Raising Chickens for Eggs

Have you ever thought about raising your own chickens for eggs in your backyard? Many times, it is the gateway to homesteading! These feathered creatures provide so much for your homestead including eggs, natural fertilizer, pest control, soil improvement, and weed control. They are also a great way to get rid of your kitchen scraps. Raising chickens has been a huge part of our homestead and we couldn’t imagine doing it without them.

How We Started Raising Chickens

Quite a few years ago we got the bright idea to get a few chickens. This started out as a way to provide eggs for our family and well, just a fun “project” for the boys to be involved with. We started out with five little chicks and one duck….. Brittany had to have that duck. We got these first little additions from tractor supply and were eager to bring them home.

We had nothing! No brooder, nothing. We started with a tote, some pine shavings, and a heat lamp. The boys were so excited about this new endeavor, Brittany however realized that she was petrified of birds. She still does not like to handle them to this day.

Justin built a brooder, and the chicks were moved into their little nursery. We knew nothing about raising chickens but had watched enough YouTube videos that we felt like we could handle it. If you want to know more details about us bringing home chickens, check out our story.

We knew that soon these baby chicks would outgrow their brooder and they would need a bigger living area. So, the planning of the coop started! We complied several ideas from brooders we saw to make it our own and work for us. The idea just kept getting bigger and bigger, and then there was the Chicken Chateau.

building a chicken coop for egg laying chickens

building the hagan homestead chicken coop

Stationary Coop for Raising Chickens for Eggs

We started by adding a stationary coop alongside our garden. We saw many homesteaders with this set up. The idea is the garden feeds the chickens, and the chickens feed the garden. We do like this set up for that reason.

Where we are limited, is our amount of land. This is why we choose to house all of our chickens and ducks in this massive Chicken Castle. The most important thing when having a stationary coop is deep bedding. Since the birds will exhaust this land, dust bathe, and scratch around the grass will disappear. We use wood chips that we get delivered from a local tree service. This provides a deep layer of organic matter to soak up moisture, their poop and urine.

You will also need a way to enclose your run. We did add a run on either side of our coop, as well as underneath it but this did not provide enough space for the number of birds that we have. We decided to put up a permanent fence along the outside of the run to keep our egg layers in and pesky predators out.

You can also free range your chickens, without fencing. Just know, that this could lead to predator attacks and chicken squat where you don’t want it….. like your porch. We do let our chickens roam the back yard, selectively. What we mean by this is, in the evening we will open up the gate pictured above to let them have access to grass. We normally do this in the evenings. This gives them more variety in their diet. We do However, block off our porches to our feather friends do not leave chicken squat for us to step in.

Mobile Coop for Raising Chickens for Eggs

Justin Rhodes has a great plan for a mobile chicken coop. And with more land, this is what we would use. It helps to improve your land and decrease bug population. It also prevents you from having to clean up manure since it is dropped through the floor onto your pastures.

With a mobile chicken coop, you will need a way to keep your flock in a desired area and keep predators out. We use the Premier One Poultry Netting. This is an electric net that is easy to set up around your homestead.

When deciding if mobile coops are right for you, the big question is do you have enough land. Here on our property, we do not for the number of birds that we have. One day when we have a larger homestead, we will incorporate these. Not having to clean out the coop is amazing!

Food and Water for Egg Laying Chickens

This is obviously a no brainer when it comes to raising animals. But the systems can vary. There are so many different ideas like automatic feeders and waterers. We have tried an automatic waterer in the past. The idea was genius, only having to fill up water once a week. We found that the water nipples we were using just didn’t hold up. Although Justin wants to try this again with another brand.

We just use a standard chicken water and feeder. These both need to cleaned out and refilled each day. For 75 birds, we have a few of them in their run so everyone has a chance to use them.

The type of feed we choose to feed are birds is Nature’s Best Organic Egg Layer Pelleted Feed. Fermenting your chicken’s feed is also great for their overall health.

Grit is very important as well. Chickens do not have teeth, therefor they cannot chew their food. Grit aids in the digestion of tough foods. Without it they can suffer from digestive issues, crop issues, and even become malnourished. Grit can consist of small rocks, crushed eggs shells, or oyster shells.

Our chickens also get a ton of kitchen scraps! We have a bucket in our kitchen that gets dispersed to all the animals on our homestead. Nothing goes to waste!

Nesting Boxes for Egg Laying Chickens

Chickens need a place to lay their eggs! Justin built boxes in our coop so that we could access them from the outside. Sometimes they use them and sometimes they don’t unfortunately.

You could also use old milk crates or buy mountable nesting boxes. It doesn’t matter which option you choose, just as long as they have somewhere to lay their eggs. To keep the eggs clean and prevent them from getting broken, you will need so sort of bedding in the boxes as well. This could be straw, pine shavings, or nesting box liners. Personally, we use pine shavings or straw.

Roosting Bars

This is something that chickens actually need. They like to perch when they sleep and keeps them off the ground feeling secure. Justin has used wooden closet poles and old branches that he found lying around on our property. Either option has worked well for us. I have to say the branches give a cool rustic look.

Closing Up Your Egg Laying Chickens at Night

There are several different ways you can go about closing up your chickens at night. Originally, we did this by using the two large doors on either side of our chicken runs. This worked well for our chickens since they will go in at dark, but our ducks did not get the memo. There were always those few ducks that we had to herd into the coop in our pajamas.

The reason for closing them up is so predators cannot get to them while they are sleeping. You can also use an automatic door that is just for the coop itself. This will work well for chickens, but not ducks. These have several different price points and quality.

With all this being said, we actually do not “close up” our birds anymore. Sounds crazy right?! Our large stationary coop is surrounded by several different fences, making an obstacle for any potential predators. To this day, we have never had any land predators besides our own dogs. We do have owls but have yet to have any problems with them attacking our full-grown ducks or chickens. All of our birds have shelter, we just don’t shut the door and knock on wood, have not had an issue. This is just our personal experience; you will need to know your land and local predators.

Putting Eyes on Your Chickens

It is important to know your birds and put eyes on them and their area EVERY DAY. This lets you assess any potential illness or the health of their surroundings. There have been instances when we have had to isolate chickens due to illness or injury. Sometimes your birds will pull through and sometimes you will have to make the difficult discission to cull them. You must steward your animals wisely. We have also had to help with conditions like being egg bound and bumble foot.

Catching things early is key. When you own livestock, there will be dead stock as they say. Most things can be prevented by keeping a close eye on your chickens and making sure their water and living quarters are sanitary.

Take away

You do not have to go big or go home with your chicken operation. You can have four, five, or fifty. Backyard chickens are a great way to get started in homesteading and provide so many benefits for your family and land. We hope this gives you some encouragement to raise chickens for eggs on your property!