Here’s our Raising Chickens 101 series—a beginner’s guide in 6 chapters. Chicken droppings make for excellent fertilizer that can be used in your home garden or even sold. You can either gather them from your chicken coop (watch out for broody hens!) How to raise chickens for egg laying. Their diet, age and access to daylight are all important. These should be placed just off the ground and lined with straw or hay. Urban farming is booming as a means to live greener and leaner lives – not only do city chickens provide fresh eggs, they offer free fertilizer, bug and weed control, and – if you’re up for it – a tasty chicken dinner. We’ll talk about how to get started raising chickens, choosing a chicken breed, building a coop, raising chicks, chicken care, collecting and storing eggs, and more. Chicks: This is the most used and wise choice for novices. or get some from … How to Raise Chickens from Eggs . It’s Time to Lay Eggs! We’ll talk about how to get started raising chickens, choosing a chicken breed, building a coop, raising chicks, chicken care, collecting and storing eggs, and more. If you start with babies, you will have a wait while you learn how to raise chickens for eggs. Here’s our Raising Chickens 101 series—a beginner’s guide in 6 chapters. Many things can affect how many eggs a chicken lays. How to Raise Chicks. While not every municipality is supportive of chicken farming, many cities are passing laws to support small-scale coops. Chickens are hardy animals that generally take good care of themselves. Hatching Eggs: These are fertilized eggs that you need to incubate. They are also excellent all-around pets! Of course, eggs are not the only value a chicken can provide. In order to raise chicks in an incubator, you must first have eggs. If you have a rooster, you can sell fertilized eggs or hatch the eggs to sell your own chicks. Although incubation is fairly straightforward, there definitely is an art to it. This is very important as … More or less depending on the breed. The eggs are not in danger of cooling off too much during a normal foray into the coop or run. The following steps on how to raise chickens for eggs are simple and easy to follow. Unless you raise a large number of chickens in a confined space, you should be able to deal with most chicken problems easily and effectively yourself. Typically, chicken eggs hatch about 21 days from the beginning of incubation or nesting by a broody hen. Interested in raising chickens? If you are new to chickens, I don’t recommend that you get hatching eggs unless you really know what you are doing. When the chickens move to their new home, at six weeks, it’s also time to change their diet, from starter feed (see “Bringing Up Babies,” below) to grower feed. If you've been interested in chickens for years or if you're new to the idea, we compiled years of personal experience and insight into this comprehensive article on raising chickens for eggs. Who knew that, besides offering organic food, raising chickens can be a fun activity for the entire family?If you don’t believe us, keep reading. Chickens are great pets, but they can also be a handful. They will need to be cleaned out regularly; at least once a month, dusted for parasites, and any broken eggs should be removed immediately. First things first—chicken eggs should hatch in 21 days, though some may hatch a day or two early and some a day or two late after the incubation period began.A "day" is counted as a full 24 hours, so day one would be the first 24 hours after setting the egg. The Chicken Health Handbook is a great reference for taking care of your flock. It is easy to raise backyard chickens when you do things correctly from the beginning. For every 3 laying-hens there should be 1 nesting box 1 foot square, and 14 inches high. Chickens are a great source of fresh eggs, entertainment, and learning experiences. Teach them where to lay eggs. A setting hen will usually leave the nest at least once a day to eat, drink, and defecate. Raising baby chicks is an extremely rewarding experience, as you watch them grow from chirping balls of fluff to egg-bearing, full-feathered hens.