Starting a Backyard Chicken Coop From Scratch

By theadmin

For those with an appropriate space, backyard chicken keeping is both an exciting and rewarding endeavor. On average, hens in their most productive years lay between 200-300 eggs annually. That’s a lotta omelets! Plus, they contribute to a sustainable ecosystem by devouring insect pests and providing nutrient-rich manure for your garden.

Of course, there are a few things to know before establishing your backyard chicken coop. This guide explores the essentials of chicken keeping including laws, costs, and care required — to ensure you get your coop constructed without ruffling feathers along the way.

Don’t Run a Fowl of the Law

Because there is no Texas state law regulating backyard chicken coops, you will need to check to see if there’s a chicken coop-related city ordinance in your area. Some cities require a certain amount of acreage to put up a coop, while others require fowl to be located a certain number of feet away from residential or business structures.

It’s also wise to check for any HOA community bylaws. Even without an HOA, it’s courteous to chat with your neighbors first. While charming, chickens are known to squawk and squabble. (Pro tip: Neighbors are more likely to forgive chicken sounds with regular egg deliveries!)

Expected Costs
Chickens are social creatures and lay eggs communally, so plan for three to six hens at minimum.

Starting Costs:

$15-25/adult chicken (three minimum)
$300-$2,000 chicken coop on average
$6 bag of bedding covering 8 cubic feet (varies depending on the size of your coop)

Upkeep:

$25 per 50-pound bag of feed (one month supply for six hens)
Water (1-2 cups per bird per day)
Vet bills

Mapping Out Your Backyard Chicken Coop

Chickens require 4 square feet per bird in their coop. Inside, they’ll need food and water containers and a roost (a 2×2-foot wooden board is fine) to perch on at night. Each chicken needs about 8-10 inches of linear roosting space, ideally 1.5-2 feet from the ground.

They’ll also need a well-ventilated nest box, sized 12x12x14 inches, filled with hay and shavings in which to lay eggs. The coop and nesting boxes need to be lined with bedding. Leaves, straw, hay, large-flaked pine shavings, and wood chips are all good options. Do not use cedar or juniper shavings — they’re toxic to chickens.

Lastly, chickens need a “run,” which is chicken speak for ample space in an enclosed area to hang out in the open, scratch the ground, and bathe in the dust (8-10 square feet per bird).

Food and Water

Chickens need at least 1-2 cups of water per bird daily, as well as continual access to a buffet of feed. Plan for two pounds of feed every week per chicken. Like most humans, chickens are omnivores, meaning they eat plants and animals. Lucky for the backyard farmer, they love to eat worms, termites, ticks, slugs, and grubs — chickens make for effective pest control!

Chickens can also help you reduce food waste. They’ll happily gobble up your leftovers, but be sure your scraps aren’t moldy or highly processed. (No potato chips or gummy worms for chickens!)

Waste Management

You’ll need to shovel chicken waste from the coop daily to prevent insect/fly infestations and keep your chickens healthy. But don’t toss it out! Chicken manure, when composted, is an excellent fertilizer for your backyard garden, providing the dirt with plant essentials like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Keep Your Hens Happy

You can choose whether to buy baby chicks or pullets (young adult chickens). Baby chicks won’t lay eggs for at least four months but can be fun to care for as pets. All you will really need is a heat lamp and a cardboard box with a blanket. Plus, when they’re grown, they’ll be tamer from all the human interaction.

It’s a myth that you need a rooster for the hens to lay eggs. In fact, you may want to skip getting the rooster altogether. They crow loudly and can become aggressive toward both humans and hens.

We’re not the only species that love chickens and their eggs. Coop setups, including runs, need to be predator-proof. Despite the name, chicken wire is not strong enough to defend against predators. Use 1/2-inch hardware cloth to secure openings to the coop and bury the hardware cloth at least 6 inches underground, so digging animals can’t weasel their way into the coop from below.

If you already have animals in your life that will share the yard with the new chickens, consider introducing them to the flock with supervised leash-on visits for the first few weeks. If your dog or cat shows immediate aggressive behavior, it will likely stay that way, and they need to be kept apart from your backyard chicken coop.

Picking Your Chicks

There are hundreds of chicken breeds. Some, like the leghorn, are mighty egg producers. Others, like the Cornish cross, become tasty sandwiches. And there are some seriously fabulous chickens with extravagant plumage. Whatever breed you buy, look for National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) certified hatcheries and ask for documentation regarding disease testing.

Hens aren’t the only winged friends you can cultivate in your backyard. Learn how to become a backyard beekeeper.