(Backyard?) Chickens! Part 1

Connie's Chicken Tips Part One:

1. Let's see, first thing's first. make sure you are allowed to have chickens if you live inside city limits. I personally looked online for several days and found many rules about horses, pigs, cows etc. but not a single line about fowl! So I looked up city hall's number and called! I asked very politely to speak with someone who could tell me if I was allowed to have chickens, and was transferred right over.

2. Build or buy your chickens a home. You'll notice this is step number TWO!!!! (in my opinion) I did not do this, much to my husband's chagrin. I wanted chicks now, and I wanted them to lay eggs yesterday so I had to order them the second I decided, thinking 2 months would be plenty of time to build a home. For our busy family (with an infant at the time) it wasn't. When people say chicks grow fast, they mean quicker than European bullet train! Seriously folks, they go from fluffy balls of cuteness ...

to basically full size in less than two months!!!!

Here you can see the ladies perching on the barely assembled framed walls of what would become their coop and run! I live on the edge of town and there are raccoons, opossums, hawks, and coyotes that all come around here, especially for easy picking like chickens! My girls need protection when we aren't home during the day.

3. Pick out your chickens! As painful as the waiting part is, you can use that time to research and decide on breed(s) of chicken. I had a blast, and difficulties picking my birds. There were so many to pick from and I wanted to try most of them! I settled on regular-sized hens (not bantams, which are smaller) and I wanted all brown eggs & friendly birds that were ok in smaller spaces. I used this website a ton, and ordered my day-old chicks from here. My local farm supplies had several of the varieties I ended up with, but at different times so online was best for my choices.
** the website had a similar disclaimer, but I thought I'd mention it here too, do not open your box for the first time with little eyes around. Meaning, not all chicks make it alive, and it could be very sad if you're small child(ren) had to witness that. I am happy to report all of mine made it to adulthood, and are still with us!

4. Put your chickens in the best place. Now you are going to have to figure this one out, but I'll try to help. They take dust baths to keep clean, so right next to your favorite door or window that is left open all the time won't be your best bet. Gardeners- if you didn't already know, chickens eat bugs, weeds, and fertilize for free! They ALSO eat or trample pretty much everything else. I had huge areas stripped of hostas, bleeding hearts, foxglove, chrysanthemums, eggplant, cabbage, inpatients, well you get the idea. Roses seem to be ok, so if that's all you grow, let 'em roam! Of course if you have a little property it won't be as much of an issue, and I've heard those little garden border/fences/netting can deter them, but while chickens are not smart, they will figure out how to get to where they want to be.

5. Have a comfy sitting area so you can enjoy your new family members! They are endearing, dumb, HILARIOUS pets that can create an ambiance of peaceful relaxation, and country charm like no other!

Stay tuned for Part II, More on breeds, my birds and why I chose them
...even later building the coop/run, where I bought plans, and before/during/after photos
Enjoy! *connie*