How to Become More Self Sufficient by Owning Chickens

There are a lot of benefits to raising chickens:

 - Healthier eggs and meat

 - Less dependence on others for food

 - Increased sustainability

 - Can be enjoyable

The only downsides to them are:

 - You have to take care of them every day no matter what.

 - Somewhat dependent on buying feed

Okay let’s get started. The very first thing you need to have to raise chickens, is a chickens coop. Before you build it you have to decide if you are gonna let them outside on pasture, leave them inside all the time, or have a coop with a run. At the very least I think you should have a run outside for them. I would recommend pasturing them above anything else though.

The benefits to raising them outside are:

 - More natural environment

 - Access to greens and bugs

 - greater sustainability

 - lower feed costs

If you decide to go with pasturing, you most likely are gonna need a good electric fence. I bought mine from Premier1 fencing, and it works very good. You also need to make your chicken coop easily movable, so you can move it to fresh ground when the vegetation is eaten down. I built mine on a trailer type structure.

If you decide to go with a run or no outside access, then a simple shed like structure will work.

Once you have your birds living place worked out, you need to find a place to acquire them. And I recommend starting with day old chicks. You have a two options for this. You can order them from a big hatchery like murray mcmurray hatchery, or you can find someone that sells chicks locally. Either one is fine. Next decide if you want them for just meat, just eggs, or both. I prefer going with a breed that is good for both. That is more sustainable. The breed I use is Delawares. They lay tons of eggs, and the roosters are pretty good for eating. I can’t go into a ton of detail about breeds, but there is a ton of information about them on every hatchery’s website.

Here is a picture of my coop, and Delaware chickens:

Next is the question of how many you need. About 15 hens should provide the average family with as many eggs as they need. Most hatcheries have a minimum order of 25, so you could get 15 hens, and 10 roosters. Then you could butcher 8 of the roosters, and keep 2 roosters so that you can hatch more chicks later.

During the period of when the chicks are one day old to four weeks, is called the brooder period. During this time you will need to keep the chicks under a heat lamp that is 95 degrees. I like to keep them in a kiddie pool till four weeks. You will also need chick sized feeder and waterer. Then you need paper towel on the floor for the first few days, and wood shavings for bedding after that. And you need feed of course. I use organic soy-free feed. Yes it’s more expensive, but it is healthier. If Organic feed is not available in your area, at least try and find GMO-free feed. Wherever you get your feed from, will explain which kind to feed them at different ages.

After the chicks are four weeks old, put them in there new coop. They can also go outside at this time. Make sure they are all inside every night, and lock them in.

Expect to have eggs in six month. Meat chickens take anywhere from eight to sixteen weeks to be ready to butcher.

Chickens will eat almost any food waste from your kitchen or garden. You can even grow things specifically for them. Read my other article about things to grow for chickens: http://gomestic.com/rural-living/easy-plants-to-grow-for-chickens/

So there you have it. They really aren’t very hard to raise. Give it a try, and you might like it. I’m sure I forgot something in the article, so if you have a question ask in the comments. Thanks for looking!