Getting Started

With Chickens:
The Ultimate Guide
 Getting Started with Chickens:
The Ultimate Guide
by Justin Rhodes 



In this ebook, I’ll answer 18 of the most common questions asked for getting started with
Chickens. From sourcing your supplies to picking the right breed, this is the ultimate “go
to” guide for getting you off the ground and running!

What Do Chickens Need?

• Housing: Can be mobile and/or permanent

such as a chicken tractor or coop. Inside
spacing requires at least 1 square foot per
chicken if they have access to the outdoors. If
they’re confined 24/7, I’d offer a minimum of
3 square feet per chicken. Housing should in-
clude nest boxes for laying eggs and perches
for them to sleep on. If your chickens sleep (and poop) in their nest box, you’ll have to
create a “nest blocker” to place in front of the nests in the afternoon (after they’ve had
time to lay their eggs) to prevent them from going into the nest at night. Do
this for a couple of weeks to break the habit, then it shouldn’t be necessary
anymore.

• Fencing: Can be mobile and/or permanent.  Plan for at least 3 square feet

outside area.

• Waterer: Large enough to provide about 1 quart of water

each day for every four chickens.

• Feed: Plan on ¼ – ⅓ pound of feed a day per chicken. If

possible, source an organic mix or at least non-GMO. Since you’re just
starting out, I suggest a commercial pre-mix available at your local feed
store and table scraps. In the future, you may want to experiment with

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more creative food sources like the garden, worms,
other farm products like milk, veggies, etc.

Certainly don’t get medicated feed. Medicated feed (and

vaccines for that matter) were developed for industrial
chicken farming where there is absolutely no natural ap-
proach to chicken raising. Medicated feed is designed to
prevent Coccidiosis which only occurs in extremely
stressful situations and through bad genetics. This prob-
lem should not occur when using the clean and natural methods that I teach.

• Grain Feeder: Large enough to hold a day’s ration for your flock.

• Feed Pans: Large enough to hold any liquid feeds, like milk.

• Grit: These are small rocks/stones the chickens will eat to help break down
their food.

• Dust Bath: An open box filled with dust for the chickens to
“bathe” in to keep off irritating critters. Something around 2’ x 2 ’x 16” will do. It
doesn’t have to be exact; anything around this size is good.

• Calcium: You’ll need to provide calcium, preferably by

crushing their eggs shells and feeding them back to the chickens.
 You may have to supplement with oyster shells or store bought
egg shells from time to time.  Add the crushed egg shells to your
kitchen scraps or offer them free choice in a feed pan.  Plan for 1
pound of crushed shells per 100 pounds of feed.

• Brooder: For starting (first 3 weeks) chicks.

• Bedding: For their nest boxes.  Wood shavings, straw, and paper

shredding material work great for this.

• Deep Bedding: For the floor of their coop.  At least 8” of organic car-
bon material like leaves, wood chips, straw, hay, etc.

• Brushes: Hard bristle brushes for cleaning waterers, feeders and

pans.

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Where Do I Get What Chickens Need?
Housing:

◦ Buy new chicken tractors or coops online.

◦ Buy used chicken tractors or coops on Craigslist.

◦ DIY plans and ideas for tractors and coops.  Here are
some online plans:

▪ Harvey Ussery’s A-Frame

▪ Play Haven Farm Tractor

▪ BackYardChickens.com Plans

(Note: These are the tools I actually use and truly suggest. You may like to know that some of the links are affiliate links,
which means I’ll get a commission if you purchase)

• Fencing: I suggest using mobile fencing until the tractor/coop has

been in the same spot for 3 years. I’ve been using Premier 1 fencing
for years. It’s very high quality and will last for years!

• Waterers: Find these used on Craigslist, new on Amazon, or at

your local feed store. I like Miller Manufacturing. Do not use galva-
nized material as it tends to rust and can harm your chickens.

Sizing recommendations:

Small – 1 quart (enough for 4 chickens)

Medium – 3 gallon (up to 45 chickens)

Large – 5 gallon (up to 75 Chickens)

(Note: These are the tools I actually use and truly suggest. You may like to know that some of the links are affiliate links,
which means I’ll get a commission if you purchase)

• Feed, Grit and Calcium: Purchase from a local feed store or buy online. You’ll have to
call around for organic feed or see if your local store will special order the feed for you. You
can source the grit from creeks and you can crush up egg shells for calcium.  Chickens
that are allowed to free range may be able to find enough grit on their own. You can cer-
tainly start feeding your food scraps right away, and you’ll soon learn more creative food
options.

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• Brooder: Buy used on Craigslist or new on Amazon.
 You can also DIY out of cardboard, plastic bins or wood.
 For more info, see the question below, “How do I get
started?”

• Feeders: Miller Manufacturing has small and large feed-

ers for grain, feed pans for your supplements (egg shells,
grit), and liquid feeds like milk.

(Note: These are the tools I actually use and truly suggest. You may like to
know that some of the links are affiliate links, which means I’ll get a commis-
sion if you purchase)

How Much Do Chickens Cost?

• Housing – DIY from scraps for $0 or purchase housing from $200 to $2,000.

• Fencing – DIY from pallets or other scraps for $0 to $164.  A

 for a role of Premier One electric fencing costs $156 – $204.
Electric fence energizers cost between $115 and $800.

• Waterers – Miller Manufacturing has waterers between $3.83

and $52.

• Feed – $0 – $34. $34 is the price of an organic pre-mix 50 lbs

bag. You can certainly feed your chickens for free by free rang-
ing, offering compost, food scraps, growing worms, etc. Learn
how I cut my chicken feed bill 100% by reading my article here.

• Grit – $0 – $1 a pound.

• Calcium – If you don’t do egg shells, oyster shells are about $15 for five pounds.

How Much Work Are Chickens?

The time you spend taking care of your chickens will vary based on the size of your opera-
tion, your experience level, and other factors.  General set up can take one hour to one
week depending on how much you opt to purchase and how much you want to do your-
self.  To give you a general idea of daily requirements, below I’ve included my current daily
chore routine:

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1st thing in the morning (less than 15 minutes):

• Feed chickens kitchen scraps.

• Wash and fill up the waterer.

• Give chickens the daily ration of sprouted grains.

• Give chickens the daily ration of food scraps from the health food
store.

• Clean the feed pan and fill with cow’s milk (when available).

• Let chickens out of their housing.

• Remove the nest blocker.

Afternoon chores (less than 10 minutes):

• Throw out an afternoon serving of food.

• Collect eggs.

• Put in the nest blocker.

• Add nest box shavings when necessary.

After dusk chores (less than 5 minutes):

• Close up the chickens in the tractor/coop

• Make sure the electric fence is working and adjust as needed

Once a week chores:

• When on pasture, move my chickens once a week (30 minutes).

• When tilling, move them every 4-8 weeks (30 minutes).

• When on compost feeding system, turn the 4 compost piles each week (2 hours).

• If systems aren’t mobile, clean out manure or add carbon material to floors and outside
run (1 hour).

• When the hens are broody, save eggs and “set hens”. (15 minutes).

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Once a year chores:

• Butchering (a day and a half counting setup and cleanup).

How Many Eggs Will a Chicken Give Me?

Four to six eggs per week, depending on the breed.  A good dual-purpose breed (suitable
for both eggs and meat) like the Black Australorp will lay about four eggs per week and a
single-purpose egg-laying breed like the White Leghorn can lay up to six eggs per week.

When Do Chickens Start Laying Eggs?

Pullets (female chickens younger than one year) will generally start laying eggs when they
are around five months old.  

How Long Do Chickens Lay Eggs?

Hens (female chickens older than one year) will lay eggs for their entire lifespan of about
eight years.  However, they will slow egg production dramatically (up to 50%) after the two
year mark. I recommend butchering your laying hens in the fall after their third summer.

How Many Chickens Do I Need?

3 Things to consider to determine flock size:

1.) Discover your goals:

• Do you want eggs? If so, how many eggs do you need per week?

• Do you want meat? If so, how many pounds do you need per year?

• Do you want your chickens to work?

• Do you want your chickens to reproduce by themselves?

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Make the connection to determine flock size ...

Eggs 

The chicken breeds that I suggest in the next answer below lay at least four eggs per
week.  They start laying around five months and produce until they are about 2.5 years old.

Once you know how many eggs you need over a certain period of time, you can easily cal-
culate how many hens you need.  For example, let’s say you need two dozen (24) eggs per
week.  If one hen produces four eggs per week, then you’ll need six hens!

Meat 

The dual-purpose (good for eggs and/or meat) chicken breeds I suggest are going to
weigh around 3-4 pounds each after you’ve butchered them, and they’ll take about 16
weeks to mature. If your family wants to eat a whole chicken once a week, or roughly 3.5
pounds of chicken, you’ll need to raise 50 chickens.  Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t
have the capacity to raise 50 chickens.  In fact, I wouldn’t suggest it at first. Start small,
with maybe 12-15.

Different ideas for raising your own chicken meat:

• Only order roosters, as they can be much cheaper (most people want hens, so there’s an
excess of roosters).

• Consider free ranging, or at least offering extensive forage to a meat production run.  The
birds I suggest take much longer to mature than an industrial standard Cornish Cross.
 However, they can make up for that shortcoming in their ability to forage if you take advan-
tage of it.  The Cornish Cross is extremely limited in comparison and will rely on you for at
least 85% of its feed.

• Take advantage of a dual-purpose breed.  This is my favorite approach as I believe it’s

the most advantageous for the self-reliant homesteader.

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Here’s how it works:

Let’s say you want a flock of 12 laying hens, but you’d also like to grow some for meat. In
this case, you would buy a straight run (which means they haven’t separated out the roost-
ers) of 24 chicks.  Chances are that half of them are males and the other half are females.
 At about 4-5 months your hens start to lay and you can butcher the roosters. After those
first hens have had two summer seasons of laying, you butcher them and they can be re-
placed with an up and coming batch. That up and coming batch will also be approximately
half roosters, so not only do you have the roosters for meat, you have what we call a “stew-
ing hen, which is all you “old retired ladies”.  Because she’s older, the meat is tougher and
will need to be cooked in a slower manner (stews, soups, etc.).

How I produced “organic” chicken for 67 cents a pound!

One year a local breeder friend had some extra chicks she couldn’t sell, so she donated
them to me.  I thought I’d run an experiment on those little guys. From day one, I let them
range in a bottomless cage in my yard.  When they were 4 weeks old, I let them com-
pletely free range.  I fed them organic commercial grains for the first eight weeks of their
lives, then I allowed them to get all of their feed off of the land. When I butchered them, I
was amazed: the chickens weighed more than previous grain fed batches I had done!

2.) How experienced are you?

I recommend starting small and going from there. Here’s why…

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Starting small:      

* Learning curve: If you’re just starting out, it’s better to get the learning curve out of the
way with a small number.  Smaller operations are much easier to manage and you have
much less to lose when you make mistakes.  If you have a big need for eggs and meat,
don’t worry about meeting those needs 100% right away.

* Self sufficiency: It’s much easier to be self sufficient with a smaller flock.  Think about it.
 You only have so many kitchen scraps, but kitchen scraps can be a significant part of a
chickens diet if they have enough of them.  Same goes for growing your own chicken vege-
tables or worms. Joel Salatin shared a story in a recent webinar.  When he first started with
laying hens he had just one hundred of them.  He recalled with great humor that they
pretty much survived off of the land on his pasture rotation system.  Now that he runs
1,000 he’s noticed that the chickens don’t roam any further from the “egg mobile” than
they did when the flock was smaller.  In the latter case, the chickens eat MUCH more of
the commercial feed because the 1,000 chickens wipe out the area’s natural food much
faster than the flock of 100. Moral of the story: it’s easy to implement self sustaining tech-
niques on a smaller scale: pasture/yard range, growing worms, feeding compost, biota (all
life forms that live in the compost like worms, nema-
todes, and arthropods, etc.)

3.) How much space do you have?

One square foot is the minimum a chicken needs for in-
door housing if it has access to adequate space out-
Photo by reader Melissa Linton
doors during the day. Three square feet is the minimum
a chicken needs if its outdoor space is limited.  Three
square feet is also the minimum if your chicken must stay enclosed all day. A good rule of
thumb is to have at least three square feet inside and three square feet outside per
chicken. Are your neighbors cool? Don’t forget the golden rule: “treat others as you would
want to be treated”. Take your neighbors into consideration when deciding how big your
operation will be and what it will look like.  Offering your neighbors some eggs every once
in a while can go along way to stop neighborhood complaints AND get you a chicken “sit-
ter” when you want to go out of town!

Are Chickens Legal In My Neighborhood?

Unfortunately, keeping chickens may actually be illegal where you live. Organized subdivi-
sions and city limits can be especially vulnerable to laws forbidding you to raise your

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own chickens. You can check with your local govern-
ment organizations or you could just do it anyway.
 In the latter case, be absolutely sure you proceed
with respect to your neighbors by keeping your op-
eration clean and quiet.  After all, it’s your neighbors
who will call the authorities to complain. For more
info on legalizing chickens in your neighborhood
visit Pat Foreman’s online resource here.

What Kind of Chickens Should I Get?  

Now that we have a general idea of your goals for your chickens, you can start looking at
who might fit the bill.  In other words, which breed is best for you. Since you’re reading
this, you probably have an inclination to permaculture whether you know it or not.  In that
case, I’m going to apply two of the fundamental principles of permaculture (diversity and
multi-functions) and suggest a few breeds that make the cut.

What to look for in a “permaculture” chicken:

• Food production – Able to produce four or more eggs per week and will weigh at least
six pounds as an adult.

• Hardy – Naturally heat and/or cold tolerant and are in general good health.  Adapt to cli-
mate and naturally resist disease.

• Productive – Naturally active throughout the entire day hunting their own food, chasing
bugs, and scratching through the soil.

• Reproductive – Naturally inclined to reproduce easily.  The mother hens haven’t lost their
genetic desire to go “broody” for hatching chicks.  No hybrids, as they cannot reproduce
themselves.

• Economical – Widely available and priced accordingly. They add value bby producing
more than they require.

• Other considerations – A certain look, egg shell color, nostalgia (“grandma’s chickens”),
temperament, winter production, ability to withstand extreme heat or cold.

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Top 5 permaculture chickens: I recently sent out a survey listing my 12 favorite
chicken breeds based on my permaculture criteria above. Out of 185 responses here at
the top 5 Permaculture Chickens, with percentage of respondents indicated, along with ap-
proximate number of eggs laid per week and pounds of meat produced.

1.) Buff Orpington (43%) – 3 eggs/week, 8 Ibs

2.) Rhode Island Red (41%) – 6/week, 6.5 Ibs

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3.) Black Australorp (40%) – 4 eggs/week,  6.5 Ibs

4.) Plymouth Rock (32%) – 3 eggs/week, 7.5 Ibs

5.) Wyandotte (24%) – 3 eggs/week, 6.5 Ibs

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Egg birds:

If you just want chickens for eggs, consider these lightweight egg producers:

1.) Leghorn (most productive and popular egg layer) – 6 eggs/week, 4.5 Ibs.

Photo by Reader Jennifer Thomas

2.) Ameraucana (famous for colored eggs) – 4 eggs/week, 5.5 Ibs.

Photo by Lisa Steele

3.) Ancona – 4 eggs/week, 4.5 Ibs.

Photo by Heather

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4.) Hamburg – 4 eggs/week, 4 Ibs.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/108274/your-favorite-color-of-chicken-maybe-you-could-add-some-pics

5.) Minorca – 4 eggs/week, 7 Ibs.

http://preciouspoultry.co.nz/?page_id=91

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Meat birds:  

If you’re interested in raising meat birds that can easily sustain themselves through repro-
duction consider one of the following:

• Brahma – 16 week butchered weight is 4-5 pounds.

• Cornish or Indian Game bird – 16 week butchered weight is about 4 pounds.

• Naked Neck – 16 week butchered weight is about 3-4 pounds.

If you’re interested in quick and economical meat bird without the benefits of easy repro-
duction you might consider the extremely popular Cornish Cross.  

A Note on the Cornish Cross: Whether you know it or not, the Cornish Cross is the chicken
you’ve grown accustomed to eating.  It’s famed for its phenomenal growth rate and eco-
nomical feed conversion ratio.  Cornish Crosses can easily dress out at more than six
pounds in just eight weeks! It’s not only the industrial-meat bird of choice, pasture-based
farmers like Joel Salatin, Primal Pastures, and countless others use these birds for the cus-
tomer familiarity and the price point. There are certainly some drawbacks to consider and
some special tactics to incorporate before proceeding with this breed.

Consider the drawbacks:

• Cardiovascular dysfunction – Selection and husbandry for very fast growth means
there is a genetically-induced mismatch between the energy supplying organs of the
broiler and its energy-consuming organs.

• Skeletal dysfunction – Breeding for increased breast muscle means that the broil-
ers’ centre of gravity has moved forward and their breasts are broader compared with their
ancestors.  This affects the way they walk and puts additional stresses on their hips and
legs.  The older a bird gets the more you’ll notice it.  They’ll begin to lay around more and
when they do walk, it’s more like waddling.

• Withheld food – Adult breeders are genetically wired to grow fast so they’re always
hungry. This amazing growth rate can also be a detriment because if you give them access
to food all the time they will eat themselves sick or dead!  As a solution, the adult breeder
birds are given rations throughout their entire lives, resulting in chronic hunger stress.

• Mortality rate – According to Wiki, mortality rates are seven times greater than that
of layer chickens.  Closer to home, in our own natural chicken community, Paul Wheaton
of Permies.com has experienced mortality rates from 15-30%!

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Tips for Growing Cornish Crosses:

• Raise them on rotating pasture using chicken tractors, electric nets, or go free range.

Photos By Jay Green

Fresh grass helps with digestion and overall health.

• Train them them to enjoy bugs and worms by feeding these thing early on and giving
them plenty of room to forage.

• Consider raising them with other, more vibrant chickens.

• Arrange it so they run out of feed for a few hours each day so growth rates slow and they
are forced to forage for their food.  “A hungry birds is a foraging bird,” according to per-
maculturalist Jay Green.

• Try different hatcheries.  Jay Green reports good success with Central Hatchery in Ne-
braska.

• Ferment your feed to increase good bowel flora which will increase nutrient absorption.

• Avoid growing them in weather extremes like peak summer.

The benefits of dual-purpose breeds:

Do you want both eggs and meat?  Then you’ll want dual-purpose breeds.  A straight run
gets you half roosters and half hens.  A good plan here is to figure how many layers you

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want.  Let’s say 12.  Then order a straight run of 24.  That most likely get you around 12 lay-
ers and 12 roosters.  You’ll butcher the rooster around 16-18 weeks and keep the hens.
For a more exhaustive list of chickens see the Henderson’s “Handy Dandy Chicken Chart”.
  

Do I Need a Rooster to Have Chicken Eggs?

It’s not necessary to have a rooster for hens to lay eggs.  Egg production is a natural cycle
that occurs in the female regardless of the male’s presence.  In some situations, however,
it may be better not to have a rooster.  For example, if you’re keeping chickens in the city,
your neighbors might be disturbed by the crowing.  Remember hens only cluck, they never
crow.

Rooster from Blue House Farm

Advantages of a rooster include:

• They fertilize the eggs if you want to breed and hatch your own chickens.

• They complete the natural social structure of a flock.

• They help to protect the “ladies” from predators.

• They dig up food for the ladies and notify them of a feed source.

• They are attractive to look at.

• They crow, which is nice noise for some people.

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Note: If you are breeding, I suggest at least one  rooster per eight hens. That will ensure
every egg gets fertilized and keep him busy enough that he’s not abusive in his frequency.
However, if you start noticing hens losing their back feathers, it’s a sign that the rooster
has favorites and needs more competition. I once had one rooster for 30 hens.  He ended
up having a few favorites and they looked terrible.  I introduced more roosters and the
added competition kept him more at bay.  

Where Do I Get Chickens?  

1st choice: Local Breeder

The benefits of using a local breeder include: see-

ing  the chicks for yourself, learning from the
breeder, seeing the setup and the owner’s manage-
ment practices, and checking the adults for lice or
mites.  Even non-experts can tell if a bird is bright
eyed and active.

Try the Sustainable Poultry Network for a reputable breeder near you.  Craigslist can also
be great way to find local sources. You can always go to the feed store and look on the
message board or ask a manager if they know anyone who sells chicks.

If you must, Tractor Supply Co. and other stores are starting to carry chicks.  Go late in the
spring and you might even get a great deal. Be careful buying from a show breeder, as
they aren’t selecting birds for their meat and egg-producing capabilities.

2nd choice: Shipping Breeder

Perhaps you can’t find a local breeder but with a little luck you might just find one that
ships.  I know some of the Sustainable Poultry Network folks ship and I’m fairly certain you
can find a reputable breeder that ships.

3rd choice: Hatcheries

If need be, look to the hatcheries. Hatcheries are businesses that artificially hatch chickens
(and poultry) for commercial purposes. From my own experience, these birds don’t per-
form as well. You can find them through Google search or get a suggestion from an online
group or friend.  Try a few and you’ll soon discover a favorite. What to look for in chicks?
Vibrancy, wide open eyes, fast moving, responsive.  

 
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Straight Run or Sexed Chickens?
A straight run includes both males and females (rooster and hens).  Sexed means they are
separated by gender so you buy either all males or all females.

Should I Debeak or Get Vaccinated

Chickens?
Debeaking is inhumane and absolutely unnecessary if you fol-
low my advice for raising chickens naturally.  

Chicks are debeaked by the industry to prevent pecking dam-

age, but pecking only occurs in extremely stressful situations.   Art by Sue Coe

Vaccinations are unhealthy and completely unnecessarily if you

use good management.

Healthy chickens develop the necessary immunity and DO NOT

NEED vaccinations.  

This can be done with good management as described in my

other articles and film.  

Marek is the most common disease they are trying to prevent with vaccinations.  

Please understand that these kinds of diseases are brought on by stress (something your
chickens won’t experience).

How Do I Get Ready For Chicks?

Get ready for chicks in 3 easy steps:  

Step #1: Get the Supplies!

• Small waterer – I like pressure-sealed quart jar waterers (affiliate link)

• Small feeder – I like the quart jar feeder

• Chick starter feed – This is a higher protein feed.  You can get this

19
at your local feed store.  Call ahead if you want organic to ensure they can
get it for you on time.

• Small grit – Tiny rocks to help the chickens digest their food.  Try your
local feed store or source some out of the creek.  
You can use a small plastic container such as a sour
cream container for containment.

• Natural Boost (Day 1) – Add 2 cloves of garlic, 2 Ta-

blespoons apple cider vinegar and ½ cup of honey to
their water.

• Brooder – See Step 2 below.

• Heat Lamp – With a 250 (non coated or colored) light

bulb with an appropriately rated outlet.

• Pine shavings – For the bedding (at least 4.5 cubic feet for my brooder below)

(Note: These are the tools I actually use and truly suggest. You may like to know that some of the links are affiliate links,
which means I’ll get a commission if you purchase)

Step #2: Setting up your Brooder

1.) Source the brooder.  Common brooder options include:

• Store bought

• Cardboard

• Rubbermaid bins

• My DIY “porta” brooder

• Hover brooder

• Large DIY brooder     

Brooder size: Needs to be three square feet per

12 chicks for the first three weeks. The brooder should allow up to 8” of bedding,
especially if you continually raise chicks.

2.) Add up to 8” of bedding. Pine shavings work the best.

3.) Put in your waterer and feeder.

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I suggest setting them on wood platforms or on a wire mesh platform so the chicks don’t
track manure and shavings into the water or feeder.

4.) Provide grit.

Sprinkle it on the feed for the first few days and free choice after that.  For free choice, of-
fer it in a small container (I use old sour cream containers).

5.) Hang or attach the light.

Keep this at least 18” from a flammable surface.  It is best to put the light at an angle.
Watch your chicks…since you’re not raising them with a mama hen, you’re the mama! If
they huddle up under the light, it’s too cold and you need to lower the light so it is closer
to them.  If they scatter about kind of lethargic, raise your light as it means they’re too hot!
They like the temperature to be about 90 degrees at first and less heat as they grow big-
ger.  You can lower the temperature by 3-4 degrees every day.  By the time they are 3
weeks old they can handle freezing temperatures.

6.) Use corner boards to prevent injury.

If chicks are crowding in the corner, and you’re afraid of injury, set up corner boards so
you only have 45 degree angles as opposed to 90.
 If desired, you can use a round brooder such as a
kid’s plastic swimming pool.

7.) Turn off the light at night if it’s warm enough

and cover with cardboard or lid and make sure
they have good ventilation so they can breathe.
The first couple of weeks, when their real small I ac-
tually cover them for the night with a cardboard box
inside their brooder.

8.) If you use at least 8” of deep bedding you

shouldn’t have to add any.  If you’re not using deep
bedding, you’ll need clean it out and replace as you
go.

9.) Leave the litter in place to become more alive

with beneficial microbes, even between batches.

10.) Keep them in the brooder for 3-5 weeks, then

graduate them into a chicken tractor.

If they’re meat birds, they might stay in the tractor

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until they’re ready for processing. If they’re layers you may want to keep them in the trac-
tor until they start laying their first eggs.

Step #3: Receiving the chicks!

1. It’s best if you can buy your chickens from

Photo byaDeb
local
P. breeder, but if that’s not possible you

might just have to mail order from a hatchery.  See question above “Where do I get chick-
ens?”

2. Turn on your heat source before they arrive to get the place
warmed up.

3. Chicks will arrive unfed.  They can last up to 3 days without

food or water, but once you feed them or give them drink, they
will need it from then on.

4. Create a healthy boost by combining ½ gallon of warm water

with ¼ cup of honey, two pressed garlic cloves and two table-
spoons of Apple Cider Vinegar.  Just do this for the first day or
until they need more water.

5. Dip each chick’s beak in the water to make sure they drink.

6. Add a live feed like grass, weeds or table scraps every day or
provide a cage area outside (if it’s warm and the grass is ex-
tremely short).

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Problems and solutions in the brooder:

• The bedding gets wet – Add more bedding on top of the wet stuff or remove it.

• Smelly bedding – Let your nose be your guide.  If you smell ammonia, add litter!

• Cannibalism – This is only caused by severe stress or bad genetics.  Make sure they
have plenty of room and aren’t too cold or hot.  If one chick continues to be too aggres-
sive, you may have to cull it in order to protect
the rest of the flock and rid yourself of bad ge-
netics.

• Chicks aren’t eating the fine powdery feed

at the bottom of their pan – Mix it with milk,
whey or water to make a mush that they can
easily pick up.

• Pasty butt – Poop that dries and sticks to the

vent preventing future poops.  This is caused by
stress and/or poor diet and is common in hatch-
ery chicks.  I’ve never seen this happen
when mother hen is on the job!

Pull it off immediately, and use warm water

if needed.  Raw corn meal or fine oatmeal
can help clear        it up. Pasty butt is tell-
ing you there’s a problem.  Check over
your operation for stress sources (too cold,
too hot, too crowded, often scared) and
eliminate them asap.

• Messy waterer/feeder – Chicks will

poop and track shavings into their feeders
and waterers. You can change their sup-
plies 2-3 times per day and/or use a “catch”
to prevent the mess in the first place. Some folks place boards or cardboard under the
feeder and waterers to keep the immediate area clean. I like placing a frame ½” wire mesh
over a feed pan that’s dug into the shaving. I place the feeder and waterer on the mess
“trap” and all the shavings and manure fall through the mesh before they can be tracked
into the feeder/waterer.

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How Much Meat Will I Get Out Of a Chicken?
Chickens “dress out” between 3-6 pounds. A good dual-purpose breed will weigh about
3-4 pounds going into your freezer while a meat specific chicken, like the famous Cornish
Crosses, will weigh six pounds or more!

When Do I Butcher My Chickens?

• Butcher dual-purpose breeds between 16-18 weeks old for a 3-4 pound bird.

• Butcher pure bread meat birds 16-18 weeks old for a 4-5 pound bird.

• Butcher hybrid meat bird (Cornish Cross) at 7-8 weeks old for a six pound bird.

• Butcher egg-laying hens at the end of their third summer for a five pound bird.

  

What Health Problems Do Chickens Have, and How Do I

Treat Them?
• Mites and Lice – Chickens fight mites and lice natu-
rally through dust bathing.  Be sure to provide a simple
dust bath at all times.  With severe infections you can lib-
erally apply Diatomaceous Earth (DE) yourself (use a
dust mask) to take care of the problem.

• Scaly Leg Mites – DE won’t work for these mites.  In

this case, I suggest a mix of of un-petroleum jelly, min-
eral oil, tree oil and oil of oregano.  Use an old tooth-
brush and wear disposable latex glove.

• Worms – Worms are caused by overcrowding, stress Photo by Cheryl Budnik

and poor feeds.  Follow my instructions in this article

and you won’t experience any worms.

• Pecking – A minimal amount of pecking is totally natural.  Pecking that causes damage
is normal when introducing new adult roosters to each other.  Other than that, excessive
pecking is caused by stress or bad genetics.  If you’re sure you have a stellar operation, it
may be time to cull the culprit.

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• Blocked Crop – Food is first collected in the crop to be mixed with saliva.  It then passes
through to the gizzard to join with small pebbles to be broken down to a digestible form.
 Blocked crops can occur if the chicken doesn’t have enough grit.  You’ll notice continually
swollen crops (on the right side of their necks) and the loss of appetite.  You can prevent
or heal this by offering continual access to grit.

• Broody Hen – This is not a health problem! In fact, you could look
to it as a blessing.  A broody hen is one that will begin to lay on the
eggs in a desire to hatch them.  It’s a pain in the butt if you don’t
want to hatch eggs with mama hen.

If you don’t want a broody hen, you can try putting her with another
flock or kicking her out of the nest box in the early afternoon after
everyone has laid their eggs, then put a nest blocker in and repeat
for several days.  If that doesn’t work, isolate her in a cage with food
and water (no nest) for 3 days, or until she’s no longer broody.

• Egg Eating – If your chickens are eating their eggs, they’re either very hungry or calcium
deficient.  Make sure you’re feeding them enough and giving them plenty of calcium
through egg shells or oyster shells.

To break a chicken of eating egg shells, make sure your nests are set above their eye level
from the ground.  This discourages loiterers from getting the eggs.  You can also imple-
ment a nest blocker early in the afternoon after everyone has laid their eggs.  Another pre-
ventative measure is to collect your eggs more often. One more option…place a fake egg
like a golf ball, avocado pit or similar in their nest. They’ll peck at it and
soon realize “eggs” aren’t worth pecking!

• Molting – This too is not a health problem.  Every fall, chickens begin
to lose their feathers to grow more for the winter.  As they grow more
feathers they send most of their protein resources to re-growing feath-
ers (not eggs).

• No eggs in the winter – This is totally normal due to the seasonal

lack of light.  You can supplement with artificial light (no more than 14
hours a day) if absolutely needed, but it’s best to let the hens rest. For
Molting Chicken by Sandii Peiffer
more info on keeping your chickens productive through the winter see
my article, “48 Ways to Keep Your Chickens Happy This Winter”

• Mating wounds – Sometimes a rooster may be too hard on the “ladies”.  He may play
favorites and cause a spur injury or, more commonly, wear out the feathers from her back.
 If this is the case, your rooster needs more male competition.  Try to maintain a balance of

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one rooster per eight hens.  If the problem still persists, you may need to
cull the problematic individual.

• Broken Leg – Several times I have accidentally injured a chicken’s leg

while moving their chicken tractor.  In all cases, I isolated the bird with an-
other, weaker flock member (as they are flock animals and do better with
a mate) and give them time to recover.  If the injury is minimal and they
can hold their own with the flock, leave them there.

• Open Wounds – If this occurs and the other flock members see blood, they may make
the problem worse by pecking at it.  Isolate the injured chicken, if needed.  You may also
try a thick salve like un-petroleum jelly scented with balsam of fir to discourage pecking.

• Disease – Under good management, disease will be rare.  Since I am establishing a

breeding flock for sustainability, I choose to cull diseased individuals.  Apparently, their im-
munity hasn’t developed like the rest of the healthy flock and they have succumbed to ill-
ness.  This is a genetic trait I don’t want to continue on my homestead.

In the extreme case where much of the flock has succumbed to illness due to my misman-
agement, I might institute a treatment plan.  Our mixing of age groups, and even species,
helps young chicks develop their immune systems.  If you do opt to treat a bird for infec-
tious disease, it’s crucial that you isolate it.

Conclusion …
This should be more than enough information to get you starting with chickens. This may
seem overwhelming at first, but chickens are generally very forgiving and you’ll soon be on
top of the learning curve. Please let me know if you have any questions, I’m here to help!

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Getting Started with
Chickens Checklist

AbundantPermaculture.com

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Getting Starting With Chickens Checklist

General Checklist:

▢ Housing (1 square foot per chicken if they have access to the outdoors; 3 square feet per chicken if
they don’t.)

▢ Feeder (enough to hold up ¼ to ⅓ pound of feed a day, per chicken)

▢ Feed pans (for grit, calcium, herb, liquid feeds, food scraps etc…)

▢ Feed (¼ to ⅓ pound of feed per day, per adult chicken)

▢ Waterer (enough to hold 1 quart per 4 chickens)

▢ Dust Box (approximately 2 cubic feet)

▢ Fencing (I like electric netting. Get enough for at least 3 square feet per chicken)

▢ Grit (small rocks to help them break down their food)

▢ Crushed Egg shells or oyster shells (supplies their need for calcium)

▢ Brooder (see checklist below)

▢ Nesting material (shredded paper, straw, wood shavings etc…)

▢ Deep bedding (8” in your permanent housing and yard. You won’t need deep bedding if you rotate
your flock. Carbon material like leaves, straw, wood chips etc… work great for this)

▢ Bristle brushes (cleaning feeders, waterers etc…)

▢ Chickens (4-6 pounds of meat per chicken at 8-16 weeks. Figure about 4 eggs per week)

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Brooder Checklist:

▢ Brooder box (3 square feet per 12 chicks for 3 weeks)

▢ Small waterer

▢ Small feeder

▢ Heat lamp

▢ 250 watt heat light bulb (for daytime use)

▢ Cardboard box (to cover the chicks at night for warmth)

▢ Commercial chick starter feed

▢ Live foods (Add fresh live food like grass, weeds, food scraps daily

▢ Small grit

▢ Natural boost (day 1 mix ½ gallon to 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar, ½ cup of honey and 2 cloves
of crushed garlic cloves)

▢ Pine Shavings (at least 8” for bedding)

▢ Feeder/Waterer “mess catch” (cardboard, board or ½” framed wire mesh over a feed pan under the
feeder/waterer to catch manure and shavings)

Sourcing the Supplies

Online at Amazon.com

Local Tractor Supply or similar

Used on craigslist.com

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Notes:

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