Oh my gosh I wish I would have realized how amazingly easy it is to keep chickens. Having them around is so rewarding too!
Ani Gathering Egg
We have 9 hens and 2 roosters currently, but we are hoping to get more soon since we go through at least 4 dozen eggs a week. They are range-free meaning they are free to roam around. However, having a foot of snow on the ground pretty well keeps them near the barn.
Before getting them, I had nightmares of raccoons or dogs feasting on the birds or having runaway birds on a daily basis. But surprisingly….they stay together and they are not a bit interested in going from neighbor to neighbor. And the fact that birds can fly 
allows them to stay pretty well guarded from predators. At least for now that seems to be the case. I suppose it is important to have elavated areas where they can escape to if need be (like barn railings).
We were pretty blessed to have a barn with nesting boxes already installed when we moved into our place in the country, so all we had to provide was a bale of hay and a sack of feed, (the feed was $20 and should last us at least two months). If you can not afford to make nesting boxes, as around for any scrap wood. Or make some out of old cardboard boxes. Check out this site for Homemade nesting boxes. I know you may be thinking, umm… fencing? I’ve been told by other farmers that chickens tend to stay where their food and shelter is. They may snoop around to find bugs but whent he sun sets or a storm sets in, they are bound to seek their home sweet home.
Roosters Boaz, Vared and Hens
We spend about 15 min. each day with the chickens searching for eggs, checking on their feed bin, a making sure they have water. My little one loves them and now has a new responsibility of getting the morning eggs. Roosters are not required for egg production but again I have heard that they can help encourage the birds to lay. If you want fertilized eggs (which are still excellent for consumption) a rooster is needed. You can always butcher (or have your local butcher kill it for you) and have a niced baked chicken dinner and sell the feathers.
This website is very helpful for Chicken Raising
Nutritional Value of Free Range eggs
Recent Comments