How I did it: It really isn't quite this simple, but it isn't all that complex, either - after all, they are only chickens!

1. Be or marry someone with power tools who likes to build things - coops, nesting boxes, roosts, fences - it's way cheaper than hiring someone to do it or buying already made things.
   
2. Get your "baby" supplies before you get your babies: water, feeder, heat lamp and heat bulb, paper towels, shredded pine bedding, chickie food and something to keep them in
   
3. 1.  I used the bottom and top of an extra large plastic dog crate set side by side with cardboard duct-taped to it to cover the gaps - when the chickies started flying, I covered the top with chicken wire
      
   2. If you have fewer babies than I (I had 27) or a very large box, you could start them off in a box
4. Read up on chickens and raising chickens; talk to other chicken people
   
5. Ideally, you should have a coop done or mostly done before you buy your chickies, but both my own experience and the experience of others seems to indicate that the emotional need to have babies over-rules this practical thing.  No worries - it can be done backwards.
   
6. If you mail-order your chickies, they will require a minimum order of 25 so that they can keep eachother warm during the trip.  In the Spring and Early summer, your local feed store may have some
   
7. Move them outside when they have real feathers.
   
8. To keep eggs clean, provide the hens with something to lay their eggs in - put fake eggs in there to encourage them to use that spot

Lessons & tips:

• Take lots of photos - babies grow up fast
  
• To keep roosters from getting mean and also wearing out the ladies, you need to maintain at least a ratio of 7 hens to 1 rooster - 10 to 1 is better
  
• Chickens fly - even the "heavy" breeds that aren't supposed to fly will easily go over a 6 foot fence - clip wing feathers if there are dogs on the other side of the fence
  
• Heavier breeds are cold-hardy
  
• Starting babies later in the Spring or in Early Summer reduces the time they have to stay under a heat lamp - also allows them to go outside sooner
  
• If you are going to eat your chickens, don't make pets out of them
  
• They will destroy your garden if you aren't very, very careful when you let them in there (but they are so darned CUTE that you might not care)
  
• When changing from one type of food to another (baby to grower to layer) or when changing brands, mix some new with the old to slowly transition them - otherwise you are encouraging a poopy mess!
  
• Pay attention to their butts - you always want "fluffy butts" - sticky butts indicates something is wrong and can lead to "pasting up" and death.  This is mostly a baby chickie issue, but can happen to adults, also.  Sticky butts must be cleaned well and the underlying cause fixed.
  
• Dogs cannot help themselves - they were born to chase and kill chickens
  
• Watching chickens is like watching a sit-com - no need for TV - just pull up a chair and watch the chickens!
  
• Although I live in a rural area, through my reading, I discovered that you can keep chickens (hens, usually not roosters) in many big cities (i.e. San Francisco) and towns.

Resources:

• Mail ordered my chickies from http://www.welphatchery.com
• Got my feeders and waterers from http://www.randallburkey.com/
• I get my chicken feed from http://www.fernleyhayngrain.com/
• And I buy chicken scratch and crushed oyster shell from the local Wal-Mart
  
• Best book - if you only get one, get this one: Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens: Care / Feeding / Facilities by Gail Damerow
  
• A wealth of information can also be found at http://www.BackYardChickens.com

Nov 22, 2008, 04:15AM PST | 0 comments | 6 cheers