Why you need to be raising chickens this year
Chickens are incredibly useful animals. They provide us eggs and meat, and aid in our agricultural endeavors. Chickens are quick to produce and are very easy to maintain, making them a necessary addition to your farm.
Chickens are one of the oldest domesticated livestock animals in the world and there’s no wonder as to why. We have been relying on the predictability and ease that comes with raising this species of poultry.
Read along as I break down a beginner’s guide to raising chickens and why you need to be raising chickens this year.
Why raise chickens
To the backyard farmer, a chicken flock is the best place to start when considering adding livestock to your homestead.
Why do I say that?
Because chickens are incredibly low maintenance in comparison to other poultry. Chickens require four main things: food, water, shelter, and protection.
We will get into the specifics of these four necessities to raising chickens in a little bit.
The number one reason hobby farmers get chickens in the first place is egg production, and rightfully so.
That’s exactly how I started!
Collecting your own eggs in the morning is a quick way to feel super accomplished. Homegrown eggs are nutritious, fresh and overall taste way better.
Grow your own and you’ll know what I mean. This is why you need to be raising chickens this year
Many farmers decide to raise chickens for their meat. In this case a chicken can be ready to harvest in 8 weeks. Pretty quick turn around if you’re wanting healthy, fresh meat for your family.
Lastly, chickens are wonderful natural gardeners. If let to free range or confined to a pen area, chickens will tear up the soil with their claws. With the right guidance you got yourself a hard working crew to help with all the garden weeding. Not to mention all the free composting manure you’ll get.
Raising chickens for eggs
Like I mentioned earlier, the biggest reason people keep chickens is to collect their own eggs.
After buying your chicks, you can roughly expect to be harvesting your first little eggs around 4-5 months after hatching. Chickens can go on to be healthy productive layers for many years. At 200-280 eggs per year per hen(depending on variety), you’ll end finding yourself quickly overwhelmed with delicious eggs.
When your chicken first starts laying you’ll more than likely find what we call a fairy egg. As the young hen begins her egg cycle, her first eggs are really tiny….. and very cute. These eggs are perfectly fine to eat.
In many cases, you may be shocked to find eggs that are soft and squishy. With young hens this can be caused by a calcium deficiency, but most likely it’s just her body figuring out how to put everything together. If this soft egg persists, offer your flock of hens crushed oyster shells as a supplement.
When buying your chicks, it’s good to think about your egg schedule for that year. Generally if you’re buying chicks in the spring you should expect to be getting eggs around the late summer and into fall. These chickens will generally lay all throughout the winter.
If you buy fall chicks you should expect to start getting eggs in the spring and through the summer and fall.
Why are my chickens not laying?
Chickens are seasonal layers. It would be taxing for a hen to pop out a whole egg every day of her life. Generally there are a few reasons why your chickens have stopped laying eggs.
Seasonal
Remember above when I said to think ahead when buying chicks? It is for this reason. A chick purchased in spring is going to be the only chicken you will lay throughout the winter.
A reason farmers usually refresh and add to their flock yearly.
By the second year of your chickens life, they will have gotten into a schedule of laying in the early spring and into the fall.
Hens take a break during the winter primarily due to the lack of light. Egg production relies heavily on the amount of sunlight the hens receive. With the winter months being darker with shorter days, you can expect a few months of chickens not earning their keep.
Molting
Another reason is during their time of molt. Chickens molt once a year. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, molting is when a chicken shed its old feathers and grows new ones.
Because their body needs to put more energy into growing feathers, egg production stops for however long that process takes.
Health related issues
Sometimes if your birds are sick, their bodies will hold off on egg production. If you find yourself dealing with mites or respiratory issues, you will have to focus on treating your birds before you should expect to receive any more eggs.
This is why it’s so important to constantly be checking the health of your birds before something like that becomes an overwhelming problem.
Homesteading Culture
Homesteaders come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you have a hundred acres or a little backyard, chickens can really be a great option to getting into the farming scene. Another reason why you need to be raising chickens this year.
In my own experience, raising chickens opened up another outlet to live out my farm dream. Because they don’t take up much space and they aren’t demanding, I feel like my backyard chickens were an amazing way to build my excitement and confidence as a small scale farmer.
With a little research, time and space, you could be well on your way to own chickens. These little birds offer so much versatility, everyone is bound to find the birds that are right for them. I encourage you to consider why you need to be raising chickens this year.
