This alert chick will delight a family someday.
There is no better time than The Holiday Season to start thinking about your springtime chicken flock! Yes, now! Make part of your stocking stuffer plans to be a gift certificate for chicks. And, tuck a good chicken book under the tree for winter reading.
Chickens have been part of our lives for over five decades. A daily joy at Winding Pathways is discovering newly laid eggs in out chicken coop. They are as beautiful as jewels and delicious to eat. Our hens recycle kitchen food scraps and garden weeds, snack on insects in their outdoor run, and entertain us with their amazing intelligence, curious antics and colorful feathers. We wouldn’t live without them.
We teach teaching backyard chicken workshops at the Indian Creek Nature Center, and when we ask participants why they are considering keeping a few hens they always seem to say:
*I want my children to learn where food really comes from and to learn responsibility by caring for chickens.
*I want my family to enjoy high quality eggs.
*I want to eat eggs laid by hens that are raised in healthy and humane conditions.
We encourage homeowners to consider keeping a small flock of chickens in the backyard, and there’s good news. The ban against small flocks of chickens is changing fast. Our city, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for example, changed the ordinance a few years ago to allow chickens. There are but a few restrictions. Only hens are allowed, and people can keep a maximum of six birds. Slaughtering is banned. Other towns across the continent either now allow chickens or are considering changing the ordinance to accommodate citizens who wish to produce food.
Chickens are as at home in suburbia and big cities as they are on farms. Don’t count chickens out if you live in in a metropolis. Many New York City residents, for example, successfully keep chickens, that are often housed in community gardens.
So, in the next couple of months, Winding Pathways encourages readers to do some reading and research to see if chickens are in your future. Look for a detailed blog on the Winding Pathways Website in late December that will have much more detail on chicken husbandry. HERE ARE SOME BASICS:
Where do I get chicks? Local hardware, garden, and farm stores. Find out if they will be selling chicks next spring. Or order on line to arrive in the mail.
What’s the cost? Female chicks, called pullets, cost between $2 and $3 each for most breeds.
A winning smile and great business acumen have made Hoover’s Hatchery a foremost hatchery in the Midwest.
When do I order? Tony Halsted, part owner of Hoover’s Hatchery offers this advice: “If you want specific breeds on a specific date place your order in early to mid-January for spring delivery. If you wait we might be sold out”.
When should I have chicks arrive? An ideal time to start baby chicks is three or four weeks before the last killing frost in your area. That’s early to mid-April in northern states and a month earlier in the south.
What will I need? Here are the basics – a coop, nests, feeders, waterers and a place to store feed.
Are they easy to care for? Yes. But remember, they are living creatures that need daily care.
How many eggs will my hens lay? Each bird will lay four to six eggs a week.
Where do I get reliable information? Fortunately, the huge upturn in backyard chicken interest has stimulated the creation of many printed books, blogs and websites crammed with information that helps a novice learn how to care for chickens. Odds are the local library has chicken care books. Also, there are likely people living nearby who have chickens and will share tips. Nature centers and farm and garden stores often sponsor workshops on chicken care, usually in the late winter. And finally, carefully read chicken hatchery websites and catalogs for a host of outstanding information.
Our Favorite Book: CITY CHICKS by Patricia L. Foreman>
Magazine: Backyard Poultry
Website: Scoop From the Coop
Hatchery: Hoover’s Hatchery
There are many other excellent books, websites, magazines, and hatcheries.
REMEMBER, WATCH FOR A DETAILED BACKYARD CHICKEN BLOG COMING TO WINDING PATHWAYS LATE WINTER.
