Farm

We stress-bought eight tiny chicks before the COVID-19 egg shortage. We thought we'd have more time at home to raise them, and they would solve our egg shortage long term. We found online resources on how to raise backyard chickens that broke down the process step-by-step and helped us plan how much time and effort was needed to raise chickens quite easily.

How often do chickens lay eggs? You might have a mental image of a hen sitting on a bunch of eggs, but does she lay them all on the same day? And does a hen produce eggs consistently all year long?

We stared at shelves labeled with egg price tags but no eggs. Eggs are an essential food for many people, and now there weren't any available since the COVID-19 social-distancing advice began. The day before the shelter-in-place became a requirement, my husband and I ordered six chicks. My thinking? “If we're stuck at home for weeks or even months, we should work on growing a potential food source."

Perhaps you're about to start raising chickens, and you've decided to save some money by building your chicken coop. Maybe you've had chickens in the past, but now you're ready to build the coop you've always wanted. Either way, you have great options! Check out these ideas and consider a few points while planning the coop of your dreams.

So, you  and watch them grow, you might wonder just how long until they grow up and begin to lay eggs for themselves? Besides the enjoyment of keeping hens as pets, the goal of many small-scale chicken owners is to obtain fresh eggs throughout the year. Happily, you shouldn't have to wait too long.

Baby chicks! Even if your goal is to eventually own a flock of egg-producing hens, there is still something delightful about raising young chicks from "scratch" (pun intended). While some hens are willing to hatch and raise their own chicks, let's assume you're raising the baby chicks yourself—either chicks you've purchased or chicks from fertile eggs that you've hatched in an incubator. No matter how you got them, raising chicks is a rewarding experience. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind.

Once upon a time, keeping chickens was much more common than it is now. Back when most families owned a horse and perhaps a dairy cow or two, it wasn't unusual to have a small flock of chickens as well. Because of this, a basic knowledge of chicken care was woven into the fabric of American life. Today, there is renewed interest in keeping chickens, but you might have questions about the basics that you didn't learn from your parents or grandparents: How much work are chickens? What might it cost to get into keeping chickens?

If you're raising chickens, one of the first questions you'll ask is, "How much space do my chickens need to be happy?" The ideal size of your chicken coop will depend on a lot of factors. How big are your chickens? Are they fully grown? Will they have an outdoor run? In general, it's better to provide too much space for your chickens rather than too little. Chickens can become a little cranky if they're cooped up too close for too long.