Chickens in my backyard...

    I originally said this would be a guide to how I was able to start my backyard flock without very much money.  I guess that's true in a sense. After my first post I decided that a more interactive day to day approach to the life of my flock would be more interesting and helpful to anyone getting involved in a backyard flock of chickens.  I will make sure to include any expenses that come up as I raise my flock. 

    The up front cost of my flock came out to about $150.00 The things I had to purchase before bringing home my birds were 2 feeders, 2 water containers, a 50 lb. bag of pellet food, a 50 lb. bag of scratch corn, 1 bag of starter feed for my younger hens, 1 small bag of oyster shell to add to my feed, 1 50 lb. bail of coastal hay for my floor and nesting boxes, bulk nails of different sizes to help with constructing the nesting boxes and roosts, 6 T-Posts, and the most expensive part of the deal 100 feet of fencing. I used hardware cloth with half inch holes for my fencing. I wanted to discourage any unwanted visitors. I was overly cautious most people do not fortify their coops as I have.

    I was extremely lucky when I got started with my flock. We started with 5 laying hens at least 1 year old and 5 immature hens not yet laying that were around 3 months old. I picked up the hens at night because that's what the books said was best if you are trying to catch chickens. We must have done something right in the transportation and introduction of the birds into their new home because on day one we had three eggs in our nesting boxes. I was also extremely lucky because our hens cost us nothing. The friend we went to see to get ideas about our new flock of chickens had so many birds they decided to give us some as a gift to get started.

     Once we had our chickens in the backyard Rebecca and the kids went to work coming up with appropriate names for the hens.  Without getting in trouble I will mention that each of the younger ones has a princess name and the older ones have names fitting their looks or status in our flock like "Big Mama" who is at the head of the pecking order.

    The kids are able to handle the younger hens fairly easily and they come when the kids approach with food or treats. The older ones stay clear and avoid us until we throw food. I guess that is typical behavior for chickens. The more you handle them the tamer they will be.

    Our chickens have become productive pets. At this point we would have a hard time time getting rid of them. I think I will talk more about the reasons I've thought about culling or thinning my flock and what solutions I have come up with to keep them alive and away from my dinner table. So far keeping the chickens off the dinner plate and in the pen has worked to keep the peace in our home.

(Pictures Coming Soon)