chickens

Best States for Raising Chickens

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Raising backyard chickens is an increasingly popular and mainstream hobby, yet it is not legal in every town and city across the United States. Some states are friendlier toward urban chickens than others. Finding out which state is the best is more challenging than one might imagine. Many states claim to be the most chicken-friendly state in the Union. While raising chickens is legal in all 50 states, rules and regulations vary widely within individual states.

The American South

Many large-scale chicken farms are located in the southern states and there’s no shortage of websites claiming Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas are each the “best” place for chickens. A temperate climate and abundant land seem to be prime reasons to choose the South. What are regulations like in these individual states?

Arkansas seems to be a pretty lenient state for keeping chickens. Fayetteville allows four or fewer chickens, no closer than 25 feet to residences. Each bird must have at least 4 square feet of coop space and an adequate chicken run. Little Rock requires that chickens be at least 5 feet from the owner’s residence and 25 feet from other residences. No more than 4 birds.

South Carolina is another southern state known for its chickens. Yet if you live in Summerville, SC, you are out of luck. Local regulations declare it unlawful for anyone to have poultry of any kind running at large. Aiken, SC, allows chickens so long as they are penned and at least 40 feet from neighboring residences. Rules differ dramatically from one city to the next.

The West Coast

What about America’s West Coast? California is a pretty great place to keep backyard chickens. Many Californian cities permit backyard fowl. The specific numbers and space requirements vary. Irvine allows two hens per household while Albany allows up to 6 (with a permit). In Los Angeles, the number of chickens one can keep on their property is unlimited so long as they are kept at least 30 feet from your residence and 35 feet from other dwellings.

Up the coast in Washington, raising backyard chickens is generally allowed. Up to 8 chickens may be kept on any size lot in Seattle. Olympia allows up to 3 birds while Battle Ground has no restrictions on raising poultry at all.

America’s East Coast

In New York City, one can keep an unlimited number of hens so long as the area is kept clean. Roosters are prohibited. Albany, NY, strictly prohibits farm animals of any kind within city limits and fines violators. Oswego, NY, also prohibits chickens. It appears that quite a few New York cities prohibit poultry, so if you live in that state you must be very careful! New York is certainly not the most chicken-friendly state in the Union.

Boston, Massachusetts, prohibits raising chickens within the city. In Lynn, Massachusetts, one must have a petition signed by their neighbors stating they don’t mind you raising chickens and you can be fined if people complain about your birds. Plymouth, Ma, doesn’t appear to have regulations regarding chickens, nor does Somerville. Northhampton allows up to three hens and no roosters.

No matter where you live, do your research before setting your heart on backyard chickens. The United States can seem like the most—or least—restrictive place to raise chickens all depending on where you live. Good luck!

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Raising Chickens in the UK

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Much news has been reported in recent years about the growing back-yard chicken trend in the United States. Yet the Americans are not the only ones who have brought chicken husbandry back into the forefront of society. Backyard chickens are increasingly popular in the United Kingdom as well. Backyard chickens can be found in England’s biggest cities as well as in the countryside.

If you keep less than 50 chickens, you generally do not have to register with any authority in Great Britain. If you have more than 50 chickens, you’re considered a commercial chicken farmer and must be registered on the Great Britain Poultry Register and DEFRA. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs website encourages people to register voluntarily even if they have fewer than 50 fowl. For details and more information, check out their website at: https://www.gov.uk/poultry-farms-general-regulations.  The Poultry Registry allows the government to quickly and easily contact chicken owners in case of disease outbreak or other important announcements.

Specific localities may have different rules, so if you live in the United Kingdom and wish to raise chickens you must first check with your local government or council to make sure you will not be breaking any rules. Local covenants and house deeds may also contain stipulations about keeping chickens on a property. Do your research and keep it legal.

The Poultry Club of Great Britain approves specific chicken breeds and there are a wide variety of breeds to choose from. Among the more popular breeds are the Ancona, Araucana, Australorp, the Belgian Bantam, Croad Langshan, and the Legbar. Leghorns, Marans, Orpingtons, and Rhode Island Reds are great backyard birds too. Do your research to find the right bird for you.

Raising chickens in the United Kingdom is a fairly easy and straightforward process. Check your local rules and regulations, build a sturdy and protective chicken coop, and order your chicks or eggs. Private breeders, local advertisements, and online poultry companies all sell chicks in the UK. It has truly never been easier to set up your own backyard hen house. Have fun!

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What are Sex-Link Chickens?

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When one orders a batch of young chicks, they can generally expect at least half of the birds to be male. For those who wish to raise chickens for eggs and don’t have the space or desire to deal with roosters, this can be a problem. Out of 25 chicks, who wants to deal with 12 roosters? Sex-link chickens take the worry and guesswork out of raising chicks. If you want to buy five hens, you’re practically guaranteed to end up with five hens should you purchase sex-link females.

Sex-link chicks are cross-bred chicken breeds whose color differs upon hatching according to their gender. Black sex-link chicks are a cross between a Barred Rock hen and a Rhode Island Red or New Hampshire rooster. A Red sex-link chick is a cross between a White Rock, Delaware, Rhode Island White, or Silver Laced Wyandotte hen and a Rhode Island Red or New Hampshire rooster.

The distinct color differences between male and female sex-link chicks takes a lot of guess work out of raising chicks. In large factories, chicken sexing is done to distinguish the genders and separate male from female chicks. An egg farm might use sex-link chickens to distinguish between future egg-layers and unwanted roosters. Unfortunately, chicks of the wrong gender are often killed because they are of little use to the factory or breeder.

A small-scale chicken farmer or backyard enthusiast can benefit from sex-link chickens because they can choose to purchase only hens if they desire a brood of egg-layers. Or, they could choose to add rooster or two and would be certain of their choices. When one orders a regular batch of chicks, it’s a mystery which babies are male and which are female for a while.  Sex-link chicks make their gender apparent from the beginning. If one hatches sex-link chicks, they’ll immediately know the male-to-female ratio and can plan accordingly.

What many people don’t realize about their sex-link chickens is that when they breed, their offspring won’t be sex-link birds. The third generation may possibly have sex-link chicks within its rank. Genetics is a fascinating thing. Sex-link is not a breed, but a hybrid gene combination with interesting results.

Sex-link chickens make fantastic layers, known to produce over 300 eggs annually. Males make great fryers. The birds commonly bear the best traits from their parent breeds and are docile and calm. While not recognized by the American Poultry Association because they are not a unique breed, many people love raising sex-link chickens. These hardy, attractive birds would make an excellent addition to any backyard.

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The Truth About Roosters

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If you order or hatch a batch of chicks, you’re likely to end up with a mixture of hens and roosters. While that may be the natural outcome, many backyard farmers prefer hens to roosters. Some cities even ban roosters! Loud, aggressive, and territorial, roosters don’t offer many of the benefits of their egg-laying, quieter female counterparts. Do you want a rooster in your backyard? Here’s what you should know.

If you want fertilized eggs and therefore a larger flock, a rooster is a vital part of your farm. He’ll also serve as a watchful eye, keeping the hens safe from most predators.  He will cry loudly to warn the flock from dangers. In fact, crowing is one of the rooster’s most distinctive features. Crowing begins around the time he is 4 months old and continues for the duration of his life, multiple times a day. The belief that roosters crow only as the sun comes up is a farce. Roosters crow whenever they feel like it. They crow to claim territory, assert dominance, or just because it appeals to them in the moment. The noisy nature of the rooster is one main reasons why they are not allowed in many towns.

While a rooster is not required for a hen to lay eggs, it’s required for her to lay fertilized eggs that will hatch into new chicks. This is a fantastic benefit. You most likely won’t want more than one rooster for a small flock, however. He’ll provide adequate fertilization and protection. Roosters can be aggressive and territorial, especially toward other roosters. They can also be aggressive toward people and other pets. Their beaks and spiny legs  can do a lot of damage, so be careful! Poultry live in a social hierarchy, and a dominant male will make it well known that he is the head of the coop.

What’s one to do if they end up with a handful of roosters along with their hens? Egg-producing facilities kill males shortly after hatching. There’s no need to be that cruel. If some of your chicks are male, raise them for meat or list them for sale in the classified ads. There may be someone else in your area who would like a rooster. Raising dual-purpose birds will give you excellent layers as well as meat birds. If you order a fair quantity of chicks, expect a good portion of them to be male. It’s best to have a plan beforehand.

Roosters have been vilified in modern culture, but they can be very rewarding and wonderful animals to raise. Do your research, use common sense, and keep the number of roosters in your flock low. Raising roosters is a whole new experience.

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What Exactly Is a Bantam Breed?

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If you’ve spent any time researching chicken breeds, you’ve likely come across the term “bantam.” The tiny Booted Bantam is pretty, sweet-tempered, and makes a great pet. The showy Japanese Bantam doesn’t serve much of a purpose for eggs or meat, but is a great pet and show bird who will happily rid the yard of bugs. The Silkie Bantam is an adorable and friendly ball of fluff. No matter their name or looks, a “bantam” is much smaller than the average chicken. There are some things a backyard farmer should know before choosing bantam birds over standard chicken breeds.

Fully grown bantam chickens are only 1/3 to 1/5 the size of their standard breed cousins. Most standard breeds have a miniature counterpart, but a true bantam has no large counterpart. Their small size makes them an excellent choice for those with limited space. Whether kept for a pet or for production, bantams don’t require as big of a yard or a coop as do their cousins. Bantam hens are frequently broody and can even be used to hatch other bird’s eggs. They are great show birds, love foraging, and lay small, delicate-looking eggs. Some bantam breeds lay up to 150 eggs annually, but their eggs are only ½ to 1/3 the size of regular eggs. Other bantam breeds lay very infrequently. If you’re after egg production, do your research to find the perfect breed before buying chicks.

Named after an Indonesian port city, bantam chickens were a favorite among sailors due to their small size. What better way to obtain fresh food on a long journey? These birds didn’t take up much space and were easy to care for. Among the more popular bantam breeds are the Sebright, Belgian d’Anvers (Bearded or rumpless), Pekin, Rosecomb, Dutch, and Serama. The American Bantam Association currently describes 57 breeds in its Bantam Standard.

Be extra careful for predators, because the bantam chicken’s small size makes them very vulnerable to cats and other backyard prey. Foxes, hawks, coyotes, and wild cats will make an easy meal of your flock; some sources say that the average lifespan of a free-range bantam chicken is 1-3 years. That’s pretty poor odds. Provide your birds with a secure coop and always put them inside at night. In the winter, be sure to provide them with a heat source. Bantam chickens eat the same feed and have the same watering requirements as standard birds.

Bantam chickens are an attractive and loving addition to any backyard. So long as there is a little grass, there’s room for a bantam or two. Active, friendly, and docile, bantam chickens are raised as pets far more frequently than they are for food. Provide them with adequate shelter and protection, nutritious food, space to roam, and social interaction and you’ll be enjoying your bantam chicken’s company for years to come.

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Chickens and Kids—The Ultimate Educational Experience

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Many kids today don’t give a second thought about where their food comes from. Never before has a culture been farther removed from its food source. Fast, easy, and processed is the very definition of the American diet and it is terribly unhealthy. One of the greatest gifts a parent can give to their child is nutritional awareness. Healthy eating habits are perpetuated over a lifetime.  A great way to start is to put children in touch with their food source; raising chickens is one way to do just that.

The Importance of Healthy Living

If you were to ask the average elementary school child where their food comes from, they’ll likely reply, “From the grocery store!” Many kids have never seen a farm outside of picture books. Lack of healthy food choices contribute to the alarming percentage of American children who are overweight. Change must occur and the best place for this to happen is in the home. Bring the kids out to local farms to see how they work and get up close and personal with the animals. Bring them to the farmer’s market and buy a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Move beyond apples, oranges, and bananas. Read books together about healthy eating and where food comes from. Best of all, adopt healthy eating habits as a family and make nutrition a vital part of your life.

How Do Chickens Play Into All This?

Raising backyard chickens puts kids in touch with their food source like nothing else. Caring for and raising a chicken from chick to table is an incredible lesson (although this can be traumatic for some kids, so use caution). Gathering eggs is not only fun, but also incredibly educational. The children learn to care for the birds and respect animals while also learning responsibility through daily chores. Whether they feel like feeding and watering the birds or not, whether they want to gather eggs or clean the coop or not, these things need to be done. These are lessons that can’t be learned through a textbook.

Respecting the Importance of Life

Kids of all ages gain a lot from hatching and raising chicks. Watch the amazement in their eyes as the chicks hatch. Teach them to care for the delicate babies, honing their nurturing skills. Teach them to value life and commit for the long haul as they care for the birds for years. Chickens are perky, funny beings who will capture the entire family’s hearts in no time and they’re not hard to love. They teach kids lessons in patience, respect for living creatures, and animal husbandry.  They’ll likely learn about the frailty of life, too, and the hard truth about loss should a bird die.

Teaching Self-Sustainability Too

Another great lesson to be found in raising chickens is the concept of self-sustainability. Not all food must come from the grocery store. In fact, some food (such as eggs) can easily be raised at home and tastes even better than the conventional store-bought variety. The kids may start wondering what else they can do for themselves.

Don’t Forget The Fun!

Raising chickens can be great fun and chickens can make wonderful pets. If your kids aren’t completely interested in raising backyard birds, however, don’t press the issue. Don’t make the chickens a burden on them hoping they’ll come to enjoy the birds. There’s a chance it’ll work, but more likely they’ll resent the added responsibilities. If the kids are interested in chicken husbandry and are just as enthusiastic as you are, do research as a family. Make sure that the kids are responsible enough and are in it for the long haul. If you get into this wisely, it may turn into one of the most rewarding experiences you’ve ever shared as a family.

 

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Best Chicken Breeds for Beginners

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“We see a thousand miracles around us every day,” American clergymen, writer, and Christian radio broadcaster S. Parkes Cadman once said, “What is more supernatural than an egg yolk turning into a chicken?” It is indeed an incredible feat to witness. Children can learn so much from the incredible miracle that is an egg hatching into a living, breathing chicken. They’ll learn the value and fragility of life, the importance of responsibility, and how to care for and raise a living being. What is better than that?

If you have the space available and the time and energy to devote to raising chickens, incubating eggs and hatching chicks is one of the most meaningful and amazing projects you can do as a family. With proper care and nutrition, your baby chicks will grow into healthy chickens and entertain and teach your family for years to come. Yet before you purchase your eggs and commit for the long-haul, consider this: some breeds are great for the novice while others are much more difficult to raise. Don’t order a specific chicken breed just because you fancy its looks.

When considering breeds, look for a common breed that is friendly, tame, and easy to care for. If you want a layer, choose a breed known for good egg production. If you want to raise your chickens for meat, choose a broiler breed known to gain weight quickly. Orpingtons are fantastic chickens for families, friendly, productive layers, hardy, and full of personality. Plymouth Rocks, Cornish breeds, and Silkies are also great bets. Other popular breeds include Wyandotte, Sussex, Cochin, Brahma, and Jersey Giant. Do your research to find just the right bird for you. There are many great choices!

Then there are breeds that aren’t quite as promising. While one can certainly be successful, these breeds are not as easy to raise to adulthood. Belgian D’Anver and Sebright chicks are difficult to rear. Japanese Bantam Chickens are beautiful but difficult for beginners; its form and plumage is difficult to achieve, 25% of chicks die shortly before hatching due to an allele combination common in the breed, and the breed is not cold-hardy. Aracauna chickens are great to raise, but a lethal gene combination common to this breed means that some of the chicks will die before hatching. This can be pretty depressing.

Certain chicken breeds tend to be aggressive too, making these poor choices for families with children. Breeds known for aggressive tendencies include Crevecoeur, New Hampshire Reds, Dominiques, Old English Game Fowl, and Rhode Island Reds. Tendencies vary by bird, too, and roosters are more likely to be aggressive than hens.

Raising chickens is a great opportunity for learning and well as a healthy way to bring food to your family’s table. Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to purchase the first eggs or fluffy chicks you come across. Looks can be very deceiving. Take your time to find a docile, friendly, easy-to-raise breed and you’ll have a much better chicken-raising experience. Good luck!

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You’re Raising Broilers— But Do You Know the Finer Points of Chicken Meat?

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Photo by: U.S. Department of Agriculture

If you have the space available, raising chickens for meat is an inexpensive and easy way to provide your family with the healthiest possible poultry. A healthy diet, exercise, and sunlight does a bird good. Not only are the birds healthier, but organically raised chickens are fed organic feed, free from the pesticides and chemical fertilizers their factory counterparts dine on. Your backyard birds won’t be on a constant diet of antibiotics either. Your poultry will be less likely to be infected with food-borne-illness causing pathogens, your birds will grow to be leaner and meatier due to exercise and free movement, and your meat will taste better too. What isn’t there to love?

Roasted, broiled, grilled, or fried, chicken is an amazingly versatile meat. Dark meat or light? It’s a matter of preference. One is not truly superior to the other, although there are some nutritional differences. While they have nearly the same amount of calories and protein, light meat is slightly less caloric (21 calories less, according to the US Department of Agriculture Database). Dark meat has twice the amount of saturated fat but they both contain vitamins  B and A and 4% of the recommended daily allowance of thiamin.  Dark meat has double the riboflavin as light meat while light meat contains more niacin. As you can see, both have their benefits. While white meat may be the healthiest choice for the cholesterol conscious, neither is bad for you. It’s really a matter of what one prefers. Americans tend to prefer white meat, while in some Asian countries it is dark meat that is desired.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast is an excellent part of a low-fat, healthy diet. Why? Low in saturated fat, high in protein, and vitamin rich, there aren’t many other meats out there that have so much to offer. A serving of chicken has fewer calories than a serving of beef as well as fewer grams of saturated fat and cholesterol. There’s a reason that nutritionists say to avoid red meat and choose chicken instead. It’s better for you. Raising your own chickens will provide you with the healthiest possible chicken meat. Remember, quality food, space to roam, and sunshine create a great chicken. The healthier the environment, the healthier the resulting meat.

Whether you’re simply considering raising broilers (meat chickens) or whether you already have a flock, backyard farming is an enjoyable and hugely rewarding hobby. Do your research, find the breed that’s right for you, and enjoy.

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Keeping Chickens as Pets

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It’s popular to keep chickens for eggs and for meat, but what about keeping a chicken as a pet? In some countries, this is actually quite popular. Cat, dog, or chicken? Any chicken can ideally be a pet if raised gently, but some breeds make much better pets than others. Keeping a chicken as a pet isn’t much different from regular chicken husbandry, but there are a few things you should keep in mind.

Start From the Beginning

There are few things quite as rewarding from raising a chicken from an egg, or at least a very young chick. One can purchase young chicks online or from their local farm supply store and must keep them in an incubator for the first several weeks. The more you handle them and the gentler you are with them, the more your chicks will trust you and respond well to human touch. Squat down to handle your chicks, don’t make fast motions, feed them from your hands, and make sure that small children don’t run around them or handle them roughly. Teach your children to handle them gently, to feed them, and to treat the birds well. This is an excellent chance to educate your children and sure to create a lasting relationship between your kids and your family’s new pets.

Some Breeds Are Better Choices Than Others

While all chickens can make decent pets, some are naturally better tempered than others. Hens are the best choice and quiet, gentle breeds make the best bets. Bantam chickens are much smaller than regular breeds, making them easier to hold. Looks, coloring, and size are all a matter of preference.

Silkie Chickens make excellent pets and their silk-like feathers make them appealing to hold as well. Docile, soft, and easy to carry, the Silkie Chicken is the ideal pet. They are friendly, especially if they’re been handled frequently from the time they were young. Silkie Chickens also make excellent mothers, so if you want to increase the size of your flock this breed may be just what you’re looking for.

Ameraucana chickens are also popular pets and an added perk is that they lay lovely, colorful eggs. They are known for their unique looks and their gentle temperament. They are not the best egg layers when it comes to quantity, but they are good with children, easy to care for, and even-tempered.

Other breeds that make excellent pets are Cochins, Mille Fleurs, Brahmas, Austerlorps, Sussex, Plymouth Rocks, and Buff Orpingtons. No matter which breed you choose, do your research! Each has distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Keeping Your Pets Safe

Before buying your first chicks, take account of the pets you already have. Dogs and chickens often don’t mix well. Certain breeds, like Jack Russell Terriers, have been bred to kill small creatures. A chasing, nipping dog can easily kill a chicken. Training a puppy to be gentle with chicks and chickens is much easier than training a full-grown dog to do the same things. Even when you have trained your dog, it’s never wise to leave your dog alone with your pet chickens. The results can be disastrous. The same can be said for cats. Keep in mind that many creatures prey on chickens and that you must take extra precautions to keep your pets from becoming another animal’s dinner.

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What Exactly is a Broody Hen?

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You’ve likely heard the term “broody hen” before. It’s well known within the chicken community that some chicken breeds are excellent broody hens while others are terrible. Yet, exactly what does it mean to be “broody?” Is this something man can influence, or is it something that is genetic?

Broody Chickens Generally Make Excellent Mothers

Broodiness is the natural tendency of a hen to care for her flock of chicks. Broodiness comes and goes in cycles; it is not a constant state of being. When a hen “goes broody,” she experiences a strong desire to care for and protect her eggs. She will rarely leave them, rather sitting on them to protect them.

According to James Kash in his January/ February 2013 Backwoods Home Magazine article “Broody Biddies Make Sense on the Homestead,” “Broodiness is an avian behavior that is frowned upon in the world of agriculture.” Why? Broodiness inhibits egg production. If you want a constant supply of eggs, not chicks, broodiness is not productive.

However, broodiness can also be very beneficial. If you’d like to increase the size of your flock, having a broody hen will do this inexpensively. You also won’t have to worry about incubating your eggs, because the hen will do this. Broody hens can maintain your flock, especially if you use some of your birds for meat. Mother hens are also good protectors of their young and teach them helpful skills, such as foraging. She’ll teach them to eat and drink and keep her chicks warm and safe at night.

How Can You Tell If Your Hen Is Broody?

If you suspect you might have a broody hen on your hands, there are a few signs you can look for to make sure. A broody hen will spend a lot more time at her nest or nesting box and will be very protective of it, fluffing up her feathers, pecking, or even making a growl-like sound. Broody hens tend to be irritable. Allow your hens to nest away from other pets and chickens, because they can be quite mean to any animals (or children!) who come too close. A broody hen may only leave her nest to eat, water, or defecate. She may even pull out some of her feathers. Are you seeing these signs in your birds? If so, you’ve likely got a broody hen on your hands.

Be careful, though, because not all broody hens are good mothers. Some will abandon their eggs or young chicks and if this happens, you’ll need a good stand-by brooder or an incubator to keep these chicks alive.

Some chicken breeds, like Cochins, Silkies, New Hampshire Reds, Australorps, Buff Orpingtons, Dorkings, and Old English Games are very likely to become broody. This is a genetic thing and is much more likely in some breeds than in others. Hens cannot be made to go broody. In fact, broodiness is a trait that has been bred out of many chicken breeds because broodiness inhibits egg production and many in the agricultural business consider this a bad thing. The leghorn is an example of a chicken breed that very rarely goes broody.

If you want to increase the size of your flock, choosing a broody breed may be just the answer. Keep in mind that broodiness varies even within a breed and some birds are naturally better brooders than others. With a little bit of research and some luck, keeping broody hens can be hugely rewarding.

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