What to Expect When You're Expecting Chickens

I spent two years thinking about getting chickens before taking the plunge. Hubby was not keen on the idea but knew it was pointless to argue further when Backyard Poultry magazine started showing up in our mailbox. (He still makes fun of me for reading it cover to cover while I only flip through the pages of The New Yorker to look the cartoons.) Hopefully this blog can help connect chicken-keeping folk, but since I didn’t know anyone else with chickens in town I got most of my information from books and websites. Here’s what I found useful; hopefully, you will, too.

I found most of my information on the web but did read several books as well. (Check the library. Last I looked, there were several “backyard chicken” type books and even one that was about building a coop.) The three books that were the most helpful/memorable were:
1. Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens: if you want precision and depth, you’ll find it here. It covers everything from basic care to grinding your own feed. It may be too much information for a small backyard chicken enthusiast.
2. Chickens in Your Backyard: A Beginner’s Guide Rick Luttmann It is what it claims to be: a beginner’s guide. This is a good place to start and will help you identify what breed of chicken(s) you want, how to build a small coop, and care for your birds.
3. Keep Chickens: Tending Small Flocks in Cities Barbara Kilarski The author is probably known as the crazy chicken lady of Portland. (She has a camera in her henhouse and watches them on television….whoa.) Her book is part informational, part love story of when woman met chickens.

As aforementioned, I subscribe to Backyard Poultry magazine. http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/ It has a good mix of information, an ask-the-expert section, and feature a different breed of poultry (including stinky ducks and gross, dumb turkeys) each month. While I enjoy the magazine, it’s clear that they haven’t decided who their key demographic is. They struggle to cater to everyone along a wide spectrum from urban elites to 10-year-olds in 4H, and it can be disjointed and painful to read sometimes.

Websites
Identifying which breeds you like
Look at hatcheries to see the various breeds and decide which ones you like. I’ve found that my two heavy girls (Buff Orpington and Barred Rock) fair better in the winter than my lightweight Australorp. I know other people with non-winter-adapted birds, but I’d recommend getting cold-hearty birds if you are in Minnesota. Also take a look at the various chicken supplies (feeders, waterers, heat/light sources).
http://www.strombergschickens.com/index.php
http://hoovershatchery.com/html/monthlyspecials.html
http://www.welphatchery.com/
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/1996-12-01/Heritage-Chickens.aspx (Heritage breed that are dying out)

Websites geared towards urban/ backyard chicken keeping
http://www.mypetchicken.com/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/

Caring for your chickens (from day-old chicks to hens)
http://www.mypetchicken.com/backyard-chickens/chicken-care/guide-toc.aspx
http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/Circ477.html
http://www.poultryhelp.com/links.html
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultrySites.html
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/1981-03-01/Ten-Commandments-For-Raising-Healthy-Chicken-Part-II.aspx
http://shilala.homestead.com/sitemap.html

Feeding your chickens
http://www.plamondon.com/faq_feed.html

Butchering chickens (please note that butchering chickens in town is illegal in Nfld)
http://www.gatewaytovermont.com/thefarm/slaughter.htm

Coops and Tractors
http://www.demesne.info/Garden-Help/Keep-Chickens/Planning-Coops.htm
http://www.middlesexdesign.com/chickens/coop.htm
http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/tractors.html