Backyard Chicken Farmer

I asked Bill years ago if we could get some chickens and he always said no, but after chatting with some backyard chicken farming friends of ours, he relented. And thus began my journey to becoming a backyard chicken farmer.

We picked out our coop and started researching the breeds we would get. Who knew that there were chickens that are cold or heat tolerant? I bet you didn’t know that there are breeds of chickens that are considered more suburban birds because they tend to make less noise…I sure didn’t. We also needed to research what the rules were in our township. 

I placed the order in early December of 2017…Yes, I ordered my chickens from the internet. Who knew?!? 

My girls were hatched on my thirteenth anniversary (2/12/18) and shipped overnight to my local post office. I was learning something new at every turn of this adventure and I was educating others along the way, like everyone who happened to be in the post office when I picked up a box of chirping birds.

They made their home in a 50 gallon tote, which they quickly grew out of. Since we got them in the dead of winter, they needed to stay inside for the first few months. They stayed in my kitchen! 

I pretty much gave up on the mess quickly. Even having them living in a giant box, the dust and feathers that they sent into the air was INSANE! At one point we gave up on the kitchen table and started eating all our meals at the island. 

Finally they were big enough and it was warm enough for them to go outside. I spent the next three days scrubbing the first floor of the house. 

We’re a little more than a year into the adventure of being backyard chicken farmers and I have to say it’s been a great experience.

My plan is to break out different bits and pieces of backyard chicken farming to share with you. Do you have any questions? Is there anything you’d love to know about having your own flock of birds? Drop me a line!