Raising Backyard Chickens
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Fresh eggs from your backyard to your table

Eggs consistently outrank milk, beef, whey and soy in terms of protein quality. After decades of misinformation regarding high choloesterol content, eggs are now embraced as a versatile, quick and cost effective means of getting a nutritious dish to your dining room table. Except where called for in recipes, be sure to eat the yolk as well as the white, as that is where most of the protein resides. 

The popularity of backyard chickens is growing exponentially.
​Here are a few reasons to join this trend

  • Enjoy farm fresh eggs whenever you want 
  • Chickens are easy and inexpensive to maintain
  • Some chicken breeds are very friendly and often integrate themselves into the family
  • Chickens are able to eat many of your kitchen scraps thereby eliminating food going into landfills
  • Their excrement makes an excellent fertilizer for your garden.
  • If you are able to allow your chickens to free range
           * Enjoy eggs lower in cholesterol than chickens raised  solely on manufactured feeds
           * Chickens will help you get rid of pests and weeds in your lawn and garden

Chicken facts

  • You don't need a rooster to have eggs, you just won't have chicks.
  • Hens typically begin to lay eggs between the age of 4 and 6 months.
  • You can buy birds that are closer to the laying age; you don't have to start with chicks and wait 4-6 months before they begin laying.
  • Hens molt at about the age of 18 months. Because molting consumes a lot of the hen's energy, they will not lay eggs during this time. Molting can take up to several months. For this reason, consider staggering the age of your birds. For example, if you are allowed a maximum of 5 chickens, obtain 3 chicks the first year and 2 chicks the second year. However, you will need to keep the younger birds segregated from the adult hands until a the young birds are old enough to be introduced into the coop with the older birds. See the chick page for more information on acclimating chicks to the coop. 
  • Hens don't lay eggs every day. In their prime years, breeds that are heavy layers will lay 5-6 eggs a week unless it is very hot, in which case they will lay less.
  • Chickens are more cold tolerant than heat tolerant, so plan accordingly when determining where to locate their housing. 
  • Chickens need don't require much room and present an take advantage of vertical spaces
  • Chickens are allowed in many urban areas for pets or food production as long as they are kept confined - often requiring a fixed coop - and do not exceed the maximum number allowed.
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