We just ordered our new baby chicks and I couldn’t be happier! From the time of my raising, all through the years, I’ve grown up with chickens in some way.
If my family was going through a time where we didn’t have them at home, then my great-grandmother always had them …and I can’t even begin to tell you all that I learned throughout a lifetime of raising chickens.
Life Lessons
I learned a sense of responsibility through daily care of our chickens; feeding, watering and gathering eggs. I also learned about how these wonderfully friendly creatures add to our subsistence, as we culled them regularly to provide food for our family. I spent valuable time with my family in the processing and preparing of the chickens for our meals – and this time cannot be replaced.
I will never forget the conversations with my great-grandmother, ‘Mimi’; ones that we had while caring for and processing our chickens. I learned some of the most valuable lessons of my life and spent time that I will value forever.
I remember thinking, when I was young, that my Mimi was a little crazy because she would sit under the shade tree next to the chicken yard and literally talk to the chickens.
Now, seriously, I’m not kidding. She would talk to them and they would be quiet until she was done, then they would cackle back at her…and the conversation would continue. …I do the same thing these days and it is wonderful! (Of course, I’ve been called crazy by a few as well…)
Sometimes it’s Trial and Error
Over the years of my own personal experiences raising chickens, I’ve had to learn many difficult lessons – the hard way. For instance, that raccoons are vicious, horrible and sneaky animals and they are worth at least ten points if you hit them on the road…okay, I added that last part myself.
I went through two seasons where the local raccoons decimated my chicken population. I did everything short of cementing them into a house and the raccoons still found a way in! UGH!
But, through my trials and errors, I’ve become better at raising chicken …and hopefully will be able to transfer the benefit of my experience to those of you that are looking to have a little fun with backyard chickens, teach your children valuable lessons and stock your freezer with healthy food!
At this time, it has been almost two years since I lost my last chicken. I spent almost a year in Afghanistan and now I am back in a position to start over. I am so excited that God has allowed my family the ability to begin again.
I will be continuing to blog about the ongoing efforts as we raise our chickens. For those of you who are looking to begin this journey, this is what you need to do to get started:
Ideas for Getting Started Raising Chickens
If you are going to be ordering day-old chicks, then you will need a place to brood them. I will be handling this in my garden shed. It is pretty good size and I will be able to set aside a small area for them. They will need shelter from the elements and critters, a heat lamp for warmth, clean dry litter (pine shavings on cardboard work well), feeders and waterers.
I will be building a chicken tractor to house them once they are old enough to come out of the brooder, but there are many options out there for housing chickens. You just need to pick one that works best for you.
If you have an incubator and would like to start from fertilized eggs, so that you and your children can watch them hatch, it is a wonderful experience. I will probably add that later, but for now, I will be getting started quickly with day-old chicks.
There are quite a few places out there to order them. Just do a google search and you will find lots! I personally use Murray McMurray Hatchery. I’ve used them in the past and they have always served me well.
Make Your Plan & Make It Happen
You will also have to decide what breeds you will want to raise. This will depend on your end game. Are you just looking to have a few hens to produce eggs for your family or will you be culling them for the freezer.
There are breeds out there that are specifically bred for meat or for egg production, but there are also breeds that are good for both. Once you decide what your needs are, you will be able to choose your breed. …and then let the fun begin!
In the future, I will also blog on the intricacies of actually culling the chickens. If you are new to this experience, it may seem like a daunting task. It’s really not and after your first one, it becomes a lot easier. Like anything else, there are specific methods that work best and I will go through them and offer as much of my experience as possible.
Maybe we can take this journey together! I will keep updating the ongoing experience and would love to hear from anyone with information to add or questions to ask!
Update: For further information concerning raising chickens, check out these posts.
More Ways to Connect
We also, as a homesteading family, have three additional blogs that might interest you. Two Oaks Farm Talk concerns the more technical side of homesteading. We discuss subjects like gardening, food prep, and farm building and construction with lots of tutorials!
Farm Raised Family is basically a hub for everything under the Two Oaks Farmstead umbrella. You can learn a great deal about all parts of the farmstead there. The Farm Raised Family blog focuses on financial matters such as budgeting, saving, and more and on current events affecting families.
You can also have a more in depth look at all that we do by visiting our Two Oaks Farmstead YouTube Channel and be sure to subscribe so that you don’t miss a thing!
Farm Life and Freedom is the new podcast we are in the process of launching! It is going to be so much fun!
Two Oaks Farmstead is the farm store… the one that holds the umbrella! Check us all out and join us, not only on our blogs and Farm Life and Freedom podcast but come join the fun on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter… wherever you get social!
