If you have already decided on setting up your backyard for raising chickens, one of your primary concerns would be to select what breed of chicken you would want to have.  One thing to remember when raising backyard chickens is that you cannot simply go out and get any chicken available. This is because there are a plethora of breeds to choose from.

The different breeds of chickens would usually correspond to the different needs that you have depending on what kind of products you want to reap from raising them. There are usually two main options when you decide to raise backyard chickens, you could decide to sell or use their eggs for a profit, or you can sell the chicken themselves as meat. You should probably decide between the two as you would probably need different breeds of chickens to match either need.

For raising chickens for eggs:

The best breeds would usually be those that are able to lay large, beautiful brown eggs. This is because these kinds of eggs are the type that a lot of people would use and therefore purchase from you.

For this need you may want to select a chicken that comes from the Barred Rock, Black Australorps, or Rhode Island Reds breeds. These are the breeds that are generally famous for the ability of the chickens to produce good eggs.

For raising chickens for their meats

You may want chickens that are generally heavyset and larger framed than others. This is because these are the types that would be able to cook well and sell well in the market.

The breeds that would provide you with this kind of chickens are usually the Orpingtons, Cornish, or Giants. Chickens from these breeds are usually great for roasting, broiling, or frying.

Can a breed do both?

Some people may want to hit two birds with one stone and want the chickens that they raise in their backyards to do both the laying of eggs and giving meat. However, they are wary of having plenty of breeds as they have heard that it is a bad idea to mix breeds in a single coop.

For these people, perhaps the best option would be to select a chicken that is not necessarily great in laying eggs or providing meat, but is not poor in both either. Some breeds that are able to do this are the aforementioned Orpingtons.

Chickens from the Orpington breed would usually be able to add a nice brown egg to complement the meat that it would also be able to provide you.

Now that you are aware of the different breeds of chickens that you could use for your own backyard raising experience, you may want to consider your needs so that you would be able to select one that perfectly suits it.

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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Raising chickens is a very rewarding experience. You would be able to reap plenty of benefits because of it. However, things are not as easy as just hatching an egg and watching your chickens grow. There are some actions that you would need to do in order to ensure that they would grow well.

One of the things that is usually required for people who want to raise backyard chickens, would be to understand the things that they should be immediately wary of. By knowing these warning signs, they would be able to prepare for them.

Predators:

You should understand that there are plenty of predators that would try to take your chickens away from you. The most known would probably be the fox. Now, you may say to yourself that you are safe from predators since there are no foxes in your neighborhood. Sadly, there are actually plenty of other animals that can try to mess with your chickens.

Some common ones that could be found on your backyard would be stray dogs or cats, skunks or raccoons. You should also be try to ensure that there are no pests like mites or lice in your coop to ensure that you would be able to raise chickens well.

Lastly, you should also consider some kids or children as predators. Sometimes, the kids can get overly excited by seeing chickens and could do some actions that might cause the chickens that you are raising some harm.

Moods:

You should also be aware of the moods of your chickens. One example would be when it comes to the roosters in your care. When you are raising chickens you would be able to notice that sometimes there are some roosters who can get overly aggressive and destroy the “harmony” in your chicken coop.

These roosters would attack the smaller ones, or would fight each other for some unknown reason. When this happens, you should try to take measures to separate the aggressive chicken from the coop and try to see if they would begin to act normally again.

Unfortunately, sometimes the chickens are really just moody and aggressive and would still act that way no matter how much time you separate them from the group. If this happens, then you should probably try to sell the chicken to others so as to preserve the well being of a greater number of chickens.

Sickness:

There are some instances where a chick or chicken would get sick. You would usually be able to notice this by the actions of the chicken. IF they seem to be very weak or tired then it may be an indication that it is suffering from a disease.

You should try to be very aware of this because sickness can easily spread from chicken to chicken especially in the small coops that are commonly used when raising backyard chickens. Being immediately aware of the situation would help you easily isolate the chicken from the rest of the group until it is able to recover.

When raising chickens in your backyard, you should always be very aware. The chickens would need your help in being able to grow well, and being aware of their conditions and threats would help you solve them immediately.

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!