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America’s top 5 favorite breeds of chickens revealed

May 24, 2016November 26, 2015 by James McGregor

Now I know that this post is likely to generate lots of passionate debate about what your favorite breeds of chickens are for your backyard chicken flock but a recently released study by the University of California has finally given us our first insights into America’s backyard chicken coops.

In the largest study of its type into backyard chicken ownership in America, The University of California research has obtained insights into backyard chicken owners perceived flock health and welfare issues, the most favored breeds of chickens to keep in backyard flocks, backyard chicken husbandry practices, why people raise backyard chickens, what resources are necessary to help improve backyard chicken flock care and management, as well as demographic information about backyard chicken owners and their attitudes to chickens and chicken derived products.

This is the first of a series of posts to discuss the results of the study (if you want to be kept up to date on future posts make sure you subscribe to our newsletter in the banner above.)

Now to the reason why you are probably reading this in the first place (you probably just jumped ahead to look anyway) – the results are in and America’s top 5 favourite breeds of chickens for backyard chicken flocks in no particular order are…….

America’s top 5 favorite breeds of chickens

Interestingly America’s top 5 breeds of chickens are all egg-laying breeds and 3 out of the 5 are also in our recommendation for the top 5 best egg laying chickens for beginners.

Also check out our guide to selecting the best backyard chicken breeds for more information about these breeds.

Click here to get your members only "Guide to Selecting the Best Backyard Chicken Breed"

The study noted that the backyard chicken owners “appeared sensitive to egg color, as all of the 5 most frequently cited breeds lay colored eggs and other “blue-green egg” layers (Araucana and “Easter Egger”) and chocolate egg layers (Marans and Wellsummer) were also popular.”

The researchers noted that this could possibly be partly explained due to the colored egg dissimilarity to grocery store predominantly white eggs – in non-researcher speak this means that backyard chicken owners are simply rebelling against industrial production of eggs by giving the proverbial middle finger to industrial white eggs.

Tell us about your favorite breed by posting a comment.

Keep an eye out for future posts where we will reveal other insights from the study including top reasons why Americans own backyard chickens, how many backyard chickens people keep in their flock, where they get their chickens and much more. (Remember to subscribe to our newsletter and we will send you the posts straight to your inbox).

If you want to read the whole research paper you can read it here – Backyard chickens in the United States: A survey of flock owners, University of California, Davis

One final note. Whilst raising chickens is a sustainable way to produce your own food – why stop there. At backyard chicken zone we believe that going green does not mean sacrificing your lifestyle and that green tech and eco friendly products can give you the lifestyle you desire whilst moving towards a more sustainable future. Our partners at GoGetEco.com have the latest in cool eco friendly gadgets, future gadgets, future tech, the latest in green technology, eco friendly products and cool green tech inventions. Why not check them out.

Incubating chicken eggs

December 9, 2015November 17, 2015 by James McGregor

Hatching chicken eggs using artificial incubators is both an art and a science. Whilst it is not difficult incubating chicken eggs there are a number of key principles that you need to adhere to.

The first thing you need to do is to source quality fertilized eggs for hatching your own backyard chickens.

Good quality eggs require that the hens are in good health, have a well balanced diet and managed so that each hen is regularly serviced by a fertile rooster. The eggs should be clean fresh eggs that ideally have not been washed – washing can dramatically reduce the eggs viability be removing its protective bloom creating the potential for germs to infect the egg.

Source your eggs from a reputable breeder who keeps the nest boxes clean and filled with fresh dry bedding to prevent soiled eggs, collects eggs frequently, and stores them correctly.

For the best results in hatching chicken eggs the eggs should have been stored at room temperature with their pointy end down, rotated daily, and ideally should be less than 7 days old.

If possible your should pickup up eggs directly from the farm gate, however if you get them through the mail you should keep them still for 12-24 hours to allow the air cells to settle prior to placing them in an incubator.

As temperature is the single most important factor for successful hatching you should try and locate your chicken egg incubator in a room that has a relatively steady temperature, not in direct sunlight and away from draughts.

Recommended incubator – click for details

Turn on your chicken egg incubator and allow it to run for at least 24 hours to make sure the temperature inside the incubator has stabilized.

Set your eggs up in the chicken egg incubator on their sides or pointy end down in accordance with the incubator manufacturers instructions.

(Quick note on hatching rates – no matter how good your chicken egg incubator you can never fully replace a brooding hen and hence some eggs simply won’t hatch. The best rate you can expect is about 85%. If you are using eggs that have been posted to you then the hatching rate can be much lower around the 50% mark.)

Incubating chicken eggs will take 21 days after whichever time you will have a bunch of hungry chicks to feed.

Successful hatching using an chicken egg incubator requires four key factors:
1. Temperature

2. Humidity

3. Ventilation

4. Turning

Temperature
Every chicken egg incubator model will have its own settings for temperature however it is a good idea to get an incubator thermometer rather than rely on the incubators factory thermometer. If your eggs fail to hatch then temperature is the most likely cause. As a guide your eggs are unlikely to survive several hours of temperatures above 103degF or under 96degF.

Humidity
Humidity within the chicken egg incubator affects how much moisture is lost from the eggs during incubation. Fortunately most incubators create their own humidity through the use of water trays. (Tip – always use Luke warm water when you refill these water trays). The ideal humidity for hatching your backyard chickens is around 50-55% for the first 18 days and 65-70% in the final three days before hatching.

Ventilation
The embryos inside the eggs need oxygen which they get via their shell from the air around them. Therefore ensuring your incubator maintains good ventilation is important.

Turning
To be successful at incubating chicken eggs and hatching the chicken eggs, the eggs must be turned regularly for the first 17 days to prevent the embryos sticking to the shell. Ideally they should be turned 2-3 times per day. (Tip – mark the shells with a pencil with an A and a B on opposite sides so you can easily see if you turned all the eggs.)

You stop turning the eggs in the last 3 days of incubation.

Hatching your backyard chicken eggs
Soon the chicks will begin pipping – this is when they begin to peck through their shell. This can take up to 6 hours with a further 6 hours for the chicks to dry and “fluff up”. Since they still have the reserves for the egg yolk to draw upon the chicks don’t need to eat or drink for the first 24 hours.

Once they are dry they can be moved to a brooder. Check out our post on raising chicks to see what to do next.

Best Chicken Gifts for Christmas 2015

November 21, 2015November 10, 2015 by James McGregor

With the holiday season fast approaching we got together with our partners at Amazon to come up with a selection of fun chicken gifts for the special ones in your coop.

Gifts for Roosters (aka Men)

Can’t find what you are looking for? Search “chicken gifts for chicken lovers” in the search bar above.

Gifts for Hens (aka the Ladies)
Can’t find what you are looking for? Search “chicken gifts for chicken lovers” in the search bar above.

Gifts for the Chicks (aka the Kids)
Can’t find what you are looking for? Search “chicken gifts for children” in the search bar above.

Gifts for the Chickens (aka the Chickens)

Why should the people have all the Christmas fun. Check out this great range of gifts for your chickens.

Raising Chicks

June 16, 2016November 10, 2015 by James McGregor

Raising chicks is relatively simple and simply requires you to provide three key things for your chicks.
1. Warm clean housing
2. Plenty of food and water
3. Lots of love and attention.

About 24 hours after your chicks hatch or when they first arrive the first place they will call home is the brooder. The brooder is basically the equivalent of the nest in the case where the chicks are being cared for by a hen. It can be as simple as a box, enclosure or even a cat carry box.

The brooder should be lined with soft materials such as towels or blankets for the first few weeks (be careful of loose threads that small feet can get tangled in) and then changed for straw or pine shavings. Do not use slippery surfaces such as newspaper to line the brooder as it can result in the chicks having malformed legs.

It is very important to keep the chicks warm as they will require temperatures between 95 and 100 deg F. This can be achieved by using a heat lamp or a purpose designed radiant brooder (our recommendation).

Radiant heater (recommended). Use 90% less energy. Click for details.

Heat lamps are a low cost option but they do come with some safety risks of burns and also risk of fire if located inappropriately hence why our recommendation is to use a radiant panel style of brooder similar to the Brinsea Ecoglow brooder panel shown in the photo above. The heat source should be located down one end of the brooder to allow the chicks to move about and experience a range of temperatures.

Now that we have housing and warmth sorted we need to think about food and water.

You will need a good quality chick starter crumble (see our post on what to feed your chicken for more details) and something to feed them in such as a chick feeder or just a simple bowl that the chicks cannot tip over. Same for water.

At around 6 weeks of age they can move onto a pullet ration that has a slightly lower protein content until they are around 22 weeks of age or until they begin laying eggs.

With housing, warmth, food and water under control we need to think about some other practical issues.

At about 4 weeks of age you can introduce a low perch so the chicks can start to practice roosting.

Some chicks will also start to want to practice having dirt baths (a critical skill for managing parasites) so if you have space introduce a tray of dirt or sand and watch the chicks having fun.

Perch installed in simple chicken brooder

Cleanliness is important to keep you chicks healthy so make sure you do regular housekeeping. Change their bedding regularly (at least daily) and make sure they always have clean food and water.

Last but not least, enjoy the experience and delight in watching your chicks grow. They grow very fast so enjoy it while it lasts because in no time you will be feeling that empty nest syndrome – but hey, to overcome the grief of your chicks growing up at least you have fresh eggs to look forward to (around week 22 for most breeds).

Top 5 Best Egg Laying Chickens

September 7, 2016November 10, 2015 by James McGregor

One of the great things about having your own flock of backyard chickens is fresh eggs. When it comes to egg laying not all chickens were made equal. In fact some breeds have been selectively bred for decades to be the egg laying Olympians of the chicken world.

For beginner backyard chicken keepers you need to balance the egg laying ability of the chicken breed with ease of raising the breed.

If you have decided that your main purpose for keeping backyard chickens is for eggs there are a number of great breeds suitable for beginners that we would recommend based on the advice of some of the leading experts (now not all of these chicken breeds are necessarily the most prolific layers but for beginners it is a balance between egg laying and ease of care).

The Backyard Chicken Zone top 5 egg laying chicken breed recommendations for beginners:

1. Rhode Island Red

Coming in at number 1 on our top 5 egg laying chickens is the Rhode Island Red. This is our favourite layer with an above average laying rate of medium size Brown eggs. They are a versatile backyard chicken suitable for most climates and very easy to care for. They can be a little temperamental and aggressive to other breeds so be careful what other breeds to put with them. The Rhode Island Red is a good all rounder that is also suitable for meat production so if you are not sure what breed will be best for you the Rhode Island red is a good starter.

2. Leghorn

Coming in a close second is the Leghorn. These chickens are egg laying machines, producing over 300 large white eggs a year. They can be a little flighty which makes them a little more difficult to manage but if it is eggs you are after this breed will certainly deliver. They are also a useful dual purpose chicken (although a little on the scrawny side) and can be used for organic meat once their egg production declines.

3. Buff Orpington

This breed is one our favourite beginner chickens with an above average production of large brown eggs. Orpingtons are good brooders so an excellent choice if you plan to raise chicks. They are also an excellent choice for a pet chicken due to their docile nature and ease of care. If you live in a cooler climate the Orpington is a must have for your backyard chicken flock.

4. Black Star

Coming in at number four in our top 5 egg laying chickens is the Black Star. Black stars are a hybrid breed (cross between Barred Rock hens and Rhode Island Red roosters) and lay an above average amount of large brown eggs. They are very easy to raise and also very hardy making them an excellent beginner breed. They have a calm nature also making them suitable for families and as a pet chicken.

5. Ameraucana

Rounding out our top 5 egg laying chickens is the Ameraucana. This breed is known as the “Easter Eggers” because they produce eggs in a variety of colours including blue, blue-green, green, and cream (our kids love collecting the colourful eggs). They lay medium sized eggs with an above average laying rate. They have a calm temperament and make a excellent family or pet chicken.

For a family of four, a flock of three or four hens will usually produce sufficient eggs so try a few different breeds when you start out and work out which breeds work best for you.

Whilst our top 5 egg laying breeds will produce regular eggs for you, remember that the quality and nutritional value of those eggs will be controlled by the chickens diet including the health benefits, richness and colour of the yoke, as well as the chickens overall health. What you put in is what you get out so check out our tips on what to feed chickens to ensure a happy, healthy flock, and the most deliciousness and nutritious organic eggs for your family.

If you are looking for some more ideas check out our guide to selecting the best backyard chicken breed.

One final note. Whilst raising chickens for eggs is a sustainable way to produce your own food – why stop there. At backyard chicken zone we believe that going green does not mean sacrificing your lifestyle and that green tech and eco friendly products can give you the lifestyle you desire whilst moving towards a more sustainable future. Our partners at GoGetEco.com have the latest in cool eco friendly gadgets, future gadgets, future tech, the latest in green technology, eco friendly products and cool green tech inventions. Why not check them out.

Top 9 Chicken Coops You Can Purchase Online

February 4, 2016November 5, 2015 by James McGregor

Your chicken coop is likely going to be your biggest initial investment when starting out and you need to choose carefully so you don’t end up with an expensive pile of firewood and a flock of homeless backyard chickens.

To help you out we have put together a list of the top 9 chicken coops that you can purchase online. Our list covers a range of chicken coops from premium chicken coops for those who want to make a statement through to more economic chicken coops where functionality is the most important requirement. We have also included some plastic chicken coops that are relatively new to the market but provide some useful features in relation to cleaning and red mite control.

Premium Chicken Coops – less than $2000

Colonial Gable Chicken House with Ramp and Nesting Box by Little Cottage Company

Standing 114 inches high, 87 inches wide, and 97 inches deep, this chicken coop is suitable for 8-12 hens and is the equivalent of a chicken mansion. It comes complete with a working window one chicken door, nesting bins, a 72 inch roosting bar, and all the necessary fasteners and hardware to assemble the kit. It is solidly built with timber framing and can be assembled in one day. You will need to supply the roof shingles (or metal roofing if you prefer), drip edge, and also paint the chicken coop as this allows you to match your color scheme and roof finish to your existing people coop.

Click here to get the latest pricing and detailed specifications.

Gambrel Barn Chicken House with Nesting Box and Ramp by Little Cottage Company

This chicken coop will make you want to swap places with your chickens and move into the hen house! Standing 94 inches high, 63 inches wide, and 73 inches deep, this chicken coop is suitable for 6-8 hens. It comes complete with a working window (tempered glass and screens), one chicken door, four nesting bins, a 48 inch roosting bar, and all the necessary fasteners and hardware to assemble the kit. It is solidly built with timber framing and can be assembled in one day. You will need to supply the roof shingles (or metal roofing if you prefer), drip edge, and also paint the chicken coop as this allows you to match your color scheme and roof finish to your existing people coop.

Click here to get the latest pricing and detailed specifications.

Quality Chicken Coops – less than $1000

CC Only 141″ Chicken Coop with Chicken Run

This chicken coop is made from solid wood construction using quality semi-hardwood dried fir timber. Standing 52 inches tall, 141 inches in length (with the chicken run) and 53 inches wide it is suitable for 6-8 hens. Complete with a shingle roof, pull out tray for easy cleaning, ramp, door, and two nesting boxes. It is well ventilated with two screened windows and a 34 inch roosting bar. The chicken coop on wheels so that is can be easily relocated around your yard and represents a good balance between price and quality.

Click here to get the latest pricing and detailed specifications.

CC Only 124″ Chicken Coop with Chicken Run

This chicken coop is made from solid wood construction using quality semi-hardwood dried fir timber. Standing 50 inches tall, 124 inches in length (with the chicken run) and 39 inches wide it is suitable for 6-8 hens. Complete with a shingle roof, pull out tray for easy cleaning, ramp, sliding door, and two nesting boxes. It is well ventilated with three screened windows and a good sized 45 inch roosting bar. You will need to water seal the timber after assembly to extend the life of the chicken coop.

Click here to get the latest pricing and detailed specifications.

Budget Chicken Coops – Less than $500

Extreme Cape Cod Chicken Coop with Nesting Box and Roosting Bar by Precision Pet Products

This little chicken coop is one of the most popular best sellers online. It is perfectly suited to a little flock of up to two backyard chickens that have access to a fenced yard to forage during the day. The design offers some protection against predators although we recommend to enhance the security with some stronger locks and fasteners. The small run is not suitable for keeping chickens for extended periods but it is a pretty little overnight hen house for a couple of pet chickens. Overall this is a practical, economical, and cute little chicken coop for a very small backyard flock.

Click here to buy Precision Pet Coop Extreme Cape Cage

Pawhut 91″ Deluxe Large Wooden Bunny Rabbit Hutch / Chicken Coop w/ Large Outdoor Run

Whilst it is touted as a “deluxe” rabbit hutch it also doubles as a practical chicken coop (although you will need to make some modifications). It is relatively stylish looking and has a well designed central living space and a good sized chicken run for 3-4 hens. It stands 40 inches high, 90 inches long, and 27 inches deep but is missing built in nesting boxes and roosting perches: you will need to add these yourself. The ventilation is very open and so will need to also provide some weather protection to the windows. But despite being a luxury rabbit hutch it provides a good basis for a pretty good chicken coop making it a good value proposition well worth considering.

Click here to buy Pawhut 91″ Deluxe Large Wooden Bunny Rabbit Hutch / Chicken Coop w/ Large Outdoor Run

Plastic Fantastic

Plastic chicken coops have begun to emerge in the market over the past few years. Whilst the wood vs plastic debate continues with chicken keepers around the world they each have their pros and cons. Where plastic chicken coops come into their own is cleaning and maintenance. The cleaning of plastic chicken coops is much easier than wooden housing as you can simply hose them out and they are dry in less than an hour and maintenance is practically zero. Plastic chicken coops are also resistant to red mite by reducing the number of place red mite can live inside the coop. Ultimately it comes down to your needs and personal preferences.

Here are our pick of what is available on the market.

Formex Snap Lock Large Chicken Coop Backyard Hen House 4-6 Large 6-12 Bantams

As the name suggests, this chicken coop simply snaps together and requires no tools for assembly. It has a removable litter tray, large adjustable ventilation, easy access for egg collection, insulating double wall construction, predator resistant, and red mite resistant. It features 4 nesting spots with removable dividers and a generous amount of roosting space with three 36” roosts.

At 64” tall, 39” wide, and 42” deep it is recommended for use with 4-6 Large Chickens or 6-12 Bantams on average. Can vary with the size of your yard or an external run space.

Click here to buy Formex Snap Lock Large Chicken Coop Backyard Hen House 4-6 Large 6-12 Bantams

Winscombe Chicken Coop

This is our other suggested plastic chicken coop. It is precision designed and manufactured from 100pct recycled plastic for minimum carbon footprint featuring ample space, plenty of ventilation, molded nest areas, elevated roosting areas, and a convenient large egg collection door on the back.. Cleaning is extremely easy with removable roof panels and dropping tray allowing you to simply pressure wash the entire coop, wipe it dry and put it back together. An optional sturdy 3.5 by 6 foot welded mesh steel run is also available from the manufacturer.

It is also red mite resistant due to its plastic construction and design to minimize crevices where mites breed and make cleaning as easy as possible.

Click here to buy Winscombe Chicken Coop

What does it cost to raise backyard chickens?

November 29, 2015October 17, 2015 by James McGregor

One of the most commonly asked questions we get is how much does it cost to raise and care for backyard chickens.

In this post we have broken it down in to stuff you need to buy to setup your urban backyard chicken farm and stuff you need or should budget for to care for your chickens

Backyard chicken stuff you need to buy at the start

Chickens – $3 to $30 depending on age, breed etc.

Chicken coop – $150 if you make your own up to $2000 for upmarket versions. Average around $500.

Fencing

Incubator – $50-100 if you want the thrill of hatching your own eggs.

Brooder – if you want to raise chicks $50 to $100.

Feeders and waterers – $8 to $40.

Backyard chicken stuff you need to care for your chickens

Feeding

-A chick will eat roughly 9-10 lbs of feed in it’s first 10 weeks.

-A mature, standard size chicken will eat approximately 5 lbs of feed per month, if allowed to free range, and an active laying hen, if confined to the coop, will need around 6 lbs of feed per month.

Backyard chicken food options

50lb bag of chick starter crumble $8-$18

Grower and “all flock” feed for older chickens will cost around $17.00 per 50 lbs bag layer pellets between $15.00 and $30.00 per 50 lbs bag, depending again on brand and whether you buy organic/regular.

Scratch grains cost around $10.00 per 50 lbs bag, between depending on availability and quality.

Bedding

Wood shavings cost around $6.00 (.276 cubic meter loose and .092 cubic meters compressed).

Straw will cost you between $3.00 and $12.00 per bale, depending on availability, quality and size of order.

Sawdust pellets will cost around $4.00 per 40 lbs bag.

Other backyard chicken stuff

In addition to feed and bedding materials, add roughly $10.00 per month for miscellaneous extras, such as medicine, pest control, egg boxes etc.

Lets look at an example.

Jenny, her partner and their two your children have researched the idea of getting some backyard chickens by reading and decided to join the growing community of urban farmers by getting their own backyard chickens. Jenny wants the chickens for eggs and for a family of four will need at least three good laying hens. Jenny decides that she wants the children to enjoy the thrill of watching the eggs hatch and finds a local supplier. These cost her $10.

She purchases an incubator for $30, an Brinsea Ecoglow brooder for $80, an chicken coop for $400, and a feeder and waterers or $12. They have a good secure fenced yard so she doesn’t need to worry about fencing.

Once she has the incubator and brooder she gets her eggs delivered and puts them in the incubator.

While they are waiting excitedly for them to hatch she gets some food delivered by purchasing a bag of chick crumbles for $8, some bedding by purchasing some pine shavings for $6.

Now they are all set to go and welcome the new chicks into the world.

Jenny has spent a total of $546 and has enough supplies for the first few months in addition to some very excited kids (including the grown up variety) which is priceless.

Check out the following infographic on some of the other benefits.

by kylatomdesign.com

Hatching Chicken Eggs

May 24, 2016October 17, 2015 by James McGregor

Hatching chicken eggs using artificial incubators is both an art and a science. Whilst it is not difficult incubating chicken eggs there are a number of key principles that you need to adhere to.

The first thing you need to do is to source quality fertilized eggs for hatching your own backyard chickens.

Source your eggs from a reputable breeder who keeps the nest boxes clean and filled with fresh dry bedding to prevent soiled eggs, collects eggs frequently, and stores them correctly.

For the best results in hatching chicken eggs the eggs should have been stored at room temperature with their pointy end down, rotated daily, and ideally should be less than 7 days old.

Click here to get your members only "Guide to Selecting the Best Backyard Chicken Breed"

Turn on your chicken egg incubator and allow it to run for at least 24 hours to make sure the temperature inside the incubator has stabilized.

Set your eggs up in the chicken egg incubator on their sides or pointy end down in accordance with the incubator manufacturers instructions.

Incubating chicken eggs will take 21 days after whichever time you will have a bunch of hungry chicks to feed.

Successful hatching using an chicken egg incubator requires four key factors:
1. Temperature

2. Humidity

3. Ventilation

4. Turning

Ventilation
The embryos inside the eggs need oxygen which they get via their shell from the air around them. Therefore ensuring your incubator maintains good ventilation is important.

You stop turning the eggs in the last 3 days of incubation.

Once they are dry they can be moved to a brooder. Check out our post on raising chicks to see what to do next.