Rob Ludlow, co-author of Raising Chickens For Dummies, offers his tips about raising and keeping chickens in your backyard. He shares his advice about which chicken breeds are best, where to buy day-old chicks, where to find coop design ideas, keeping your neighbors happy, and much more.

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Do you need more advice about raising chickens in your backyard?
Read his book, Raising Chickens For Dummies.

When I was growing up, you only really saw chickens out in the country on a farm. More than ever, it seems as though you’re hearing about cities and towns all across the country removing restrictions against keeping chickens in more congested, urban kinds of areas. What do you think is driving this movement?

I think that’s the number one question I get asked. It really comes down to the convergence of three key reasons. The first is they really want to get their food from local, healthy sources. It seems like there’s a preference for eggs and meat from chickens that are fed well, treated humanely, and raised in proper environments. In fact, one of the most popular bumper stickers on our website is, “My pet makes me breakfast.” Chickens really are a unique pet, and we have found that there’s a growing awareness about how easy and fun it is to raise chickens. People are seeing that chickens are a multipurpose pet, like I said, the only pet I know that will make breakfast for you by way of eggs. And they are relatively easy to care for. They eat the bugs and the weeds in your backyard, of course they generate fantastic fertilizer, and one of the things that people don’t know is they are just fantastic to watch and interact with, both seeing them interact with people and the interactions between individual chickens. They’re very active and they’re always doing something. And then I think that the biggest reason is a lot of urban/suburbanites, they want to join in the movements towards self-sufficiency, growing local, basically being green. The problem is that most people don’t have the ability to raise cows, pigs, have a huge garden, etc., so having a handful of egg-laying hens in a relatively small yard allows people to participate in these movements without having to actually move to another city or change their ZIP code.

Rob, talk about some of the advantages of eggs and meat from backyard-raised chickens versus what you might buy down at your local supermarket.

I touched on a little earlier that people like to get their eggs from humanely treated animals. Even the cage-free and free-range eggs that you get from the grocery store, they’re usually from chickens that are raised in a very confined environment. There aren’t many medium or large-scale chicken egg production companies that I’m aware of, that can give chickens the same care and open living conditions that you’ll get from a backyard setting, so people really like the feeling of knowing that their eggs are coming from those chickens that are treated in a very humane fashion. Now regarding taste, that’s actually a pretty hotly debated topic, backyard eggs versus grocery store eggs, that there really is a difference. Some swear that backyard chicken eggs look and taste better, that they’re more firm and more rich. The research that I’ve seen suggests that this is usually due to how incredibly fresh the eggs are from your own backyard which grocery stores just can’t compete with. Chicken meat tends to be more rich, some say gamey, of course, some believe that’s the way that chicken should taste when it’s natural. If your chickens tend to be more active, you’ll probably see more dark meat and it may be a little more tough, and that’s because the chickens are actually out doing things — scratching, walking, running — versus being raised in a tight cage where they’re never moving. And then regarding healthiness, really what it comes down to knowing the food that’s going into your chicken, through the chicken to your eggs and meat and into your system.


What should you consider before deciding whether or not to raise chickens? I’m guessing that there are laws and ordinances — zoning restrictions, subdivision covenants — that might make it impossible in some places?

The first thing to check is to make sure raising chickens is legal in the city or town where you live. Finding out how many you can have, finding out if you can have roosters, knowing if there are setbacks from your house, from your neighbor’s house, things like that. You also might want to have a feel for your neighbors to know how they feel about you getting chickens and how close your coop will be to their backyard. What we’ve found is often, if somebody already has a not great relationships with their neighbors and you get chickens, the neighbors will often complain about the chickens, not necessarily because they don’t like the chickens, just because they’re maybe already looking for something to complain about. I’d say the second thing to consider would be space. We suggest at least five square feet per bird, so if you want to have five chickens, plan on having 25 square feet of space for those chickens, and of course, more space is always better. We recommend that people give their chickens as much space as they can. The next thing is time and money. In my opinion, chickens are relatively easy and less expensive to raise when compared to a lot of other pets. Usually the most time and money is put into building the chicken coop. But fortunately, even here, there are thousands of options for basically any budget or time constraint that somebody might have. In fact, on BackYardChickens.com, we have over 400 examples of coop designs, everything from super cheap and simple to the really expensive and extravagant ones where it basically looks like a miniature version of the person’s house, where they’ve copied the floor plan and color scheme and siding and everything, on their chicken coop. Those are basically things to consider and think about before getting into raising chickens.

Where do you buy chickens or baby chicks, and what breed of chicken should you get? How many do you need to round out your flock?

Most people what they’ll do is they’ll buy day-old baby chicks. These are often available at local animal feed stores, especially during the early spring to early summer. Of course, a very popular way to get day-old chicks year round is to order them from a hatchery through the mail. Every year, hundreds of thousands of baby chicks are sent through the U.S. Postal Service and delivered right to your door. There are actually quite a few hatcheries and some have been in business for decades. Some of the ones I recommend, Ideal Poultry, Randall Burkey Company, McMurray Hatchery — those are some of the bigger ones that ship out just tons and tons of baby chicks every year, are well-known, and have just a plethora of different breeds and will help you decide on which breed is best for what you’re looking for. Regarding the number, you know, it really depends on a lot of variables — what’s legal, the size of your yard, how many eggs you want for your family. What I usually suggest for people that are just starting out is four to six hens. Of course, with that said, chickens can be pretty addictive and the next thing you know, you’re getting a bunch more and building a bigger coop. The next thing is, with regard to breed, and really, the great thing about chickens is, over the many, many years, they really have been bred to specific purposes. You might want a breed that’s just a show breed, that’s just a pretty breeds, an interesting breed, maybe something like the Silkies, those are very, very interesting and different chickens. You might want one that’s specifically bred to lay eggs, you want an egg machine, some of those might be the Leghorn varieties, those are great egg layers. Some of the more popular breeds that we see in backyard flocks, Rhode Island Reds, those have always been a great staple because they’re a relatively friendly breed, fantastic egg layers, they can be used for meat if people choose to go that route. Wyandottes, those are great dual-purpose breeds. It comes down to what it is you’re looking to get from your chickens, and you can specifically find a breed that will accommodate that need. People ask me a lot of times why backyard eggs tend to be brown when grocery store eggs tend to be white. The reason is because the most prolific egg layers, and breed, are the Leghorns, those are the ones that lay the white eggs and they’ll crank them out. The problem is, they’re an extremely flighty, skittish breed. You very rarely see them just because they’re not really friendly.

Can you suggest some good chicken coop designs that are compatible with suburban living? Is it most common to use chicken coop plans and build your own or buy one already pre-built?

You know, the most popular design that we’ve seen on our site is what we call the all-in-one chicken coop. It has a covered shelter, which includes the nest box, the roost, often where their food and water is, and the run, and it’s all together under one roof. This simple design is often perfect for a 4×6 area that can easily accommodate five to six hens, so it’s perfect for those urban and suburban areas. Now, regarding build versus buy, most people enjoy the process of designing and building their own coops and they will often do it themselves. Of course, with that said, there are options for those who have limited time and skills. For example, you can buy coop kits, where basically everything is mostly pre-built, you’re just slapping the sides and roof together, all the way to 100% pre-built that is delivered right to your backyard. There is a company that I’ve dealt with in the past, Horizon Structures, they’ve been in business for quite a while, and they have some fantastic coop kits and some fantastic pre-built coops, so they kind of have everything that you’re looking for if you’re looking for that pre-built structure.

I’ve always heard that chickens will eat just about anything that you put in front of them. What do you feed your chickens, and maybe you can talk a little bit about chicken feed, including organic, and maybe what you recommend people should feed their chickens. And I guess, to round it all out, how much it’s going to cost to keep them fed?

As you pointed out, chickens are omnivores, so they’ll eat plants, bugs, meat, etc. Almost anything that you put in front of them. We love to give our chickens our food scraps, and watch them eat the weeds and the bugs in the backyard. Usually the chickens need supplemental food, they can’t survive primarily on just the food scraps that you’re giving them and foraging outside, so there are a lot of premixed chicken feeds available at most feed stores that are designed for the egg-laying flock. It includes everything they need from protein and the calcium for egg production. Of course, there are organic feeds that are available, but as expected, those are usually more expensive and sometimes not as easy to find. Regarding cost to feed the chickens, that really depends on a lot of variables — the breed, the age, size, how much access to foraging they have and the cost of feed in your area. A very rough idea is that you can expect about a quarter pound of feed per day per chicken, so in my neck of the woods, based on all the different variables, we’re looking at about $2 per chicken per month. A lot of people go into this thinking, wow, I’ll be able to save so much money on eggs. Unfortunately, there is just no way to compete with the large-scale operations that cram the chickens together. They’re just mass producing eggs on a cost basis. Now on a quality basis, on a value basis, where you’re feeling good about knowing that your chickens are raised in a super-friendly environment, you can’t beat the value, in my opinion, that you get from raising your own eggs. But again, if you’re looking at just a cost-per-egg basis, especially when you consider the coop, definitely don’t do it just for the financial reasons.

Are chicken droppings good for your lawn and garden? Will the grass be greener by the chicken coop?

That’s funny, if you actually have grass in your coop, or somewhere your chickens have access to it, they’ll eat the grass and scratch at the soil if given enough time. Chicken manure is one of the best organic fertilizers around. Keep in mind that it’s a very hot fertilizer, which means that its super rich in nitrogen, so if its applied fresh and directly, it’ll tend to burn your plants. We allow the chicken manure to age and cook in a compost bin, usually it’s good with the bedding, especially if you’re using pine shavings, to combine those together because you have your “greens” and your “browns” mixed together. Compost materials before applying to your lawn or your garden.

Do most people raise chickens for strictly one purpose, either for their eggs or as meat or is it common to do both?

It seems that the vast majority of those who raise chickens, at least those that are jumping into the trend over the last couple of years, do so primarily for eggs. Raising for meat comes in a pretty distant third, and I suspect that this is due to the fact that the majority of those getting into the hobby are also raising chickens as pets in an urban and suburban environment, which are also the people that are less inclined to want to eat their own chickens. For example, my wife and I eat chicken all the time, but we’d probably never eat our own chickens. We kind of like that separation. Basically, our rule of thumb is, once they have a name, we can’t eat them.

How often do hens lay eggs? How many eggs can you expect to get from your flock?

This really varies considerably based on three main factors. The first is the breed of chicken, the second is the age of the chicken, and the third is the time of year and climate, so if you have the perfect combination of all three, you’d expect to get about 6 eggs per week per chicken. Of course, if any single one of these factors are off, the production goes down. During the winter, we can go for weeks without a single egg, but this is, of course, because of the winter season, the breeds that we have and the age of our chickens. There are a lot of variables that affect egg production, but on average, we usually say 3-5 eggs per week per chicken.

What about pests and predators like foxes and other animals that seem to prey on chickens? What are your tips about managing pests and preventing a backyard massacre in the hen house?

Pest control is similar to most other animals and pets. Proper husbandry is important. Predators are often a very big concern and will depend on where you live. Raccoons are often a huge problem because they are so strong. They’re also very clever and smart, they have very nimble fingers and with that opposable thumb, they can break into almost anything. They will often get into a chicken coop and they’ll decimate the entire flock within minutes. My suggestion is to always overprotect, based on the predators in your area. For example, do you have any neighborhood dogs that might get access to your yard? One big tip is chicken wire is meant to keep chickens in and not predators out. There are many predators that can rip right through chicken wire, so that’s one tip to keep in mind when protecting your flock.

What kind of veterinary care and vaccinations will your chickens need? Can you vaccinate them right at home?

Most vaccinations, fortunately, will be done at the hatchery, where you get your chicks. If you hatch your own chickens from fertile eggs, you may choose to administer your own vaccines. It’s not too difficult, these can be purchased online or at pet stores. It may be tricky to find a vet that specializes in chickens, but fortunately, most vets, especially those with any experience treating any kind of bird, can give basic care.

What advice can you give about raising chickens in a way that doesn’t irritate your neighbors? Other than keeping roosters that act like a neighborhood alarm clock, are there any other chicken activities that can cause problems?

In most urban and suburban cases, I definitely recommend against roosters. They aren’t needed for a healthy, happy flock, and the chance of upsetting a neighbor with roosters outweigh any pros of having one. A few other tips, first, of course, is good husbandry. Almost all of the complaints regarding backyard chickens, outside of roosters, is because they aren’t cared for properly. They need adequate space, they need to have their bedding changed before it becomes a smell problem. Also, keep chicken feed in metal cans to reduce any potential rodent problems. You also may want to clip your chickens’ wings to prevent them from flying the fence and digging up your neighbor’s freshly planted petunias. That’s something that a lot of people don’t think about is that chickens, especially when they’re younger, can hop right over a six-foot fence. Your neighbors may or may not want to have visitors.

Your website, BackYardChickens.com, has a truly amazing forum. What other resources and magazines and those sorts of things are useful for someone just getting started?

Honestly, between the Raising Chickens For Dummies book and the four million posts on the BackYardChickens.com forum, I think everything related to raising chickens is covered. Other than that, for someone getting started, the best thing that I would suggest is to find someone local and ask them about their experiences. They might have information regarding the local zoning and ordinances. Backyard chicken owners are usually a super-friendly and helpful bunch, they love to share their joy with anybody that might be joining in their hobby. There are magazines, Backyard Poultry Magazine is a very popular one. There are meet-up groups throughout the country that have monthly or quarterly meetings where people can get together and share stories about their chickens, so a lot of resources are out there.

Rob, in your opinion, what are the biggest mistakes people make when raising and keeping chickens?

The biggest mistake I’ve seen is related to space. For example, many people, they’ll start thinking, I’ll just get three chickens, that’ll be fine, and they’ll build a small coop. Next thing they know, they’re hooked, they go out and they get 12 more hens and then they’ve got 15 hens that are in a space that was built for 3. Having adequate space increases the health of the flock, less problems between the chickens, and generally the flock tends to be more healthy with the more space they have. Another mistake is related to predator protection. We read posts on our forums almost daily where someone built a coop that wasn’t sufficiently protected for the predators in their area. We also read reports where people think, oh, my dog would never hurt a fly, would never touch my chickens, a few days later they find that Fido’s instincts kicked in, and he killed one of their favorite hens, so that’s another thing to keep in mind. In general, chickens really are a relatively easy pet to care for. There are some really basic items that need to be addressed — housing, food, water, protection from predators and cleaning up the manure and whatnot — but once these basic things are accounted for, chickens really are a pretty low-maintenance pet.

Rob Ludlow is the co-author of Raising Chickens For Dummies. He also owns and manages the largest website on the topic, BackYardChickens.com.

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