Keeping chickens in the backyard isn’t a new thing. If anything, it might just be a throwback to the time when most people had a chicken coop and a garden.
In a sense that’s what drew Kathy Sourbeer, who used to spend a lot of time on her aunt’s farm, to keeping chickens.
“I wanted to feel like I was living on a farm, and chickens were what I can do,” she said.
Joanne Gilkey at Knisely’s Pet and Farm Center said the store has fielded quite a few inquiries about raising chickens, including many people who ask about raising them in Carlisle Borough. The borough council is in the early stages of deciding whether to develop an ordinance that would allow residents to raise chickens.
Most of those who come to Knisely’s for advice have similar reasons for wanting to raise chickens.
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“It’s mostly for their own eggs, having their own fresh eggs in the backyard. And for the fun of having chickens,” Gilkey said.
As with taking responsibility for any animal, a decision to raise chickens for their eggs is one that requires careful consideration.
The first step for any potential chicken owner is to check with the local government and, if applicable, the homeowner’s association to make sure that backyard chickens are permitted.
“It’s important to figure out if there is an ordinance for raising birds in your area,” said Gregory Martin of Penn State Cooperative Extension.
Then, it’s time to get the chickens, or chicks to be more precise. Gilkey said chicks must be kept inside and under heat for the first six to eight weeks.
The cooperative extension recommends keeping mixed flocks until the chicks are 18 weeks old, and then keep only the females.
“If they’re raising birds for eggs, they really don’t need roosters,” Martin said.
It is possible, however, to purchase hens if they are “sexed” at the hatchery, Gilkey said.
Including the chicks, heat lamps, waterers and chick feed, the initial cost for a potential chicken farmer is around $60.
After they’ve had their time under the heat lamp, the chicks can then start to be moved outside to an enclosure. The coop doesn’t have to be a “pristine Taj Mahal,” but it also can’t be a shack that looks thrown together with scraps.
“Most folks do build nice chicken coops and houses,” Martin said.
The extension recommends that the coop itself be a minimum of one square foot per pound of body weight for the number of chickens it will house. The run, or outdoor fenced area, should include at least two square feet per pound of body weight for each bird.
Martin said it is important to keep the coop clean and well-maintained. If a coop is well-kept, most people won’t even know it is there.
“You don’t want to impinge on your neighbors with rodents or flies,” he said.
Raising chickens can be a positive activity for children as taking care of the animals teaches responsibility.
Chickens must be fed both in the morning and in the evening, although it is possible to use a gravity feeder and a water feeder instead, Sourbeer said. With the gravity feeder, chicken owners can go on an overnight vacation as long as they make sure that someone comes in to gather the eggs while they are gone.
Sourbeer said it costs about $26 per month to raise a flock of 10 chickens. That breaks down to about $15 for grain and $7 for scratch, which she described as a treat for chickens. Bedding for the birds costs about $4 per month.
Given the initial start-up costs and the ongoing feed and bedding costs, anyone thinking about raising chickens for eggs quickly comes to understand it won’t be cheaper for them to raise the hens than to buy chickens at the store. The main attraction for most is the perceived health benefits of eggs from chickens they raised themselves.
The eggs are fresh and healthy, Sourbeer said. They also have less fat, less cholesterol, and contain Omega 3.
Chickens start laying eggs at about 24 weeks old, so if someone were to start raising chicks in March, they would have eggs by July, Gilkey said.
Martin said hens lay eggs based on the light cycle, so those who want to get more eggs through the entire year should consider special lighting to give the birds 16 hours of light per day. That equates to the length of the longest day with a little added time so that the hens don’t sense the decrease in light and drop off egg production.
Generally, chickens will lay one egg per day per hen during its first two years, but the number may vary depending on the breeds. The hens will continue to produce after that, but their productivity will decrease.
When the hens stop laying eggs, they more often than not stay with the family as a pet.
“They become attached to them and let them live out their lives,” Gilkey said.
Gilkey warned that chickens tend to carry parasites so children especially should make sure to wash their hands after handling a chicken.
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that it was investigating eight outbreaks of salmonella connected to backyard chicken flocks as of May 25, Gilkey said she has not heard of any problems with salmonella with local people who tend backyard flocks.
Gilkey also said that smaller flocks have not been affected by outbreaks of diseases like bird flu.
Sourbeer said she has no warnings for those who may be interested in backyard flocks.
“They are truly the homestead pet for everyone,” she said.
