Are you starting to feel the pull to get some layer hens?
Have you ever heard of the girl who was GROSSED OUT by layer hens and ‘real chicken eggs’, aka farm fresh eggs?
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have heard this story, but a quick refresher for those who haven’t: As a teenager and into early adulthood, I did NOT eat farm fresh eggs. They just seemed so gross to me. I ate store bought eggs though. Bleached. Raised in small cages and inhumane factory-like environments. Flavorless. Store bought eggs.
For whatever reason I assumed those eggs were better, because they obviously didn’t come from a chicken’s behind. Or did they? 🤪
Now you know…
Current Emilee is now the crazy chicken lady who loves her chickens, loves her ‘real eggs’, and actually finds them BEAUTIFUL.
What changed for me?
I had kids. I grew up and matured. I became more educated in my health and the incredible health benefits of raising my own eggs. And come on…chickens are so cute! Maybe that’s a stretch, and personal opinion, but they HAVE become one of my favorite animals.
Let’s chat chickens, shall we?
I’m going to walk you through what you need to keep chickens at your house, what kind to get, how to raise them, and more.
Why keep chickens or layer hens?
First, why get chickens? You CAN just buy eggs at the store, and it’s a lot less work. Right?
And if that’s your thing – TOTALLY ok.
However, there ARE healthier alternatives to just your average, white, store bought eggs. And there is just no comparison to farm fresh eggs.
- More nutritious. Well first, farm fresh, or backyard eggs, especially free range, (they don’t have to be) are just so much better for you. They are loaded with nutrition and twice the vitamin E and omega 3s as store bought.
- Taste better. They just taste SO much better. The flavor is SO much more rich and complex. Once you taste them, you can’t go back to bland, store bought eggs.
- You become a producer. One thing that I think can be such an important contribution to our ecosystem is becoming more of a producer instead of only a consumer. We are working hard to produce more as a family and provide ourselves and others with more sustainable living.
- Chickens are easy. In my opinion, chickens might just be the lowest maintenance farm animal to have. Other than keeping their coop clean, and keeping them fed and watered and safe, I haven’t had to do much more maintenance. (Things do happen, but this has been my experience).
- Collecting eggs is therapeutic. Ok, this one is definitely a personal opinion, but there is something about walking out to my coop with my basket and seeing all the beautiful eggs waiting for me. Collecting them. Bringing them in and displaying them on my counter. It just feels good. 🤍 My girls love to collect the eggs too!
Do you need a farm to have chickens?
Nooooo! Have I mentioned chickens are the easiest animal? On our property, we have a coop, layer hens, and two roosters, and my chickens free range during the day and go into their coop at night.
If you don’t have the space to free range your chickens, there are so many options for you to have a small coop that can totally be kept in a rural or urban back yard (baring any specific restrictions based on where you live).
Lots of places sell pre-built coops. Or you could save some money and build your own. Make sure you check Facebook Marketplace, that’s where I found our first little Chicken Tractor coop for $60. 🤍
Types of coops for your chicken
- Stationary coop. Typically these are stationary, elevated from the ground, and often have a fenced in run for the chickens to roam in. These can vary in size and style, depending on your property size, amount of chickens you choose to have, etc.
- Chicken Tractor. These coops move. They are usually on wheels, typically on one side of the tractor, and can be lifted and wheeled around your property to ‘range’ the chickens, rather than staying in one spot. They have a small enclosed henhouse, and a large fenced area so the chickens can forage without escaping.
When Winston and I first started with our chickens, my mom gave us 2 mature layers from her large flock, and we kept them in the tractor and rolled them around our yard.
It wasn’t long after that, I was scheming and planning to figure out how I could build a larger, more permanent coop, so I could get more chickens.
Thankfully our property had an old barn that was the perfect space to build a small coop. My chickens free range our property during the day, and go in at night to their coop.
Breeds of chickens
There are lots of breeds of chickens, and as much as you might want to go out and buy the fluffiest, cutest breed, if your purpose for getting chickens is to get eggs, you may want to do some digging into what breeds are the best layers.
Different types of chickens lay different sizes and colors of eggs, and some chickens lay more than others.
Below, I’m going to list a couple good options for you to check out if you’re wanting to get started with some backyard chickens:
- Rhode Island Red. This is an extremely popular backyard chicken breed because they are hardy and they lay lots of eggs. They are a friendly, brown colored chicken, and they lay medium sized light brown eggs.
- Leghorn. Leghorn is another great backyard chicken breed, and a great layer! They are a fully white chicken, have a kind demeanor, and lay a medium sized white egg.
- Sussex. The Sussex is a ‘dual purpose’ breed, which means they can be used as a layer or a meat chicken. They are calm, great for free ranging, lay well, and their eggs range anywhere between brown to creamy white. There are 8 different colors a Sussex might be, the most popular color being a white body with a black neck and feathers.
- Plymouth Rock (or Barred Rock). These chickens are great for a first time backyard chicken owner, as they lay less often than the others listed above – more like once every two days or so. Their eggs will be a smaller, brown egg. They are a friendly chicken, and are gray colored with white stripes.
- Red Sex Link. This is a hybrid chicken, meaning it was cross bred between purebred chickens to ‘create’ this breed. They have a very friendly temperament and are a very hardy bird. They lay well, are ‘red’ in color, and lay a medium sized brown egg.
So far I have listed some good starter chicken breeds or breeds that would make great layers for someone ready to raise chickens at home.
There are SO many breeds out there, and I’m not going to list them all here. A simple google search will show you all sorts. I will however, list a few that I’ve added to my flock recently because I wanted to add some fun variety.
- Bantam. Bantam is a super small breed of chicken. They are great for a very small scale backyard chicken coop as they are only 1/2 to 2/3 the size of a regular chicken breed. They are docile, but can be a bit broody, meaning they want to sit on their eggs more. They do lay a much smaller sized speckled egg, and might not be a great pick if you’re wanting a consistent, good layer. But they sure are cute! Our rooster, Alfred who we LOVE, is a Bantam.
- Brahma. The Brahma is a large chicken, known as a ‘gentle giant’ standing almost 30 inches tall. Even though they are large in size they tend to be bullied by the rest of the flock, and have to be watched over, and their larger size means larger coops and more feed. They usually are three official colors, dark, light and buff, and they lay fairly large soft brown eggs.
- Americana. This is my newest addition to my coop! This is an ‘easter egger’ chicken who lays a soft blue egg. They are a moderate layer, friendly and social. They are bearded and muffed and usually white or brown in color. I’m so excited to introduce these into my little flock when they are more grown.
- Silkie. This breed is CUTE! They are a chicken breed know for their long shaggy feathers that make them look fluffy. They are the ultimate child’s pet chicken as they are cuddly and love sitting in your lap. They are a variety of colors, ranging from black, blue, white, buff and more. They require more protection as they are small and quite ‘unaware’, and their laying is much less frequent, almost half the average amount of a good layer breed. Their eggs are a creamy white color.
How many chickens should I get?
Obviously the answer to this question is going to vary from person to person, and depend on a lot of factors.
- Space. How much space do you have for them? How large is your coop? You want to plan about 3 square feet of floor space inside your coop per chicken, and more outside for them to roam. The more space, the happier the chicken!
- How many eggs do you want daily? Most hens lay about one egg a day, but it does vary depending on what breed you choose. Refer above to the specific breeds to see how they lay.
- How much do you want to pay for feed and bedding, especially if they aren’t free ranging at all (free rangers will eat less feed in most seasons than a chicken in a stationary coop).
- How much cleaning do you want to be doing? Sadly there IS some chicken poo cleaning involved in keeping them 😉 But if I can do it, you can too!
- ALSO remember… When you have a pet, or chickens at your home you will need someone to feed your animals if you leave home on vacation etc.
Ultimately a good and average number of chickens to have and keep is 3-6 chickens. With this number you can have a steady supply of eggs and a good flock for your chickens to be sociable and healthy.
I will warn you though…once you start getting chickens you DO run the risk of becoming the crazy chicken person who buys way too many. I can attest to this from personal experience.
Free range verses in a coop
Some of the positives to free-ranging your chickens are that they are more healthy, active, and stress free. They are foraging, meaning that they are exposed to more of a well-rounded, balanced diet than those in cages.
They enjoy grubs, bugs, grass, worms, and seeds giving a more nutritious egg, and meaning they will consume a lot less feed.
Some disadvantages to free ranging are chicken poop around your yard or space,(natural fertilizer 😉) they can be a bit of a pain, getting into your flower beds, or garden if they aren’t fenced, or getting into your barns. And they probably will make a bit of a mess on occasion.
They are also at risk of predators if they are free ranging where predators may be lurking.
Chickens on the other hand who are raised solely in coops have better egg production since they are confined to one space. They are easier to control and feed. And this is obviously a better choice if you don’t have the space to range your chickens, or the ability to keep them from predators.
One of the downfalls to cooped chickens is more feed, meaning more expensive than free range. Also more commitment to cleaning cages and caring for them. And more potential stress with your chickens, being stuck in a coop might cause them to get bored, or aggressive with each other.
We do a combo of free ranging AND cooped. Each morning we open the coop and let the chickens out. I leave the door open so the chickens can go in and nest in their boxes and lay when they need. And then every night at dusk, the chickens go back into the coop themselves and I shut the door. See! I told you…. Easy 😁
What does a chicken need in a coop?
A coop can look and be so different across the board, and get creative, make it! Essentially a chicken needs four walls and a roof for protection. Proper ventilation, some nesting boxes (I have 2, the more chickens you get the more you want to have), a roost, and possibly a run to stretch their legs.
Nesting boxes
The nesting box is where the chickens will go to lay their eggs, and where you will gather them. The standard size of a chicken nesting box is twelve inches long by twelve inches wide. If you’re building a coop just make sure to build their nesting boxes in a lower place in their coops than the roost.
When I first started with my chickens I built nesting boxes out of Home Depot buckets, and those worked well. But I made the mistake of having their nesting boxes on the top step of their roost, and the chickens were sleeping and pooping in their boxes.
Chickens will always roost on the highest spot in their coop, so as long as their nesting boxes are lower, you should be good.
It’s also important to keep these boxes clean and private for your chickens. PS, it’s also just nicer to grab your eggs from a clean pile of sawdust or straw than an icky nesting box.
We check our chicken nesting boxes once to twice a day, and always have some beautiful fresh eggs waiting for us.
Roosts
Chickens instinctively seek out their highest spot to roost when the sun begins to set, so that they are safe from predators. It’s important to have an elevated bar, board or branch for them to roost on in their coop.
I used some old scrap wood around our farm and constructed a ladder of sorts for them to walk and roost on. A simple google search will give you some good ideas!
What should I feed my chickens?
There are a couple options when it comes to feed for chickens. I’ll talk through some of the different terms for types of feed, and then explain what we use for our chickens.
Types of feed
- Starter feed. This is a feed that is very protein dense, usually about 20-24%. Feed your baby chicks this until about 6 weeks old. At 6 weeks you will switch to a grower feed.
- Grower feed. This is a feed that you will give to your pullets, or teenage chicks. You feed your chicks this type of feed from 6-20 weeks old. It’s protein content is a bit less, 16-18% and less calcium. Once your girls start laying eggs they will be ready for regular layer feed.
- Layer feed. Layer feed is a balance of protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals and is just what your layer hens need to help encourage good laying for you. It has a similar protein content to the grower feed, but more calcium to help ensure your eggs will be crunchy and crisp.
- Crumble, pellets, or scratch? Crumble is a coarse feed, not as compact as pellets. Pellets are the most commonly used and are little pellets of compacted chicken feed. Scratch is a type of feed full of corn and grains and is not a usual regular feed, but more of a ‘treat’ for your girls.
Organic, NonGMO, or regular feed?
This all comes down to personal convictions and style. I’ll explain the variations in a nutshell.
- Organic feed. This feed, or feed made with ingredients not sprayed by chemicals and pesticides, is usually the most expensive feed.
- NonGMO. This is feed that excludes grains that have been genetically modified to tolerate the heaviest doses of herbicides and pesticides. It does, however, still contain grains that have been treated with both, just at lower dosages. It is a less expensive than organic feed.
- Conventional feeds. This feed can contain grains that have been genetically modified and sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. It is the cheapest feed option available and most grocery store meats come from animals that have been fed conventional feeds.
There are more variations and options out there, but these are the basics, and a simple google search can help you figure out any questions you might have!
For our family, we use predominantly organic feed. Is it expensive? Yes. Has it gotten even MORE expensive recently, yes! Ugh.
But one thing to remember is what they eat will go directly into their eggs. Meaning, if you are going through all the work to keep and raise chickens for eggs, you might want to invest in a more natural, less chemical feed, because that could be a large reason WHY you have chickens in the first place, to have healthier eggs for your family.
Could I start using NonGMO if the prices stay high, or get higher? Since it’s a cheaper alternative, but still better then conventional, Yes! Absolutely.
And if NonGMO or conventional feed is what you can afford. Do it!!! You’re still going to be creating healthier eggs than what you would just grab at the grocery store. So much healthier. Every bit of effort towards a more natural and healthy lifestyle for your family is worth it. Don’t worry if you can’t always make the *best* choice.
Do they stink?
I hear this all the time that ‘chickens stink’. And while yes, every animal smells, (some really not so great) if you keep their coop cleaned and fresh sawdust down you will not have a lot of smell. Just like any other animal that you keep, if you let their pens get full of poo or urine it will start to stink.
I try to stay pretty active and on top of my coop cleanliness, but this winter with the super cold temps I really let it get pretty gross. It WAS getting a bit stinky. This spring we just did an extra deep clean of the coop, and fresh sawdust and we have it smelling GOOD!
Where should I buy my chickens
Most commonly, chicks are bought at local hatcheries and feed stores. Common feed stores near me that have them in the spring are Rural King or Tractor supply. You can also purchase them online as mail order chicks. Our meat chickens that we have ordered for this spring will be coming in the mail from an online hatchery, but all my other chicks I have just bought at my local feed stores.
I’ll talk more about meat chickens in another post, because thats a whole different ball game. But check out my whole chicken instant pot recipe here. So many uses for whole chicken.
Ok, so you bought chicks, now what?
WE ARE ALMOST THROUGH!
Friend, I know this is a LOT of info. 😅
But, my hope is that having this blog post will help not only to inform you, but be a place you can refer back to if needed for information in the future.
My last thing I want to cover is what to do WHEN you buy the chicks. What now? It’s actually super easy to take care of them!
Let me walk you through what I do.
- Brooder box. When you bring your baby chicks home, you’ll want to have a decent sized brooder box for them to stay in. I usually start with just a plastic storage bin that you can get at Walmart. But the big ones! That way they don’t grow out too fast. As they get bigger I usually transfer them in a plastic horse water trough that I have that is not being used. You can also build a brooder box yourself if you prefer.
- Keep them warm. You’ll want to keep them warm for the first couple weeks, especially with a heat lamp near them, as baby chicks can get cold easily, and need to stay warm. At least for a couple weeks until they begin to get more hardy and feather out.
- Bedding. Make sure to grab some bedding or sawdust from the feed store when you bring them home. Put a nice layer down into the bottom of the box, and keep it clean or they can get stinky quick.
- Food and water. Refer up above to the feed section of this post for what to feed your baby chicks, and grab what you need at the feed store! They also usually have little feeders near the chicks you can purchase to put their food and water in.
- Teenager chickens. As the chicks grow, they will start getting more brave and possibly start trying to fly out of their brooder box. You may need to cover your box with chicken wire, and make sure they have enough room to move.
- When can you introduce to the mature flock/ put into your coop? Once your chicks have feathered out and matured, ideally around 10-12 weeks you can begin to introduce them to your current flock. Be on the watch though if you’re introducing to a flock you already have as chickens get the term ‘hen pecking’ for a reason. And the mature chickens may attack the pullets. A little banter and pecking is normal as they get accustomed to each other.
Conclusion
And there you have it! Was that enough information for you? Are you going to join us homesteading with some chickens?
Remember, you don’t have to have a farm to do so. Chickens are such a great way to be more intentional about natural living, and what a fun thing to do as a family.
Do you have chickens? Tell me your favorite breed below!
