{"id":13757,"date":"2025-04-28T13:59:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T17:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/?p=13757"},"modified":"2025-04-28T14:20:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T18:20:12","slug":"chickens-chores-and-breakfast-starting-your-backyard-flock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/?p=13757","title":{"rendered":"Chickens, Chores, and Breakfast: Starting Your Backyard Flock"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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By Robbie Perdue<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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There\u2019s something about springtime that stirs up old instincts. The smell of tilled soil, the hum of bees coming back to life \u2014 and the irresistible urge to bring home a cardboard box full of peeping fuzzballs from the feed store.<\/p>

One year, I gave in.<\/p>

During Chick Days<\/strong> at our local feed store, I wandered in for garden seed and walked out with a handful of tiny future egg-layers, a sack of Start & Grow feed<\/strong>, and a grin I couldn\u2019t wipe off. If you\u2019ve ever raised chickens \u2014 or dreamed about it \u2014 you know the feeling. If not, well… you\u2019re overdue.<\/p>

Choosing Your Breeds<\/strong><\/h3>

Picking out chicks is a little like picking out horses at a fair \u2014 it\u2019s half practical, half falling in love.
Here are a few breeds you\u2019ll want to keep an eye out for:<\/p>

  • Rhode Island Reds<\/strong> \u2013 Hardy, friendly, and laying machines.<\/p><\/li>

  • Buff Orpingtons<\/strong> \u2013 Fluffy, golden, and sweet-natured.<\/p><\/li>

  • Barred Rocks<\/strong> \u2013 Striped like jailbirds, but great layers and personalities to match.<\/p><\/li>

  • Easter Eggers<\/strong> \u2013 These beauties lay green or blue eggs, just for a little magic in your basket.<\/p><\/li>

  • Leghorns<\/strong> \u2013 Flighty, but if you want pure egg production, they\u2019re hard to beat.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>

    Start small. Six chicks is plenty to keep you in omelets without overwhelming you with chores.<\/p>

    \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    A blue sex-link chick. I created her by breeding a splash Jersey giant rooster with a barred rock hen.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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    What Your New Flock Needs<\/strong><\/h3>

    Raising healthy hens is simple, but you\u2019ll want to make sure you\u2019re set up right from the start:<\/p>

    • Brooder box:<\/strong> A simple large tote, horse trough, or wood box will do \u2014 as long as it’s draft-free.<\/p><\/li>

    • Heat source:<\/strong> A brooder lamp or radiant heater to keep your chicks toasty warm (about 90\u201395\u00b0F at first).<\/p><\/li>

    • Feed and water:<\/strong> A chick-sized waterer and a small feeder filled with Start & Grow<\/strong> feed.<\/p><\/li>

    • Bedding:<\/strong> Pine shavings are best \u2014 easy to clean, safe, and comfortable.<\/p><\/li>

    • Shelter:<\/strong> Once they’re feathered out (around 6-8 weeks), you’ll need a secure coop with room to roost.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>

      A few minutes of care each day, and you’ll have chickens healthy enough to take on the world \u2014 or at least your backyard.<\/p>

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      My boy Smokey and his girls<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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      \u00a0<\/h3>

      Built-In Cleanup Crew<\/strong><\/h3>

      One of the best parts about keeping backyard chickens isn’t just the eggs (though those are mighty fine). It’s the way they turn kitchen scraps and garden waste into fertilizer and eggs<\/strong>.<\/p>

      Leftover salad? Gone.
      Pea pods and carrot tops? Demolished.
      Wormy tomatoes? Chicken caviar.<\/p>

      They’re nature\u2019s recyclers \u2014 and they’ll follow you around with the devotion of a Labrador retriever if they think you\u2019ve got a handful of corn.<\/p>

      The Full Circle of Life (and Supper)<\/strong><\/h3>

      Raising chickens keeps you connected \u2014 to the land, to the seasons, to your food. And when your hens eventually slow down their laying (after a few good years), you\u2019ll have another decision to make.<\/p>

      Some folks keep their old girls as beloved pets. Others? Well, around here we make a batch of Chicken and Pastry<\/strong> so rich and soulful it could bring a tear to your eye.<\/p>

      But we\u2019ll save that story for another day.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      There\u2019s no sound sweeter than a box full of peeping chicks and no reward greater than gathering fresh eggs from your own backyard. It all starts with a handful of fluff, a bag of feed, and a little bit of patience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Free_range_chicken_flock-scaled.jpg","acf":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13757"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13768,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13757\/revisions\/13768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}