Keeping and Raising Chickens at Home - Chickens can be a lot of fun, but they can also be a lot of work. Before you order a chicken coop and go bring home your first brood of chicks, you need to decide whether keeping and raising chickens is for you. Read up on the experiences of others and look at the reality of what’s involved in raising and keeping chickens. There’s more to it than just building or buying a chicken coop and throwing grain on the ground.
Raising chickens can be an adventure. It can also be a burden, if your expectations are askew. Chickens, after all, are animals, and they require care and attention. The chicken coop that you decide on for your chickens can definitely make or break your experiences caring for them. Indeed, the type of chicken coop you decide on can present insurmountable barriers to keeping and raising chickens at all. Think about all the issues before you decide to commit.
Some cities have ordinances that will create resistance in your efforts to build a chicken coop or to own chickens at all. Contacting city officials is perhaps one of the first things you’ll need to do in your quest toward owning chickens. One conversation with city officials may answer all of your questions about keeping and raising chickens at your home. If you can’t build a chicken coop or have chickens on your property at all, then there’s no need to waste time researching chicken care, types of chicken coops, or other people’s experiences with raising chickens.
If you talk to someone in your city or town who gives a green light and says that keeping and raising chickens at your home is acceptable, then you’ll need to go onto the next step. Do you plan to build a chicken coop? Are you going to buy or order a pre-fabricated chicken coop? Perhaps you learned that a permanent chicken coop is not an option in your community. That will narrow down your chicken coop choices somewhat.
As you’re deciding on the type and design for a chicken coop, think about feeding your chickens and caring for you chickens. Your chicken coop will need to be cleaned regularly to keep your chickens healthy. Think about what you’re willing to do and how much time you’re willing to spend cleaning the chicken coop. Will you have trouble motivating yourself to feed your chickens if your chicken coop is located too far away from your house? Are you willing to go out and move a portable chicken coop around inside your yard each day, rain or shine? These are important questions to ask yourself as you design the chicken-situation that would most meet your needs. Chickens are pets that require daily and ongoing care and attention. The type of chicken coop that you decide on is the setting where most of that care will take place. Thus, deciding on a chicken coop that adds to your enjoyment of your chickens as opposed to diminishing it, is crucial.
Chickens get sick sometimes. They need medication or special food and special care if they fall ill. Think about your chicken coop and whether it will make the process of caring for sick chickens easier or more difficult for you.
Make sure your chicken coop has a nesting box where your chickens can lay their eggs. Think about the accessibility of the nesting box. Do you intend to have your children gather eggs from the chicken coop? If so, you’ll need to consider whether they will be able to get to the nesting box and gather eggs effectively. Keeping and raising chickens at home can be fun, but most people do it in order to have fresh eggs that are healthier than the eggs one can purchase at the grocery store. Think ahead about your chicken coop and whether the eggs will be accessible to the people who will be in charge of gathering them.
Despite the work involved, keeping and raising chickens can be a lot of fun. Just be sure you’re ready for it before you jump in feet first!
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