Thinking about backyard chickens? This guide gives you the big ideas from our book, Raising Chickens for Beginners, in plain language, one step for each of the book’s 7 chapters. The book walks through every step in detail.
Jump to: 1. The basics · 2. The coop · 3. Routines · 4. Feeding · 5. Health · 6. Happy hens · 7. Beyond the backyard
Step 1: Understand the basics
📖 From Chapter 1 of Raising Chickens for Beginners
- It’s about more than eggs. Chickens turn kitchen scraps into eggs, eat garden pests, make manure for compost, teach kids responsibility, and are a natural stress reliever.
- Know the real costs. There’s no such thing as free eggs. A coop can run from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. Chicks are often $3 to $5, and laying hens up to about $30. Budget for feed, bedding, supplements, and the vet.
- Know the time. Daily chores take under 10 minutes, plus a weekly coop clean.
- Pick beginner-friendly breeds. Rhode Island Red, Sussex, Plymouth Rock, Australorp, Orpington, Wyandotte, Leghorn, Silkie, Cochin, and Brahma are all forgiving for beginners. Bantams are great for small spaces, but their eggs are smaller.
- Plan the space. About 3 to 4 square feet per chicken inside the coop, and about 10 square feet per chicken in the run. More is better.
- Check the rules and be a good neighbor. Many cities limit the number of hens, ban roosters, or set distances from neighbors’ homes. Keep the coop clean and quiet, share eggs, and invite neighbors for a coop tour.
Step 2: Design and set up your coop
📖 From Chapter 2 of Raising Chickens for Beginners
- A coop has three jobs: shelter from the weather, a safe place to roost and lay, and protection from predators. Every coop needs nest boxes, roosting perches with room for the whole flock, a run, and good ventilation.
- Buy or build. A ready-made coop saves time. Building your own lets you customize it. Use untreated wood for the frame and exterior-grade plywood for the walls and roof.
- Choose the spot. Pick a spot with some shade and shelter from the wind, on higher ground so it doesn’t flood.
- Predator-proof it. Use hardware cloth, not chicken wire. Bury it about 12 inches deep and extend it a foot outward. Cover the top of the run against hawks and owls. Use spring-loaded locks or padlocks, since raccoons can open simple latches. Inspect for weak spots every month.
- Design for easy cleaning. Dropping boards, easy-access doors, and a layout you can scrub out quickly make upkeep painless.
Step 3: Build daily and seasonal routines
📖 From Chapter 3 of Raising Chickens for Beginners
- Every day: let the flock out, give fresh water and feed (morning and late afternoon), check each bird, collect eggs, and close the coop at night.
- Every week: replace soiled bedding, and wash the feeders and waterers.
- Winter: add bedding and change it often, because wet bedding freezes. Keep the coop ventilated but draft-free, and use a heated waterer. Check combs and feet for frostbite, and coat combs with petroleum jelly in cold snaps. A coop heater or heat lamp is only for very cold climates, and only used with great care, since it can be a fire hazard.
- Summer: provide shade, plenty of cool water, and electrolytes. Frozen veggie treats help the flock beat the heat.
- Eggs: collect daily. Don’t wash eggs until you’re ready to use them. Brush dirt off with a dry cloth instead. Refrigerate them pointed end down, where they’ll keep 3 to 5 weeks. To check freshness, use the float test: fresh eggs sink and lie flat, and eggs that float should be thrown out.
- Make it a family affair. Little kids can collect eggs. Teens can keep the records, or track them in an app.
Step 4: Feed your flock well
📖 From Chapter 4 of Raising Chickens for Beginners
- Layer feed is the foundation. Look for quality feed, such as organic feed with the USDA seal. Feed at the same times each day.
- Calcium for strong shells. Laying hens need lots of calcium. Sprinkle crushed oyster shell on their food, or set it out so hens can take what they need.
- The 10% treat rule. Treats such as mealworms, berries, pumpkin, squash, and greens should be about 10% of the diet. Give them in the late afternoon. Provide grit so chickens can grind anything besides feed.
- Never feed: chocolate, dried beans, avocado, or anything moldy. Onions and garlic are okay only sparingly. Skip salty foods and coffee grounds.
- DIY feed is an option. The book’s simple layer mix is 30% corn, 30% wheat, 20% peas, 10% oats, and 10% fish meal, plus about 2% limestone or oyster shell and a poultry vitamin premix. Use it within a month.
- Use waterers that stay clean. Nipple or cup waterers keep water cleaner and waste less than open dishes.
- Adjust feed through the year. Give more protein during the fall molt. In summer, ease off protein and add electrolytes.
Step 5: Keep your flock healthy
📖 From Chapter 5 of Raising Chickens for Beginners
- Biosecurity first. Quarantine new birds for at least 30 days. Keep a pair of coop-only shoes, and ask visitors to wash their hands and cover their shoes.
- Prevent problems. Ask your vet about vaccines (such as Marek’s and Newcastle) and a deworming schedule.
- Molting is normal. Each fall, hens drop old feathers and usually pause laying. Boost protein, keep stress low, and handle them gently.
- Fight parasites naturally. Keep the coop clean, use food-grade diatomaceous earth in the bedding, plant lavender, mint, and marigold, and give the flock a dust bath. Crushed pumpkin seeds are a natural dewormer.
- Know the signs of illness. Watch for a hen that hides or is lethargic, sits hunched with ruffled feathers, has swollen or cloudy eyes, has bloody or watery droppings, or shows changes in appetite or laying.
- Set up a sick bay before you need it. Choose a quiet, warm, ventilated spot with its own feeder and waterer. Warm mash and electrolytes help a sick bird recover.
- Call the vet for a bird that can’t stand, has seizures, has trouble breathing, has persistent diarrhea or swelling, or lays blood-stained eggs. Find a poultry vet before an emergency.
- Keep a natural first-aid kit: lavender oil, aloe vera, apple cider vinegar, honey, bandages, antiseptic, a syringe, electrolytes, and a towel, with a list of what each is for.
Step 6: Raise happy, productive hens
📖 From Chapter 6 of Raising Chickens for Beginners
- Learn their language. Soft clucking means a content hen. Loud, rhythmic clucking is the egg song. Sharp squawks mean danger. Insistent calls often mean the feeder is empty.
- Respect the pecking order. Add extra feeders and waterers so low-ranking hens can eat. Introduce new birds slowly: first let them see each other through a fence, then allow short supervised visits.
- Enrichment prevents trouble. Hang a cabbage, add branch perches or ladders, toss in leaves or straw to scratch through, and set up a dust bath of sand and ash.
- Keep stress low. Avoid overcrowding, keep a steady routine, put the coop somewhere quiet, and handle birds calmly from the time they’re chicks.
- Light drives laying. Hens need 14 to 16 hours of light to lay steadily. If you add light in winter, put it on a timer in the early morning, never late at night.
- Hatching your own? You’ll need a rooster for fertile eggs. Choose between an incubator and a broody hen, and plan for every chick you hatch, roosters included.
Step 7: Go beyond the backyard
📖 From Chapter 7 of Raising Chickens for Beginners
- Chickens are good for you. The daily rhythm of care gets you outside, keeps you moving, and calms the mind.
- Chickens and gardens go together. Chickens scratch, aerate the soil, and eat pests. A movable chicken tractor spreads the benefits around your garden.
- Compost the manure. Layer about 4 inches of browns (leaves, straw, old bedding) with a thin layer of manure. Keep the pile as damp as a wrung-out sponge and let it heat to 130–150°F. Turn it every few weeks. It’s ready in 3 to 6 months.
- Save water. Collect rainwater in covered barrels, use nipple waterers, and fix leaks quickly.
- Share the surplus. Give eggs to neighbors, barter for honey or jam, donate to food banks (check their rules first), and give compost to community gardens.
- Find your people. Start a local chicken club, organize coop tours, and join online forums. Check online advice against reliable sources.
Get the book
Everything above comes from Raising Chickens for Beginners, our 7-step guide to coops, feeding, healthcare, and a happy flock. Prefer chicken keeping with a faith perspective? Faith-Inspired Backyard Chicken Raising pairs the same practical guidance with scripture and a message from Pastor Allen R. Colombo.
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This guide shares general backyard chicken care. For a sick or injured bird, please contact a veterinarian who treats poultry.
