3 Basic Requirements To Raising Chicken At Home

There are many advantages of raising your own chicken at home. The best benefit of having your own chicken is the fresh organic eggs that you can gather every morning for breakfast.

But do you have what it takes to have a chicken coop with lots of bantams running in your backyard?

The following are 3 basic requirements anyone should have if they are planning to have poultry at their home.

1) Construction time.

Do you have time to build the chicken coop for the birds?

Building a functional chicken housing can take some time. You need to acquire a proper chicken coop plan and then finish the construction before you get the chicken.

Just like any home improvement job, you have to plan how much time you are willing to put into the project.

How’s your building skill?

Your knowledge on handling building material and experience will also determine how much time you have to devote to the project.

2) Preparing the right living space.

An adult full-sized chicken will need a minimum of 2 square feet of floor space for shelter. If the bird cannot go outside during cold climate, it needs at least 3 square feet of internal chicken coop space to run around.

Here’s a quick space estimate for 4 hens in your backyard. You need to have 2 feet by 4 feet and the outside pen another 2 feet by 6 feet so that your total space used would be 2 feet by 10 feet.

Obviously, if you have more chicken, the space required will increase. Make sure you have sufficient space for the chicken coop in your backyard.

3) Capital investment.

Finally, you need money buy the chicken. Rooster, hen and chicks are not really expensive. Unless you are planning to get the rare breeds, the budget to purchase the bantams are quite small.

Adult hens that are healthy and capable of laying eggs cost less than $10. Chicks of most breeds cost a few dollars only. If you have other friends breeding their own chickens at home, you may get the chicks for free.