Raising Chickens on an Urban Homestead

ByGroovy Green Jul 21, 2008

Hello! Welcome to the first of many installments in my adventure of chicken raising. I recently just introduced 2 chickens to my urban palace and I thought it would be interesting to follow along with my trials and tribulations. Hopefully if I make mistakes it will help you avoid them if you decide to embark on this sort of thing on your own.

I was helped along in my chicken adventures by talking with many other chicken owners about what they’ve done, as well as the great website City Chicken. I read two great books which I would recommend, Chicken Tractor by Andy Lee and Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens. I thought both of these books were great, and while I didn’t think one book covered all the information I wanted, together they did cover a lot of what I was concerned about.

Let me say, I wasn’t born on a farm or really around animals. We had a cat and a dog at various times when I was growing up, but we didn’t have a steady menagerie of animals at my house. What I’ve learned has been from reading books and talking to others. I guess I tell you this to encourage you. Just because you don’t have the background in raising animals doesn’t mean you can’t do it. I’m just at the beginning of my adventure, as I write this, and I’m still nervous and scared as heck. Especially when they sort of dart around. It freaks me out, but I know there is plenty of information and help online and with people I know. I hope Groovy Green can be a resource for you if you are starting out on an eggcellent adventure!

* Future installments of this series will discuss coops. Can you scavenge materials? Are they hard to build? Are you happy that there aren’t code enforcers for chicken houses? I think perhaps a discussion about a few coops I know of would be helpful as well.
* Feeding chickens. Tips, tricks and things you can do to make them cheaper and easier to raise.
* Keeping chickens warm in the winter. (Or cool in the summer)
* Are chickens legal in your area? How to find out.

Stay turned for more information in the future.