Backyard Farm

You've always dreamed of having a farm and growing your own food, raising animals and being self sufficient.  But how can you when you don't live out in the countryside?

You needn't own 40 acres with a barn, tractor and lots of farm animals to feed your family and live, a somewhat self-sufficient life-style.  Our little farm, is "in town" and is less than 1/2 acre.

Our homestead isn't completely self-sufficient, yet.  In fact we still have a long way to go to attain that goal.  But, we are working on it, and getting nearer to achieving it each year.

We own a home with a basement and an attached garage.  It is located on Main Street, on a corner

lot.  Next, behind us is a small, early education school, grades k-3, and a church across the street to our north side.  Our view from the front of our property includes a vast wooded area and a river directly across the road.  Because of this view we can trick ourselves into believing we live in a very, rural area.

The reason I share this information is to show you that it isn't necessary to have acres and acres of land and outbuildings to own a farm.

Over the last three years we have transformed our manicured backyard into mostly vegetable garden
and chicken yards.  The only out-building so far is a chicken house built from discarded pallets and

plywood.  The only materials purchased were the 1-11 siding, fencing and fence posts.  The remaining materials were salvaged.  The chicken house measure 8'x10'x8''high.  Last year we installed a chicken wire wall with door, to divide the building into two areas.  One side with its own exit to a run for the laying hens.  The opposite side also has an exit to another run.  This is where we house the meat chickens until they are old enough to go outdoors. 

It's important not to build a relationship with the meat chickens since they are food, not pets as the laying hens are.

We keep 15 laying hens which share 6 laying boxes.  We raise meat chickens 10-12 at a time.  The meat chickens remain in the hen house until they are old enough to be moved outdoors.  At that time they are moved into a chicken tractor set in a grassy area in section of the yard set aside for this purpose. 

ABOUT CHICKENS:

If you choose to raise meat chickens for your family table begin by deciding how much chicken you cook during the year.  We cook whole chicken 2-3 times per month and we get two or three meals from each 3-4 pound bird.  We allowed our first meat flock to grow until they were about 16 weeks old as long as they weren't having leg problems due to their weight.

At 16 weeks, the meat birds weighed an average of 4+ lbs dressed.

We raised 24 meat chickens our first year.  This year we will raise 36 for the freezer, and 12 more for our daughter.

FEEDING THE CHICKENS:

All our chickens primarily feed by foraging, eating grass, insects and even tiny critters (we saw one eat a mouse!).  We do not medicate them or give them hormones or anything un-natural.  We supplement their foraging with pellets, mixed grains and cracked corn.  We also feed them plenty of table and garden scraps.  In return they lay big, beautiful eggs with strong shells and richly hued yolks. 

Your chickens also require plenty of fresh, clean water.  We have tried out several watering containers since we first started raising chickens three years ago.  This winter we found the best water container was a wide, black water bowl about 6 inches deep; non-metal.  Since it is not metal it takes longer for the water to freeze, and during the day, the sun-light warms the black container to help keep the water from freezing.

KEEPING THEM WARM DURING THE COLD WINTER:

At first we kept a light burning inside the hen house all winter.  It produced a small amount of heat and also tricked the girls into laying eggs all winter. 

This winter, with temperatures plummeting well below zero at night, we used a ceramic heater instead.  The cost was about the same as the light bulb, but the house maintained a warmer temperature.  The hens laid fewer eggs, but still enough to provide for our egg customers.

The only time they egg production fell considerably was while they were molting.  Fortunately, they didn't all molt at the same time.

GETTING YOUR FLOCK:

You've decided you want to raise chickens, either for eggs or meat or both.  Where do get them?
What breed should you buy?  How old should they be?  How many should you get?  What do you do when you get them home?  

WHERE TO GET YOUR FLOCK:
If you live in an area with farms you may be able to purchase chicks directly from a local farmer for a little as $1 per chick and generally have no limit, small or large, to the number you can purchase.  The price usually go up as the chicks age.

Next, the local farm supply store such as the Tractor Store, but there is usually a minimum number you must purchase and the price will be a little higher and also differentiate among breed and gender.Hens cost more; straight runs cost least but you don't know what you are getting.

Alternately you can browse the internet for breeders who ship.  These breeders offer a broader variety of breeds, cost more, and be prepared to purchase at least 15 chicks, more during the cooler months.
The reason for this large amount is for the chicks well-being.  Since the newborns don't have feathers they get cold quickly.  They benefit from the body heat of the group. 

It generally takes about two days to the chicks to travel from breeder to your post office.  So when they arrive they will be hungry and thirsty.  Fortunately, during their journey they have been sustained by the "feeding" they received prior to hatching.

WHAT BREED SHOULD YOU GET?
Are you raising meat chickens or egg layers?

Meat chickens are usually a rock-cornish mix breed.  They are bred for meat, and therefore they are constantly eating and grow at an amazing rate.  Harvest them at about 10-12 weeks for fryers/broilers weighing about 3 pounds.  At 12-16 weeks, weighing about 4 pounds dressed, they are perfect on the rotisserie, or in a roaster.

Laying hens are a different matter.  Personal preference, climate, temperament, egg shell color are
your primary concerns.

First, what breed do you like as far as their appearance is concerned?  Rhode Island Reds, White Leghorns,  black Sex-links, how about a lavender Orpington? 

What is your climate?  Do you live where the winter lows drop to -20F or 80F?  Does it rain most of the time or do you live in a desert?  Researching the breeds that appeal to you most will tell you in which climates they will either flourish or struggle to survive.

Believe it or not chickens have personalities.  Don't laugh, they really do.  By the time they are old enough to begin laying eggs, usually around 5 months of age, you will find they have definite personalities.  This is when you will find yourself giving them names.

When I first got my hens I had a list of names already for them.  But as the months passed, none of the names suited any of them. 

There is a Black Sex-link with a pushy, boisterous character.  She is well-behaved, but is always the first to reach the kitchen door and "call" out to us.  She chatters loud and long throughout the day....so I named her after one of my daughters who happens to have similar characteristics. 

Then there is our favorite, Lucky Penny, one of three Astrolorpes.  She started life as Henny Penny, but after being the only one of the trio to survive a hawk attack it was determined that she was indeed a Lucky Penny.  She will never see the inside of a soup pot.

Lucky Penny is friendly and loves receiving attention from adults and children alike.  She loves to be picked up and stroked, and will sit quietly for long periods on a lap.

Lucky Penny and her first egg

Did you know that not all egg shells are like the brown or white ones you see in the supermarket?

Example:  Our White Leg-horns lay the white eggs you see at the store.  But our White Rocks lay a pale, off-white or pale tan colored shell.  The Rhode Island Reds lay the common brown egg seen in the store, but our Lucky Penny, an Astrolorpe, lays a pinkish shell.  

image from www.maplegroveplace.blogspot.com

And our Americaunas lay an aqua colored shell.  The breeds known as Easter Eggers lay a blue-green shelled egg, or blue, or olive green.  There is a breed that even lays an egg with a deep chocolate brown shell.   Some shells are plain, other are speckled.





If you intend to sell eggs, free-range, non-medicated, colorful eggs will fetch the best prices.  I have seen them selling for as much as $7.50 for a half-dozen at an Organic Market!

HOW OLD AND HOW MANY?
 If you are eager to start collecting eggs and want to begin with hens which are already laying you will be paying a premium price.  Therefore those eggs on your breakfast plate will be quite expensive for awhile.

On the other hand, if you don't mind a providing a little extra care and waiting a few months your breakfast meal will be more palatable, and getting it will be more fun.

How many hens do you want?  Is there a city ordinance which will even permit you to own chickens in your neighborhood?  This information can generally be found on-line by going to your city or town's web-site.  The ordinance will indicate where chickens can be raised and how many you can own, and any additional restrictions.

What do you plan to do with the eggs?  Feed only your small family of 2 or 3 people; or, do you want to be able to sell a few dozen each week?

Each chicken will lay an egg a day.... as long as she gets enough daylight, food and water.
Until she molts.  During molting her body is concentrating its energy in replacing all the feathers on her body so she ceases laying eggs.

During the winter when there are fewer daylight hours, she will lay eggs less often.  This can be altered by keeping a light in the hen house for a few extra hours in the evening thus tricking the hens into thinking the days are still long.

WHAT TO DO WHEN THE CHICKS COME HOME:
Assuming you have purchased your chicks via mail-order they will arrive at your post office inside a cardboard box with air holes.  Your babies will have been traveling in that box for a couple of days and will be frightened, hungry and thirsty.

If you purchased from a local farmer or farm store they will have already been taught to drink and have been eating and drinking.

With your traveling chicks you will need a clean, warm brooder (a box or protected area with wood chips, water dish and food dish, and heat source such as a heat lamp or other light bulb which provides warmth.  Chicks require a constant temperature of at least 70 degrees F)

Carefully take each chick from its traveling box and set it into the brooder.  Dip its beak to the water once or twice.  It doesn't take much effort for it to get the idea.  Transfer the remaining chicks to the brooder, once they see the first chick drink they will get the idea and join in.

Occasionally a chick won't survive the journey from the hatchery to its new home.

Once in their brooder, all that's needed from you is fresh water, food, and clean wood chips. 

In a few weeks, 5 or 6, they will have grown their feathers and will no longer require additional heat and can begin to go outside into a well protected area.


~to be continued

This article is meant to be an introduction to the subject of your tiny farm.  There is a great deal of additional information available.  There is lots of great information provided by other bloggers and I encourage you to read as much of it as you can.

This article is also part one of series of articles I will be posting regarding caring for your flock, growing your food and preserving it for the year, goats or cows for dairy products, how to go from a "spend it as quick as you earn it" life-style to a "make every cent count" life-style, and much more.

Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Enjoy!


~Kathleen