gender of the chickens. Does “straight-run” mean that half will be males and half females? No, not necessarily, when you hatch chicks, they may come out 50-50. But you could also have more than 50% males. Or more…