Spring Chickens

As we were finally getting somewhat settled into our new home in the redwoods, we decided it was time to get a new flock of chickens so we could enjoy farm-fresh eggs again. We were no strangers to this experience, having had a few flocks at our previous home. Our new place already had an existing coop, although it does need some work to make it sturdy and secure. We cleaned it out, made sure there were no holes in the wire, and decided to upgrade it down the road when we had the extra time—for now, this would work.

Because we had so many projects still going on with our 150-year-old farmhouse, I was tempted to seek out chickens that were already feathered enough to immediately start living outside rather than starting from chicks again. But when Emmy’s class raised some chicks in their classroom, her adorable pleading eyes (joined by Karissa, of course) won me over—and trust me, I did ask if those chicks were for sale, but they already had a home they were going to. So, on a Friday in the middle of May, off to Tractor Supply we went.

Having six laying hens in the past seemed to provide the perfect amount of eggs for our family, so that was my goal. Then Lane reminded me that the last flock we’d started ended up resulting in three roosters, an unusual amount of males. It’s difficult to tell the gender of a chick until they start filling out with feathers, so hoping to have at least six hens when all was said and done, we decided to get nine chicks this time: four Blue Plymouth Rocks (gray), three Ameraucanas (black and tan/golden), and two Golden Sex Links (golden).

Freshly Hatched to Four Weeks Old

Chicks can’t self-regulate their body temperature until they are fully feathered between five and six weeks old, which means they must live inside under a heating lamp until then. Since we do not have a garage here and neither my barn nor Lane’s shed have electricity, they got to live in our yet-to-be-remodeled master bedroom. They can be very stinky, especially cramped in a smallish space together for over a month, so we regularly cleaned out their tub and filled it with fresh wood shavings.

Like all creatures, chickens go through an awkward teenage phase. I feel like this happens when their baby cuteness begins to fade around four weeks old. At that point, they are getting more feathers, though they aren’t fully feathered quite yet, making them look scraggly and mangy.

Six Weeks to Nine Weeks Old

When our chicks finally reached six weeks old toward the end of June, they were feathered enough that we were able to put them outside during the day. We kept them safely locked in the coop and run (a contained area secured with chicken wire) so no hawks, cats, or other critters could wander in to take advantage of the immature chickens. Being coastal, we also often have a wind that often picks up at night. For both of those reasons, we continued to bring them in out of the wind and under the heat lamp at nighttime for a couple more weeks, but by two months old, we felt comfortable letting them stay in the coop and run full time.

Of Fencing and Flight Feathers

Now it was time to secure the pasture fencing so the chickens could free range when they were fully grown. Lane got to work making sure there were no holes in the horse fencing large enough for the chickens to pop through and get loose. When that project was complete, we clipped their flight wings. Chickens are flightless birds, but they can still get some decent air when they want to—enough to pop over a fence.

Clipping the flight feathers is a painless process and keeps the chickens safe by ensuring they don’t get out of their protected area where dogs, cats, or other wild critters could wander in and get ahold of them. The horse pasture is secure from most threats on the ground, leaving only a few potential predators like hawks and raccoons. Fortunately, these predators mostly stay away with the day activity of the horses sharing their space or us humans being out there, and at night the chickens are locked safely in their coop and run.

When all of that was done and secure, the chickens were four and a half months old and ready to roam the pasture.

Eggs!

We expected the hens to start laying eggs in the next month and a half, when they reached six months of age, but they surprised us and began laying a couple weeks later in October!

Of course, I had just bought a bunch of eggs from Costco. Through our experience with having chickens in the past, we learned to expect about one egg every other day per chicken. So pretty soon, we had eggs running out of our ears! Did I mention that out of the nine chicks, we ended up with zero roosters? Yep.

We shared eggs with some of our neighbors, friends, and family, who were all delighted. But those chickens just kept producing. Chickens typically slow down production in the wintertime—the more sunlight they get to enjoy, the more eggs they produce, and vice versa. But even once the end of November drew near, they were still giving us around four to six eggs a day.

I started hard boiling a dozen at a time, which Emmy and Karissa loved. Lane and I got creative with egg-themed breakfasts. And I planned to make some egg salad sandwiches and deviled eggs too. But there are only so many eggs a girl can eat!

Then it hit me. With so many eggs and so little time to eat them all, why not sell some of them to help sponsor the feed, scratch grains, and meal worms the chickens go through? I advertised four dozen eggs available for sale in a local for sale or trade group on Facebook and they sold within an hour. We may not have enough eggs to spare to have regular clients, but everyone loves farm-fresh eggs, especially when the chickens are well taken care of and allowed to free range, so I have no doubt that whenever we have an abundance, a simple post online will garner some funds for more chicken feed, while we get the pleasure of enjoying a homesteading lifestyle.

Are You Thinking of Getting Chickens?

If you’re considering raising chickens of your own, check your local town/county regulations. Most towns allow up to six backyard hens (no roosters), more if you’re in the country or have some land. The more space your chickens have to roam and find their own sources of food, the less feed you will have to buy and the happier they will be. Free-ranging chickens are also known to produce stronger shells with richer-colored egg yolks. Overall, it is an enjoyable process with fairly simple maintenance and a golden result within an eggshell.

Most farm supply stores will have chicks for sale in the spring. You can buy them online any time of the year, but they tend to do best with the warmer weather. You will need a heat lamp and bulb, a feeder and waterer, wood shavings for bedding, and a container large enough for them to live in for about six weeks. Keep in mind that chicks grow rapidly, so even if they fit for now, they will need a good amount of space toward the end of that period, not to mention you want something deep enough that they can’t jump out (alternatively, you could make a breathable lid). Special chick feed is often medicated to prevent diseases as they develop. Do not give them scraps or anything else during this time as they aren’t developed enough to properly chew and digest it.

When your chickens are fully grown, you will need a coop and run large enough to house them. These come premade in all shapes, colors, and sizes, or you can build your own custom coop and run. You will also need layer feed (our hens have always preferred crumbles to pellets), scratch grains, a larger waterer and feeder, and more shavings for bedding in the coop. We also get dried meal worms and use them as an occasional protein-packed treat. All of these things come in countless options, so do your research, see what your local feed store carries, and make the choice that is best for you.

For such a low maintenance animal, nothing beats the farm-fresh eggs coming from happy free-range chickens!