Chicken Keeping Pure and Simple: A Fun, Friendly Guide to Backyard Chicken Keeping

Egg-laying chickens are my specialty. I have become quite passionate about raising them properly to ensure they have a good life and we humans enjoy the process. You can keep just a few chickens to feed you and your family, or you can keep many

chickens to profit off the sale of eggs. Even though I started with just a few chickens to feed my family, I ended up with more pretty quickly. I currently keep a few dozen chickens and the sale of their eggs covers the cost of feed and supplies

Owning chickens might just be the most expensive way you’ll ever get “free eggs.” Well, that might not be true forever, but as you get started you will most likely feel this way! Once you get your coop working, you will likely be good to go for a while. But there’s the chance that just when you think you have it right, you’ll get Silkies and they’ll refuse to roost, so you’ll need to make adjustments for them. Or you’ll finally be happy with your coop and realize a predator broke in and you need to revamp the setup. Or maybe you see another chicken keeper share their process for cleaning the coop and you are inspired to change your ways to make things easier.

If hatching eggs isn’t for you,you can purchase chicks. Most hatcheries sell them as day-old chicks. You can have them shipped to you or you can usually pick them up. Some farm supply stores will have them available as well, depending on the time of

year. Wherever you purchase them from,

look for a breeder or facility that is NPIP

certified. This means they undergo regular

testing for major poultry diseases. You

also want to be sure they are practicing

good biosecurity. The public shouldn’t be

handling the chicks before you purchase

them. Looking for these things will hopefully If hatching eggs isn’t for you,