Thinking about raising chickens in your back yard? Are you excited to have fresh poultry and eggs every day? Do you hate spending money on meat at the store, knowing it’s been pumped full of hormones and antibiotics? Want to become self sufficient so you don’t have to rely on mass production farming methods any longer? If this sounds like you, then raising chickens in your back yard will be an exciting alternative for you! Here are three things you need to consider before you start your own back yard chicken farm.

1. Do you know how many chickens you want? If you want a certain amount of eggs per day, it will be easy to calculate how many chickens you need. Or if you would also like to raise baby chicks, you will also need a rooster. Most chickens lay approximately 250 to 280 eggs per year, so if you need at least a dozen eggs a week, you should plan on having at least 2 chickens.

2. Is your yard big enough? Chickens don’t need a lot of space. A hen house that is about 4 feet by 3 feet is big enough for 12 chickens. But you also have to plan outdoor space for your chickens (usually attached to the hen house). Twenty square feet is usually enough for 4 chickens.

3. Is your yard adequate? You don’t want your chickens to have full sun all day, they will need some shade so that they don’t get too hot. Plus you need proper drainage, so that your chicken coop isn’t in standing water, or it could cause disease. You should also consider how close your coop will be to your house, and to any neighbors. You don’t want to place it where you or the neighbor will be bothered by the noise and smell of the chickens.

Raising your own chickens can be fun and rewarding! You just need to plan your chicken coops properly before you begin so that you don’t have any surprises later. If you have a great foundation at the beginning your chickens are sure to be happy and healthy, which will lead to lots of eggs later!

Want plans to help you with building chicken coops right away? This site will help: http://buildingchickencoops.org