Backyard Chickens

Monday, March 15, 2010

chickens in city

When I was about 8 or 9-years old my family bought their first batch of day old chicks. They were delivered by parcel post and lived in a cardboard box brooder in our family room for the first month. Before they arrived we had built the coop, fenced in an outside pen area, set the water fonts, made feeders from scrap lumber and bought enough chicken feed to last a month.

Over the years I have raised hundreds of chickens in dozens of breeds and enjoyed every one of them. I am always amazed at how much information is out there about raising this docile, versatile, homestead mainstay. When my daughter first started raising poultry in her 4-H project, we once again, combed the internet for resources that were up-to-date as well as kid friendly. And we weren’t disappointed.

Sites like BackyardChickens.com and Feathersite.com are great resources for anyone thinking about getting a few hens. It has free information, a downloadable care guide, images, a forum, questions and more. It’s for new chicken people, poultry lovers and gawkers alike.

Most towns and cities now allow backyard chickens as long as they are hens and are in a confined area. Chickens are easy to raise and as long as they are given a place to nest at night they are quite content. They don’t require fancy digs that cost a lot of money. A friend of mine houses her hens in an old outhouse and lets them out during the day. The coop at my first house was an old wooden tool shed with an outside fenced area. Today, things haven’t changed much. My coop is still simple, well-built, has enough room for a growing flock (which we need given our current hatch) and gives the girls plenty of room to roam.

bumper-breakfastCheck them out, you won’t be disappointed. Click here for the link http://www.backyardchickens.com/ or http://www.feathersite.com/

As for our surprise! We have 8 chicks hatched, with more on the way. They are all snuggly warm, nestled in our brooder box in the corner of the kitchen. Man, this is fun!!

Creative Commons License photo credit: kusine



Leave a Reply