Why should you get chickens?
It is always a great place to start when considering purchasing farm animals to know why you want them. Do you want eggs? Do you want meat? Do you want them just because they are cute? You’ll want to know why because you will want to head to the store to buy what they need and have the coop area all set up before you bring them home.
This will help you know where to go from here. If you want eggs, then you’ll need to find chickens in your area for sale that are good egg layers. The same goes for meat birds. If you want them as pets, you may be able to find them inexpensively from chicken keepers who only keep their birds for two years and then want new ones that are just starting out laying (pullets).
Ultimate Chicken Supplies List: to Buy or to Build
Next, all the stuff that chickens will need. Like, chicken waterers, chicken feeders, roosts, fencing, indoor run or not? We have designed a free Chicken Supplies List just for you!
Most Important Item On Your Shopping List for Chicken Keepers
#1 Coop
Before you decide on what kind of coop to get, check the local ordinances. See how many chickens you are allowed. In some locations, you are not allowed to have them at all.
See if there are any homeowner association restrictions on coops, their size, dimensions, positioning, or general existence. Ask yourself if your yard has room for a full-size chicken coop.
Some people keep the food and water in their coop, which we do not. We keep our water in the indoor run but keep their food dispenser outside. I usually feed the hens fermented feed when it’s spring, summer and fall, but not winter because it freezes.
Inside the coop you will need room for nesting boxes, one for every four chickens. You will also need room for the roosts for all your chickens. We also have a chicken heater in ours.
Pin Me For Later!
You can build your coop. That is what we did.
#2 Second on the List is Bedding
We use this kind. Pine shavings are good for chickens as well as chicks. You can also use hemp, straw, or other materials.
#3 Nesting Boxes
You can make these or buy them. They should be dark and filled with clean fresh bedding. We made ours as the plan we used told us how to make them. They work really well.
#4 Run
You might consider two types of runs. There are indoor runs(covered run), and outdoor runs. Chickens will want to have a covered area when it is raining consistently or it is very cold and windy. The outdoor run could be enclosed or you could just let chickens free range on your whole property.
Of the two options, an enclosed run and free-ranging have positives and negatives. Let’s talk about the positives of free-ranging first:
- more variety in the chickens’ diet
- Chickens might eat less feed
- Chickens can eat bugs on your property
The negatives are:
- Chickens will be more vulnerable to predators
- Might get into your garden and eat your produce
- possibly hang out on your porch and poop on it
So, we decided that we wanted to protect our birds at all costs. We have neighbors on both sides of us that have dogs. There are lots of cats roaming around and our back lot is butted up against a wooded area. We not only have a fenced-in run but a sturdy bird netting overhead. We still had issues at first with raccoons, so we enclosed both our chicken run and our veggie garden with DIY electric fencing.
#5 Heater
Depending on where you are, you may or may not want a heater. Ours is temperature controlled. Meaning, it only turns on when it gets below freezing. It is this one here. Heat lamps are not a safe option as they can fall and start a fire.
#6 Adult Bird Waterer
We don’t have a rooster or chicks at our homestead, so we will talk about adult bird supplies. We use this one all year round. It gets plugged in inside the indoor run in the winter. We hand it from a nail so that it doesn’t get soiled as easily. And in the warmer months, I also put out another silicone waterer with some Apple Cider Vinegar.
#7 Feeder
We used these feeder cups and attached them to a 5-gallon bucket with a lid. I think we will add another feeding area this spring since we intend to get a few more chickens.
We also have two silicone feeders, I think they are for pigs or ducks. We use them for when I am fermenting the chickens’ feed. I probably will start again soon, as the weather is warming up here. It gets hard to set out the fermented food and then watch as it gets frozen. The chickens get it all over their beaks and it freezes onto their combs sometimes.
This is our post on How to Ferment Chicken Layer Feed.
We like this food here. We tried the other organic variety but it was more powdery and less crumble. Sometimes, we will get the Chicken Scratch, but it’s not necessary. I read somewhere that if you give them too much, it can cause them to peck each other more.
#8 First Aid
You never know when you might need to address a health issue with your chickens. Electrolyte solutions are good for when your chicken isn’t eating or is feeling bad. Your chicken might need some antibiotic or wound-stopping spray
Check out our guide for the full list below! Many items you may never need and others you will definitely need. It might be good to just have some bandages, gauze, and iodine for emergencies. Other items you can get as things come up.
#9 Calcium supplements
Here’s our article on Feeding Your Chickens Eggshells.
Some bird owners will tell you to give your chickens oyster shells or other such items. We just bake our eggshells, crush them, and give them to the hens free choice in a container. It saves money and it’s the healthier way to go. We also use grubs occasionally.
#10 Other Items to Consider
You might consider getting them an electric chicken door closer. We got ours cheap from M@Cdeals. It is a little finicky, but it finally closes. They are nice when you are out, on vacation, or other some such reason.
Ours works by a timer, you just set it for the time in the evening and in the morning. That way you can change the time as the seasons change.
And chicken toys. These are good for when their outdoor run is totally covered in snow. You can find our ideas here. Plus, you can make them some yummy treats when it’s cold and they don’t want to step foot in the snow. Game-changer for bored chickens. Here’s how to treat them with an easy DIY Flock Block!
Things to Consider Before You Bring Chickens Home
How many chickens will you have?
It is recommended that you have no fewer than 3 at a time because chickens are such social animals.
We have 6 chickens right now, with the thought that we will get several more soon. They are addicting. We receive about a dozen eggs a week.
Chickens are most productive in the first two years of their life, and then their production drops off. Some chicken owners sell theirs at this point and purchase pullets(young chickens ready to start having eggs).
Each chicken needs about 3 square feet of room in the coop and about 10 feet in the run to be happy and healthy.
We don’t allow our chickens to free-range but sometimes we allow them to be outside the outdoor run if we will be outside for a while. Just give them the most room you can allow. Overcrowding will encourage them to peck each other.
Chickens aren’t the cheapest animals you can raise but they aren’t the most expensive either.
Do the math to figure out if you can afford them. They might cost around $500-$700 to get started but will cost very little each month. Especially, if you ferment their feed and supplement them with kitchen scraps and garden produce.
Tell us if you have chickens or are considering them. What is your biggest aggravation? What are your favorite parts of being a chicken keeper?
Blessings,
Kimberlee
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