Raising Chickens at Home is Fun! - Here's 3 Top Tips You Must NOT Ignore When Raising Chickens!

Are you interested in raising chickens? Building your own chicken coop and having a few hens at home is much easier and more rewarding than you might think. They are simple and inexpensive to keep, particularly when compared to other pets, and they have the bonus of providing you with fresh eggs, chemical free control of yard weeds and insects, and make great fertilizer for your garden, as well. They also have a lot more personality than you might think.

There are many ways to get young chicks (for the beginner, they're the best choice). In the Spring, you'll often be able to find day old chicks at local feed stores, or you can hatch them at home from eggs you order. There are all kinds of different breeds available, from the standard to the specialty, but you'll need to know how to take care of them. There are a few common misconceptions about raising chickens that can result in disaster. Let's take a look at three tips that will help you have a successful backyard chicken coop.

Enough Space: Battery chickens are kept in incredibly small cages that are injurious to them, create large amounts of stress, and make them sick on a regular basis. Most people know that raising chickens in a space smaller than a piece of typing paper is not the right thing to do, but they don't really know how much space a chicken needs. They may over crowd their coop. This will result in stressed chickens that hurt one another, get sick easily, and are unfriendly to you. Providing the right amount of space - a minimum of two to three square feet per chicken in the coop and another four to five square feet per chicken in an outside run - will prevent this and help you be more successful in raising chickens.

Socialize Your Chickens: Many people think of chickens as unfriendly, unintelligent creatures without personalities, and raising chickens without any real human interaction will result in animals that can seem like this. However, if you take the time to socialize your chickens and get them used to you being around, they can be very friendly pets. This also makes them easier to handle when you need to gather eggs or give your animals veterinary care. Make sure you spend some time with your chickens when they are very young, and on a regular basis. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes.

Feeding Your Chickens: Layer feed or pellets are well and good, but for truly healthy chickens and great eggs, you need to do more. Raising chickens on just layer feed with no access to the outside isn't good for them. Let yours out of the chicken coop and into a space in the yard from time to time. They'll eat young weeds and insects, cleaning up your property and improving their health. They also love treats like bread and vegetable scraps.

If you would like an easy to follow step by step guide for building the perfect (and inexpensive!) chicken coop visit www.chickendiyguides.com. You will also find tips on selecting the right chicken breed for you plus valuable information on raising healthy and happy chickens.