We got chickens!!!
For as long as I can remember, I have been pestering Cory to get chickens when we settled down into a place of our own and now that we have been in our house for a few weeks, it was the perfect time for our new additions. We chose to buy 6-month old chickens instead of chicks so they were laying right away, we started day 1 with eggs and wouldn’t do it any other way!
I spent the weeks before bringing them home reading about everything I possibly could about raising chickens…I am an experienced cat mom, but I knew NOTHING about caring for chickens. I was trying to soak up as much as I could, but I will tell you that you really will learn as you go with these birds! They are spunky, have the most precious little runs, and you will know if they like something or not…it doesn’t matter how long you spent making or preparing things for them, if they don’t like it they won’t pay any attention to it😂
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I am going to share with you how we prepared for our chicken babies and their progress so far so you can use what we have learned in your own journey! Like I said before, you will learn as you go, but any tips + tricks are helpful as you get started…
City Rules
Since we live in the city, we can only have 6 chickens at a time and we have to be mindful how close their coop is to our neighbors property. Its a good idea to check out the rules in your area so you know if chickens are an option for you or not- you don’t want to get caught in a sticky situation because you didn’t take the time to research the restrictions. We chose to start with 4 chickens so we had room to grow the flock, but also so we wouldn’t be overwhelmed in the beginning with too many, so far we are really happy with the number we have and wouldn’t do anything differently.
Coop
You chicken babies need a coop! A coop is a safe space for them to lay their eggs, sleep overnight, and seek shelter in case of predators. A coop should be well-ventilated, include easy to reach nesting boxes, and have plenty of space for your birds to perch while hanging out.
We chose our coop because we knew we weren’t going to have that many birds, it is what fit in our budget at the time, and it was the best we could find out of the pre-fabricated ones on the market. For us, it was important to have nesting boxes that were easily accessible, a poop board that could be pulled out for cleaning, and a run for their food and water to be stored in. In the future, I would like to convert a large storage shed into a coop so we can easily walk in and so they can have more space, but with anything…we have to work up to it!
There are so many different ways to make a coop, and honestly there are much cheaper options than the route we chose, but the biggest thing you need to do is make sure the space you have for your chickens is safe and fits your lifestyle!
Sadly, our coop isn’t for sale anymore, but I’ve linked some good options below to check out in case you haven’t found the one yet♥️
Free-roaming vs. Cooped-up
This is definitely a question you need to have answered before you bring your babies home. At first, we thought the run on our coop was going to be enough for them to stay in all day and we were going to let them free roam in the evening, but man we were WRONG!
The run on our coop does not have enough space for them to be in for multiple hours during the day, which we learned as soon as we brought them home, so we started letting them roam in the backyard from day 2 and they are happy campers! I worry every day about them, but they are really happy so it makes it easier for this chicken mommas heart to know they would rather be out and about than cooped up. I say a little prayer every time they leave my sight and hope they are kept safe until bedtime counts.
Now, this is a personal choice because it definitely depends on the type of housing you have for them and if you are prone to a lot of predators. If you have a large space for them to stay where they have plenty to hunt and peck for, keeping them in the run isn’t a problem, but if all you have is a small coop and you plan to keep them in there all day, you can count on not having happy chickens. They need room and time to roam, otherwise they will start hurting one another and will be prone to disease. Being cooped up isn’t all that bad, but over time it can hold a lot of negatives.
For us, we live smack-dab in the middle of the city and have many large trees for coverage, so we haven’t had to worry about predators too much just yet (KNOCK ON ALL OF THE WOOD), but I would like to add additional security measures to the yard to keep them safe while they enjoy their roaming time.
I have a pretty set schedule for them and they know it pretty well by now…
I open their coop up at 6 a.m., any earlier and they groan from sleepiness and refuse to get off the roost.
I collect eggs around 10:30 a.m., depending on their schedule I may have to collect eggs later in the day! Right now, they are laying 9 days out of 10 so I check for 3 to 4 eggs a day.
They free roam until we have our frozen morning treat around 11 a.m. (this will change during the school year so I’ll wake them up with a treat instead).
They continue to roam and hunt for buggies until around 5 p.m. when we have our afternoon snack, usually another frozen treat filled with fruit and veggies or food scraps.
Then, around 8:30 or 9 (or when dusk hits), I round them all up for a final bedtime count and lock them up in their coop for the night.
The girls are happy free-roaming, so we are happy! We do all we can to keep them safe, and will continue to do so. You have to make the choice that is right for you, your family, and your chickens and aside from that you create a schedule that works for you and know in your heart it is what’s best!
If you don’t live in a heavily covered area like we do, you can get your babies a chicken tractor that is moveable so they aren’t in their coop all day and have space to roam- here are some great options! You could also build your own.
Feed
This is another important decision you need to make before you bring home your babies. For me, it was important that their feed was soy and corn free! Luckily, the farmer we got them from sells an awesome organic soy and corn free feed so we are able to purchase from him, but you can buy feed online or at your local feed store/tractor supply.
Ultimately, what you feed your chickens will be consumed by you, so it’s important that you buy a feed that you are comfortable with them having. Depending on your budget, you can find pretty much everything under the sun if you take the time to look! Don’t settle for cheap, though…what you put in is what you get out!
Grit and Oyster Shells
Because chickens don’t have teeth, they need grit to help them break down their food. They also need Oyster shells to help add calcium back into their diet that they don’t get in other ways.
Make sure you provide both for them at all times!
You can purchase both at your local feed store, or you can DIY a calcium supplement by baking their eggs shells and using a food processor to grind them up and sprinkle into their feed.
Treats
Depending on the age of the chickens you are bringing home, depends on what you feed and supplement them with.
We let our chickens free range, have their feed available at all times, and have daily treat time! We follow the 90/10 rule to make sure they don’t exceed their daily allotment of treats, and also try to have an array of options for them.
My trick is to freeze their treats in water so when they peck at the treats they are getting hydrated at the same time! With the Texas heat, I have been freaking out about them not getting enough water, so by having multiple ways of hydration it has allowed for less freak outs and more trusting them and that they know what their little bodies need.
Right now they are LOVING tomatoes and watermelon, so I cut them up into little chunks and freeze them in water in a silicone muffin tin and pop a few out when its treat time!
Plus, they love treat time so I can always count on them getting more water then if needed!
Here are some great resources about what to feed and what not to feed your chicken babies:
Feeders and Waterers
I went back and forth about what type of feeder and waterer to get our girls and I finally settled on the RentACoop no waster waterer and feeder. So far, we have LOVED both of them and the girls took to them instantly.
I wanted to make sure there was as little waste as possible so this was the perfect choice! You can also make your own waterers and feeders if you want to DIY it.
Here are more waterers and feeders that would be great choices, as well!
Predators
Chickens are basically every single predators dream. A cat, raccoons, possums, dogs, coyotes, ANYTHING…
You will want to make sure that you have predator-proofed EVERYTHING so your babies stay safe. This means looking for holes in the fence, making sure their coop and run are on solid ground, giving them some cover to hide under if needed, and making sure they are locked up at night.
Chickens can’t see well when its dusk or at night time so its important that you do a head count when you lock them up so you know if any haven’t come back to the coop!
Well, that about wraps it up for now! I hope you are able to use what we have learned to help you on your very own backyard city chicken journey so you can love and take care of your babies well and so they show their appreciation by taking care of all of the buggies in your yard and giving you beautiful, rich, and nutritious eggs!
Don’t forget to subscribe for more chicken content! Also, make sure you check out our girls’ TikTok where they are teaching chicken lovers of the world all about chicken care, low-waste chicken keeping, and more!
Forever a crazy chicken lady,
