We received a great post from “Kathy in Georgia” and we thought you’d enjoy reading it as much as we did!

She writes to provide a quick summary to help people who want to know more about how to raise chicks:

“Growing up on a farm in Georgia, I learned first hand how to take care and raise chickens. On the farm we’d mostly use the chickens for fresh eggs, but occasionally, my mother would slaughter one for a nice dinner.  Even though we consume chickens and their eggs, the animals themselves deserve our respect for the gifts that they give to us.

In my family, we like to get baby chicks.  They’re cute and the kids enjoy watching them grow up.

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Overall, chickens are pretty good at adapting to the weather, but when you have sudden spikes in temperatures – it’s best that you help your chickens ease into the warm summer months.

Chickens thrive in temperatures in the low-70s … but as it starts to approach 80+ degrees … just like most animals, your chickens may start to overheat.

… and, this is especially true if it’s humid!

The heat can cause stress on the chickens – and, though, they may not die from the heat (unless they are dehydrated) – the stress may cause them to stop laying eggs for weeks (if not months!) … and meat chickens may stop putting on weight during the hot days.

Look for signs of overheating – such as: panting, the chickens keeping their wings spread away from their body and lethargy.

If you suspect your chicken is overheating, consider the following tips to keeping your chickens cool:

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Imagine how much fun you could have raising your own chickens!

If you noticed in the video, raising chickens isn’t as difficult as some people make it out to be – in fact, the woman in the video says that she can get started by buying chickens (she gets them in the mail), throws up a fence (to keep up the predators), and the chickens would even be happy living in a dog house (while you’re building your coop or waiting for it to arrive).

Let us know what you think of this video and if you have any quick tips for someone wanting to get started in raising their own chickens!

If you are planning to raise backyard chickens for the purpose of having a good source of fresh eggs, then one of your main considerations for your chicken coop would be to put up a nesting box. A nesting box is basically the place where your chickens would go when it’s time to lay their eggs.

The problem with some hens is that they can be quite picky when they would need to lay their eggs. They would usually want to be as comfortable as possible before they start on that strenuous task of pushing out the eggs into the nest.

That is why it would be important to ensure that you make your nesting boxes very comfortable for them to sit and lay their eggs in. Without it, you may find yourself having to scramble all over the coop in search for the eggs that your chickens are laying.

Here are some of the necessary considerations for making comfortable nesting boxes for your hens:

Softness and Warmth:

One of the reasons that the hens would flock to the nesting boxes would be the softness and warmth of the box. That is why it would be important to always put in good nesting materials inside it so that the chickens would really feel very comfortable in it.

Good nesting box materials could be wood shavings, straw or shredded paper. These are quite soft enough that the chickens would feel comfortable sitting in them and can provide them with enough warmth to make them feel really at ease while they are laying their eggs.

Order and Cleanliness:

Another consideration when it comes to nesting boxes for your backyard chickens would be order and cleanliness of the nesting boxes. You should realize that as your chickens use the nesting boxes over and over again, the lining or nesting material would thin out and become disorganized, this means that your hens would find themselves uncomfortable in the nesting box again as time goes on.

You may want to consider including a lining at the bottom of your nesting box. This would enable you to easily clean replace the nesting material just by sliding out the lining and replacing it without having to stuff it down the nesting box.

A good lining could be a piece of hard cardboard, a small and smooth plywood, or even some leftover roofing shingles.

Adequate number and space:

Lastly, you should ensure that your nesting boxes can actually accommodate the number of egg laying hens that you have.  Forcing them to become too cramped up in a small nesting box can lead to some of your chickens searching for other places to lay their eggs in.

Ideally, you would be able to have 1 nesting box for every 2-4 hens in the coop. The cubby holes should also have at least a 12 x 12 x 12 inch area so that your chickens would not be crammed inside of it.

By ensuring that your nesting boxes are able to become very comfortable for your hens, you would not have to exert too much effort when it’s time for you to enjoy the benefit of collecting the eggs from your backyard chickens.

Aside from being a different form of pet, another benefit that can be gained by raising backyard chickens is that you would be able to earn some money because of them. While the money that you earn may not be that much, it is still a significant way for you to have some additional income or savings, something that anyone would be glad to have especially in this economy.

Some of the ways where raising backyard chickens can help generate some income for you would be through:

Selling or Keeping the Eggs:

One of the most common products that we associate with chickens is the egg that they produce. A chicken, under good conditions, would usually lay an egg a day. This would mean that you would have a fresh source for your breakfast eggs without having to purchase them from the grocery.

In fact, if you are producing extra eggs, you may be able to sell them to your neighbors or even to local grocery stores. You can even put up a sign in your front yard to advertise that you are selling fresh eggs!

You could also choose to sell the eggs not as food, but as a starter egg for other people who may want to try and raise their own backyard chickens.

While, the profit from eggs may not be that big, they are still a source of income that would help in increasing your funds.

Selling the Chicken themselves:

Another thing that you could actually sell is the chicken itself. You could purchase an incubator and hatch some of your eggs in order to sell chicks or chickens to other people. The chicks that you could sell can be used as pets or as the groundwork for other people who may want to start backyard chickens.

You could also try and raise chickens for meat. However, you must think about the different needs that are entailed for raising chickens for meat. They would usually require a different type of coop.

Use or Sell the Manure:

Even the supposed negatives of raising backyard chickens have the potential to earn you some form of money. One of the things that hinder people from taking care of such animals in their own backyard is that they are wary of having to clean up after their chickens. They also know that the fecal matter of the chickens can cause some foul odors.

While you do have to clean that up, you can actually collect the chicken manure and turn them into organic fertilizer.  You can then use it on your own garden or sell them to other organic farmers in your area.

Yes, raising chickens would cost some money initially, but after setting it up and getting a good number of chickens to raise well in your backyard you would find out that they can actually help you improve on your financial situation!