Raising Backyard Chickens: 7 Years of Lessons, DIY Tips, & Success Stories
Since getting my first peep of sweet chicks in June 2019, I’ve become a little obsessed with my backyard chickens! Although, I will admit: it’s been a LOT more difficult (physically and emotionally) than I ever could have imagined. To help the next generation of new backyard chicken keepers, I’ve made this page all about backyard chickens for beginners – consider it Raising Chickens 101. I’m sharing lots of practical advice for new backyard chicken keepers, funny and sad chicken stories to emotionally prepare you, plus backyard chicken DIY projects (along with egg themed crafts and egg heavy recipes) so we can have some fun too!
If you’d prefer to just read everything chronologically, here are all of my posts about raising chicks and keeping backyard chickens. But if you’d prefer to skip around, take a look at the galleries below to find all of the links – from building a DIY chicken coop to enjoying beautiful turquoise eggs, I hope you enjoy my chicken stories and chicken DIY ideas! I have lots of advice for raising chickens for beginners.
PRACTICAL BACKYARD CHICKEN CARE & DIY PROJECTS
This section brings together our most requested guides and tutorials to make your daily backyard chicken routine easier. Learn how to build a coop and covered run designed to keep predators out and hens happy. We also tackle your biggest lifestyle questions, like exactly how much work chickens are for beginners? I also share advice I’ve learned through experience on how to keep free-ranging chickens safer from hawks and foxes and how to keep chickens warm in winter without dangerous heat lamps. Finally, master essential flock hygiene and nutrition with step-by-step tutorials on how to bathe a chicken safely and how to prepare eggshells to feed back to them for optimal calcium.
HOW TO RAISE BABY CHICKS & MANAGE BROODY HENS
Welcoming new baby chicks is easily the most exciting part of keeping a flock. This section balances essential starter advice with plenty of fun because baby chicks are irresistibly adorable. Learn exactly how to set up a brooder to keep your young flock safe, warm, and thriving. Want to let nature do the heavy lifting? I chronicle how to hatch eggs with a broody hen (oh my gosh, in my experience this is the BEST way). Plus, because they do not stay small for long, don’t miss my creative ideas for cute chick photo shoots to document those fleeting, fluffy days.
REAL CHICKEN STORIES & BACKYARD CHICKEN GIFT GUIDES
Raising chickens is full of incredible highs and deeply challenging lows. In this section, I am sharing the unfiltered reality of chicken keeping through my own personal stories. Read about the pure joy of discovering my first aqua eggs to the heartbreaking realities of dealing with flock loss and the tough choices around culling sick chicks. I also chronicle the logistical adventures of re-homing roosters, including what it is really like shipping a rooster across the country, and the honest reasons why I ultimately gave up on raising Silkies. Plus, to balance out the heavy stuff, you will find my favorite curated chicken gift guides filled with perfect holiday ideas for the backyard chicken obsessed folks in your life.
EGG CRAFTS & CHICKEN DIY PROJECTS
For anyone truly chicken-obsessed, this section is dedicated to beautiful, handmade crafts and clever daily essentials inspired by our flocks. Dive into beautiful home decor with my tutorials on DIY egg shell art, festive DIY egg cups, and a stunning, colorful egg wreath. Want to preserve memories of your birds? Learn how to sculpt a sweet DIY clay chicken tree ornament or create a gorgeous feather wreath using real molted feathers collected straight from your yard. I also share high-utility, functional sewing and building projects, including a sturdy wooden egg holder and a handy egg collecting apron to make chore time a breeze.
EASY EGG RECIPES FOR BACKYARD CHICKEN KEEPERS
You can check out the link to see all of my easy recipes, from drinks to desserts. I’m currently adding to my collection of recipes specifically dedicated to helping backyard chicken keepers use up lots of eggs! Whether your counter is overflowing during the spring rush or you just want a delicious homemade meal, these egg heavy recipes will have you covered. Dive into breakfast and brunch favorites like a fluffy, veggie-packed frittata, or try your hand at sweet treats like a crisp, delicate meringue. I even share preservation tricks like a rich, velvety canned lemon curd that locks in that fresh, homegrown flavor for later. Stay tuned as this collection continues to grow!
My BACKYARD CHICKEN JOURNEY – YEAR BY YEAR
Year One (2019): Building the Coop & Getting Chicks!
In the first year I bought a batch of 10 Ameraucana chicks, impulse bought two Silkie chicks, culled a sick chick, re-homed my beautiful roosters, and then bought additional pullets in a last minute hurry before winter. We hadn’t finished the coop before the chicks outgrew their brooder so it was a scramble to finish it on time! Everything felt rushed. My tips for beginners: order more chicks than you’ll need, since you’ll likely end up with lots of roosters, and build your DIY chicken coop and run BEFORE getting chicks.
Getting to this point felt like a scramble (haha), but in the fall I was rewarded with beautiful aqua eggs!
Year Two (2020): Dealing with Flock Loss
In my second year of keeping chickens, I lost some chicks and chickens. I lost two chicks in transit (I had been getting chicks shipped by mail) and then a few more as they grew. I had two chicks with developmental leg issues (I was able to cure the one). Plus I lost both of my grown silkie chickens from the first batch of chicks, which absolutely broke my heart. My tip for beginners: try to get chicks locally – my healthiest chicks were from fellow backyard chicken keepers. Chicks that are shipped, whether to a farm store or to you, seemed to not fare as well.
Year Three (2021): Hatching Chicks with a Broody Hen
In my third year, I ordered olive eggers but my chick order was cancelled by the small hatchery, so I decided not to add to my flock. But then a hen went broody, so I hatched fertilized eggs with a broody hen! They were Ameraucana and Maran chicks. We were so eggcited – the experience was absolutely fascinating! One of the roosters Mama Hen hatched was so gorgeous, we ended up shipping him 1000 miles (read that wild chicken shipping story). My tip for beginners: if a hen goes broody, it can be difficult to “break” them and, in my experience, it’s better to just let them hatch some eggs!
Year Four (2022) – Experimenting with More Chicken Breeds
By this time, we had deviated from Ameraucanas and the flock was a smaller mixed flock (Australorps, Ameraucanas, Barnevelder, Marans, One Speckled Sussex and One Barnevelder). We ultimately had to give up our last remaining silkie. We continued to struggle a bit with flock loss – we lost two Cream Legbars and a Wyandotte. After a vet visit for one death, we determined it wasn’t an illness that was preventable – it was heart failure. But I grew suspicious of the hatchery we originally ordered from because those chickens seemed the least healthy. My tip for beginners: you might not find a local vet that treats livestock (or will treat small flocks of non-commercial chickens) so you may have to learn to diagnose, cure, and cull chickens as needed (which is NOT fun).
Year Five (2023): Hatching Chicks with a Different Broody Hen
After the success of hatching eggs with Mama Hen, when another hen went broody (Morion, the Australorp) we bought some eggs to put under her. She was somehow not the natural Mama Hen was, and she only hatched three chicks – one of whom might have cooked a little too long, and had health problems. But what she lacked in hatching skills, she made up for in sweetness and when I bought some Ameraucana-Silkie chicks from a local person, she welcomed them immediately and raised them as her own! Now I have some beautiful olive green eggs in my egg basket! My tips for beginners: not all broody hens are equal, so move your broody hen to a quiet, secure area for a few days to make sure before giving her fertilized eggs.
Year Six (2024): Losing Our Chicks to a Wiley Fox
Unfortunately, Mama Hen never went broody again and she was an awesome chicken mom. But Morion went broody for a second season and, once again, she only hatched 3 eggs… One day I forgot to put the second electric fence on the little mini coop we had inside of the electrified run. A hungry silver fox was able to make it through the first electric fence and then dug under the mini coop and ate the chicks! I was devastated and so was Morion, who genuinely seemed traumatized by the ordeal. From the security camera footage the next day, I could see that the fox returned three times, grabbing a chick each time, while Morion watched from only inches away – confined to the coop, with no way to escape. I do not know what happened inside of the coop, whether she fought or not. She was unscathed, luckily, but she walked around kind of daze for a few days, the poor dear. I felt – still feel – TERRIBLE. And she never went broody again. My tips for beginners: two layers of security is best! It is better to overbuild a coop/run that leave it vulnerable because predators can be even wilier than you think.
Year Seven (2025): Discovering Where to Get the Best Chicks
After hatching chickens with hens three times, I had no broody hens so I ordered chicks. I had to raise them myself in a brooder, like the early days, and I forgot how much work that is! This time I got them from a local farm store, which is not my preference, but they seemed healthy enough. I got Easter Eggers and Marans – Easter Eggers are a mutt, and not what I wanted, but we wanted to grow the flock and that was what was available. My tips for beginners: I finally joined our local Chicken Facebook group and realized that’s where you can find the best eggs and chicks (but you have to act fast).
Year Eight (2026): Hatching Eggs with a Third Broody Hen
This year, one of last year’s Marans is VERY broody so I went to our local Chicken group and found some beautiful fertilized Ameraucana eggs. That was the first breed we got, and my favorite, so I am happy to add more of them to my flock. She is currently sitting on eggs (May 11) so we’ll see how she does…
BACKYARD CHICKENS FOR BEGINNERS FAQ:
How do I start raising backyard chickens as a beginner?
Start by checking your local zoning laws, then choose a chicken breed known for the temperament or egg production you prefer. You will need a secure coop (here’s how to build a DIY coop), an electrified fenced run, and a brooder setup (if you are starting with baby chicks). Join your local backyard chickens Facebook groups ASAP!
Is it expensive to keep backyard chickens?
The highest upfront cost is building the coop and getting a feeder/waterer (we went with a heated waterer). Ongoing expenses include high-quality poultry feed, bedding, and occasional health supplies. Here’s my experience regarding if chickens are “worth it” financially.
How much space do chickens need in a coop and run?
Provide at least 3 – 4 square feet of space per bird inside the coop and 10 square feet per bird in an outdoor run. More space leads to happier, healthier hens and prevents bullying. For winter, we have a small barn and covered run, but in the warmer months we set up a temporary electric fence to increase their area and they love it.
What are the best chicken breeds for beginners?
Breeds like Orpingtons, Australorps, and Rhode Island Reds are popular for their hardiness and high egg production. If you want colorful eggs, consider Ameraucanas (blue eggs) or Marans (brown eggs). Speckled Sussex chickens are incredibly friendly and curious, which can be fun if you want a very interactive flock who is as curious about you as you are about them. If you want chickens that are small, look for bantam chickens. For chickens that are incredibly gentle with children (but require gentle handling in return) silkies are a wonderful breed but do not mix them with other full sized breeds.
How many eggs will a backyard chicken lay?
Starting at 5-6 months of age, most young, healthy hens lay one egg every 24-26 hours during their peak years and peak season. Egg production typically slows down during the winter months or when the birds are molting. During winter months, some chicken keepers use lights to maintain egg production but I prefer to let my hens rest. The egg production can vary from breed to breed but will generally start to slow down around age 3 and by age 4-6 it can become more sporadic. Silkies are usually sporadic layers even in peak years!
SERIOUS ABOUT CHICKENS? HERE ARE MY MOST PRACTICAL POSTS:
- How Much Work Are Backyard Chickens?
- How to Set Up a Brooder for Chicks
- How to Build a Modern DIY Coop
- How to Keep Chickens Warm in Extreme Cold Winter
- How Much Calcium to Hens Need?
Check out all of my posts about raising backyard chickens!
