Are Chickens Right for you?
This will depend on a variety of factors. Before you head out to your local feed store to procure some little bundles of fluff, before you go online and order you a box of peeps, or wherever else you plan on getting chickens from, consider the below:
1) First and foremost – Are you legally allowed to keep poultry where you live and what are your state and local laws regarding poultry keeping?
This is definitely one of the first questions you should be asking and researching about. It would be awful for you to start your flock only to find out later that they’re not allowed in your area and then have to rehome them.
I often see posts online where someone got chickens, had them for a while, and then suddenly a neighbor complained, and they had to get rid of them. So, one of the firsts steps you should take, and this is probably the singular most important one, is finding out if you legally allowed to own chickens in your area.
If you’re living out in the country then you most likely will not have to worry too much about such regulations, but if you’re like me and currently live within city limits, you’ll want to check your local laws. The easiest way to do this would be by calling your local city or municipal office and talking to a representative there.
You can always try to google the local laws or search on the city website, but in my experience most of these are difficult to navigate and you might have a difficult time securing a definitive answer.
Your local farm and feed store may also be able to provide you the information you need. Often the employees will be chicken owners themselves and they might have insight into the laws in your area.
Another resource would be chicken or local Facebook group. You can join some of these and ask around to see if anyone has any information on the poultry laws in your area.
Each state, city, or town may have different laws regarding the raising of poultry. Besides finding out if you can legally own and raise chickens, you will also want to find out any other stipulations or requirements.
This may include location of coops (are side yards allowed or do they need to be out back), distance away from houses, cleanliness standards, number of chickens, are roosters allowed or not, and any stipulations regarding complaints.
You might be able to get this information at the same time when researching whether or not you can own chickens in your neighborhood.
You’ll also want to check with your neighborhood HOA if you have one or your landlord if you are renting. Remember, the first step to owning chickens (and being able to keep them) is making sure you can legally do so!
2) Why do you want chickens?
It’s important to ask yourself why you want chickens in the first place. Depending on what your answers are, many other decisions you have regarding poultry ownership may be impacted.
Are you wanting them as pets? For eggs? Meat? Are you wanting to delve into self-sustainability or use them as an entry-level farm animal before starting your own homestead?
This “why” will impact a lot of other decisions you make such as how many chickens you need, what breeds you should get, etc.
3) How many chickens do you want (or need)?
After doing some research on local and state laws you should hopefully know whether or not you are to legally allowed to own chickens or other poultry in your area as well as any stipulations that may be included in regulations.
Hopefully, while doing your legal research you also learned how many you can have if there is a limit. In more rural areas there may not be a cap on this, but in a neighborhood within city limits you may only be allowed to keep a couple poultry in total – whether these be chickens or other poultry.
Even if you are able to get a hold of your local laws the answer may not be clear. One source I saw said I could have 6 and another said I could have 8. After talking to a local judge, I was told 8 “sounded about right.” If the law does not clearly state how many you can have you may want to ask around and see how many other people in your area are keeping or contact your local governing offices for clarification.
Circling back to “why you want to have chickens,” the reasons for wanting to keep chickens should affect how many you end up getting. If you’re just wanting a couple chickens to keep as pets and provide some eggs, then just a couple will do.
Depending on the breed of chicken you can be getting 1 egg a day or 1 every other day. Take into consideration how big your family is and how many eggs you tend to go through a week. You can always share extra eggs with your neighbors or family and friends.
You could also consider whether or not you’re wanting to start up an egg business and sell your extra eggs, as well as how much space you have available to house your chickens.
And don’t forget chicken math! You may have heard of this term before, and I assure you, it’s a real thing. Often after getting a few chickens people realize how much fun they are and how easy they are to take care of. 6 initial chickens can quickly become 16, then 60, or even 600!
4) How much can you afford?
When comparing chickens to other animals such as cats, dogs, or even other birds, they are relatively inexpensive. You can buy a chick from a farm store for just a couple dollars (depending on the breed) or you can purchase full grown laying hens from online stores or breeders for about $20 each. You might even be able to get some for free from a friend. Most other animals you’ll be spending a couple hundred to a few thousand dollars just to purchase the animal.
While chickens themselves are extremely affordable, the initial set up and then ongoing costs can add up. You may need to buy a coop to house your chickens in, a pen or run so they can roam freely and safely during the day, feed, containers for food and water, substrate such as sand or pine shavings, medicine or vet visits in the case of sickness or injury, and the list goes on!
This isn’t to say that there aren’t ways to keep these costs down significantly. If you’re handy and have some tools and scrap material on hand you could build your own coop or repurpose an old shed. You can also save on feed by giving your chickens (safe and chicken approved) kitchen scraps.
5) Do you have the space to house chickens and where will you keep them?
Coops and chicken runs can take up a decent bit of room if you’re trying to house them in your backyard. While you don’t have to have a chicken pen/run set up, if you work away from home and want your chickens to have room to roam in a safe environment, then you’ll need some kind of structure for them to do so.
You’ll want to make sure the amount of space you have is acceptable for the number of chickens you get. In general, about 4 square foot per regular sized chicken in the coop area is suggested. You can halve this size for the smaller bantam breeds, or double it for the larger breeds.
Doing so will keep your chickens happier, healthier, and less likely to get into fights.
For the chicken run area you’ll want to double these numbers. About 8 square feet for regular sized chickens.
So if you have 6 chickens, you’ll want a coop that’s about 24 square feet large and a pen that’s about 48 square feet in area.
Continue to keep in mind your local laws. Some might require you to house the chicken coop a certain distance away from your house as well as your neighbors’.
Of course, if you’re living on a couple acres of property you probably won’t need to worry about this one too much 😊.
6) Where will you get your chickens?
The most common places to get chickens are farm supply stores, online hatcheries, and local farms. Each of these options comes with their own pros and cons such as breed options, prices, availability, ease of access, treatment and health of the animals they provide, location, and prices etc.
I highly recommend doing some research and figuring out what’s closest to you and which best meets your needs.
7) How much time do you have?
I always recommend only getting a new pet (or other responsibility) if you know it will not be adding extra stress to your life. We all live busy lives nowadays whether we’re in school, working, taking care of children or other family members, running a household, or any of the other responsibilities we have in everyday life.
Whether or not you find these tasks stressful, we most certainly don’t want to add too much more to the tasks we already have!
However, you’re in luck, as caring for chickens really doesn’t take that much time (depending on your situation and setup). In general, you might spend a couple minutes each day checking on your chickens, filling up their feed and water, spot cleaning, and more.
The most time consuming chicken activity will be coop and pen cleaning. Depending on what kind of substrate you use and how many chickens you keep this could be a weekly task or you may only need to do it a couple times a year.
There are ways to automate you chicken enclosures so that you don’t need to spend too much time on them each day. You could get automatic doors, large feeders with several days worth of feed, self-watering systems etc. This will cost you more money, but will save on time. And time is money, right?
8) How will you protect them?
It’s a somewhat universal principal – that chickens are delicious.
While we may be keeping chickens solely for our enjoyment and as pets, there are many predators that exist in the wild and in our backyards that might try to snack on your birds.
Critters such as coyotes, hawks, racoons, end even domestic house cats can all pose a threat to your flock. Know that when getting ready to purchase some chickens, you’ll also need to make sure you can adequately protect them. Whether you’re out in the country or within a largely populated neighborhood – chicken predators exist.
In order to protect your flock against these predators you need to be prepared to create a living space and environment that is safe. This can be achieved through secure housing, extra perimeter fencing, the use of smaller holed sturdy hardware cloth for the run, motion sensor lights to help scare away predators, etc.
9) Your neighbors and noise levels
Often, when people think of raising chickens they think of the noises they’re capable of making. From the cluck clucks of a hen to the cockadoodle-doing or a rooster, they can definitely come across as a noisy animal.
In general, hens themselves aren’t too noisy… most of the time. They tend to make a decent bit of noise while in the process of laying an egg. Sometimes they’ll make a monotonous bock-bock as they’re preparing to lay and then after they have laid their nuggets that’ll often follow up with an egg song. Most of the time the noisy-ness that comes with egg laying only lasts about 5 minutes.
There will also be times where your chickens are feeling particularly talkative and they make a decent bit of noise for no particular reason. If you have neighbors close by and they’re aware and ok with the fact that you have chickens, you’ll probably be ok. For the most part they’re very quiet when it’s dark out and only make noise during the day.
10) Do you want a rooster and what will you do if you accidentally end up with some?
Roosters can be both noisy and aggressive making them an issue with neighbors and a risk with children. Not all roosters are a menace though. Some roosters can also be relatively quiet and very sweet and friendly!
Roosters can also be greatly beneficial to a flock. They will help tend to and take care of the chickens and protect them from predators. They’re also a necessity if you’re wanting fertile eggs and to grow your flock from your own stock.
On occasion, you may buy chicks on store on online that state they are all pullets, or young female chickens/hens. While chicken breeders do try to sex their chickens as best they can, it’s not always a guarantee and your Henrietta might end up being a Henry.
If you are not wanting a rooster or may not be able to keep them in your area, you may want a plan of action in case you get one unexpectedly.
11) What will you do if you need to leave town or go on vacation?
While chickens do not require a large amount of attention, they do generally require some daily amount of care. Like any other animal you have, you’ll need someone who can take care of them if you decide to go on vacation. However, unlike dogs or cats, you can’t just drop them off at a boarding facility and will more than likely need someone willing to go to your house and check up on them.
Check with those you know and see if there’s anyone around you who might be willing to watch them while you’re away. This can be a friendly neighbor, a friend or family member who lives close by, or a hired pet sitter.
Another option would be to automate your chicken setup so that you can go a couple days without having to take care of them yourself. Automatic coop doors, large feeders and waterers can accomplish this.
12) Access to Feed and Necessities
Another thing to consider before getting chickens is your access to feed for them as well as other products you might need. Not all cities and towns have a farm supply or feed store and chicken food isn’t sold at your average grocery store.
It’s a good idea to know before hand where you can acquire the food and other items you’ll need to raise and take care of your chickens. If a local store is not available to you then you may find yourself needing to drive further to find one or ordering your supplies online.
13) Salmonella
One of the biggest concerns with raising chickens is cleanliness and diseases. Chickens, like all birds, tend to poop (a lot) and salmonella can be a concern. However, in all of my time dealing with chickens and other poultry I have never had an issue and I rarely ever hear or others having an issue with it.
That said, it’s important to not touch your face while and after handling chickens and to wash your hands often and thoroughly. You may also want to have shoes that are only worn in the chicken area and not inside your house.
14) Chicken Illnesses & Injuries
While we always hope and pray that our animals stay fit and healthy 100% of the time, it’s inevitable that at sometime or another you’ll end up with a sick or injured animal. Chickens especially are prone to certain respiratory illnesses and can easily injure their feet and end up with bumblefoot.
It’s a good idea to be informed on what kinds of illnesses may occur, know where you can buy needed medicines, and keep a first aid kit on hand to handle immediate issues. You should also look into local avian vets that can accept chickens as patients.
15) Weather Conditions
Since your chickens will likely be living outside in a coop of some sort, they’re much more likely to be affected by weather conditions than animals living inside the comfort of your home.
Areas that experience severe heat or cold may present challenges for keeping your chickens happy and healthy. Some chickens do better in one condition or the other depending on how much feather fluff they have or the shape of their combs, but severe temperatures could still pose a problem.
If you live in a very hot area you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of shaded areas for your chickens, ample access to water, and will want to provide cold treats in the heat.
If you live in a cold area you’ll need to have a secure and dry coop that has no cold drafts seeping in. You may also want to change your chicken’s diet to help them put on more warm fat and healthy feathers.
Excessive rain or too strong of winds can also pose dangers for chickens so it’s a good idea to consider your weather when designing and building a coop for your chickens.
16) Productivity and Longevity
Some final considerations before getting chickens are understanding their lifecycle and productive capacities. Chicks and young chickens do not lay eggs and often will not until their about 6 months of age (sometimes longer, sometimes shorter). If you’re wanting to have laying hens from the get-go you may want to purchase adult laying hens instead of chicks.
Chickens themselves tend to lay proficiently for the first couple years and then slow down in production after a couple years. If you’re needing a steady supply of eggs then you may need to plan to replenish your flock stock every couple years or so.
Chickens will also lay considerably less during cold winter months when they are getting less hours of light. If you’re needing eggs during winter you could provide supplement light for them; however, it’s often best to let them have a rest period. You could also buy chicks during the
summer. By the time they are adults and laying it will be winter and they should continue laying all winter if it’s their first year.
Most chicken breeds live anywhere between 5 and 10 years. They can of course live longer while some breeds, such as those meant for meat and processing, may only live for only a couple months due to inherent health issues.
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Hopefully you found these 16 considerations helpful! This isn’t an exhaustive list of factors associated with chicken raising, nor is it designed to deter you from getting chickens. It’s merely meant to provide some food for thought and give you an idea of some of the things you should be considering before taking the plunge and becoming a chicken tender!
Also read about my must-haves for raising chickens!
