Why Raising Chickens?
• Raising chickens is fun and enjoyable. Ask anyone with chickens…they love it! • The startup costs to start raising chickens for beginners is low compared to other types of farm livestock. • Raising chickens is a great way to have a constant supply of fresh chicken eggs. • Chickens are great at eating weeds and garden pests, and also make excellent free chicken manure fertilizer. Ready To Get Your First Chicks? • Your local poultry feed store often carries chicks. You probably won’t find any exotic breeds at a feed store, but you’ll discover perennial favorites like the Rhode Island Red and the Barred Plymouth Rock. Alternatively, you can hatch chicks by brooding chicks from fertile chicken eggs. • Find the best hatcheries in our chicken forum, or in our hatchery listings. • Housing chicks: Many hobbyists just use a cardboard box with pine shavings. • Keep the chick brood warm with a 100-watt bulb at 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit and decrease by 5 degrees every week. • Feed your chicks
