![]() is an urban homesteader and former assistant manager at Tractor Supply. With her husband, Tony, she owns Morning Glory Homestead Farm, where they sell eggs, raise birds for meat, run farm tours, and host camps and field trips. Belinda Jones has raised chickens for more than 15 years in South Carolina.Ginger Stevenson, of McMurray Hatchery’s marketing department, shared the 10 breeds the company recommends for new chicken keepers.Tom Watkins is the co-owner of Murray McMurray Hatchery, a chick hatchery in Iowa that dates back more than 100 years and is one of the biggest and most-respected hatcheries in the United States.She is the author of Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens, one of the most well-known guides you can buy. Gail Damerow has been writing books about chicken keeping since 1976 (and also occasionally blogs for Murray McMurray’s Hatchery and receives Amazon affiliate revenue on her blog).Maurice Pitesky, DVM, is an associate specialist at UC Davis’s School of Veterinary Medicine and specializes in poultry health and food safety epidemiology.She treats backyard chickens at the school’s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. Michelle Hawkins, VMD, is a board-certified avian specialist and professor of companion avian and exotic animal medicine and surgery at the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.I learned a lot about coop construction, cost, quality, and the pros and cons of different models. There are exceptions, though, and I sought those out. For the most part, less expensive models tend to have terrible reviews claiming flimsy construction. ![]() I tried to stay under $500, which is on the low end for good quality in the coop world. I looked for coops that could hold up to five or six chickens, had good reviews, looked durable, and came with convenient features such as easy access to the nesting boxes and the ability to get into the coop to clean it. When my daughter decided last summer that she wanted to raise some hens of her own, we needed a second, small coop, so I spent more than a dozen hours researching prefabricated coops with a run-a fenced area for chickens to play in and to stay protected from predators. Our house came with a dilapidated coop that we fixed up in 2019, and it can hold a few dozen chickens. In my own chicken journey, I’ve spent weeks of my life researching coops, reading reviews, and navigating pandemic-related shipping and inventory problems (chickens and coops became very popular during the pandemic and demand has continued to grow with the recent spike in egg prices). There’s no one right way to raise chickens, but we have a substantial amount of advice to get you started. We have information on the tougher aspects of chicken keeping, too, including diseases, parasites, chick mortality, and rooster mating. I spoke to eight experts-including farmers, veterinarians, and the co-owner of the oldest chick hatchery in the United States-and compiled a list of everything you need to get started, from a chicken coop to first aid to the chicks themselves. Anyone considering a small backyard flock needs to understand the good, the bad, and the smelly before committing. Behind every glossy photo of a fluffy hen in a spotless designer coop, there are gritty realities that usually involve poop and a lot of expenses. “I’ve spent some of the most disgusting moments of my life in that chicken coop,” he once told me. I often have a few hens surrounding me while I garden, and my daughter’s favorite likes to be picked up for cuddles. ![]() Hens lay colorful, delicious eggs, they’re delightful to be around, and they’re very photogenic. ![]()
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