Raising Backyard Chickens

Leena is a Mom of two adorable kids and five little hens. She has a passion for gardening and loves to try growing different plants every year. Leena enjoys listening to podcasts on homesteading and would like to one day be able to start her own homestead.

When Leena is not spending time with her family or in the garden, she is busy crunching numbers and dealing with foreign exchange in her position as a Treasury Manager.

Leena lives in Grafton, with mom Jolly, husband Titus, son Jude and daughter Joelle.

Paul lives in Sherborn with wife Biya, daugthers Evelyn, Christa & 5 Buff Orpingtons and 1 Rhode Island hen. When not taking care of chicken or the yard, he is involved in S.M.C.B Times. Paul has been a member of St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Boston from 2011.

We have had our hens for 2 years now, since the summer of 2018. It has been a very enriching experience, especially for our kids. Additionally, it has also personally given me a small taste of the country life that I have always been craving. There is nothing like getting freshy laid warm eggs from your own backyard chickens.

Know your local chicken laws

Towns and Cities in Massachusetts have regulations on raising chickens. Some forbid backyard chicken, some allow only hens, some limit the number of hens you can keep. Check your town’s rules and regulations, before you buy your chicks.

Why Chickens?

You can raise chicken for eggs, meat or as pets.

One summer day, we happened to stop at the newly opened Tractor Supply store when we found that the store was selling baby chicks. The kids and I fell instantly in love with the small fuzzy balls of fur. We immediately went home and poured over books, blogs and forums on raising chickens in New England. The first thing that we checked is our Town’s regulation. We were overjoyed when we found out that our Town allowed up to a minimum of 6 chickens. And the rest as they say is history.

Although the cute “chick” like appearance lasts only for a couple of weeks, their development into fully grown chickens is very interesting. It is during the initial few weeks of their life that they need the most attention as they are very sensitive towards fluctuating temperatures, need change of bedding every few days and need more protection in general. We kept our chicks in our garage for about 5 weeks before we moved them outside to their coop.

Where does one buy chicks?

Did you know, you can also buy them online on sites such as www.mypetchicken.com. Hatcheries will send day old chicks (or older) via the US postal service. USPS is equipped to deliver day old chicks, within 3 days.

Their coop has a small run attached to it so that the hens can move in and out throughout the day. In the daytime they go into the coop to lay their eggs and then spends most of the day in the enclosed small run. They love perching on high positions and huddling together.

What housing do chickens need?

Chickens need a safe place to sleep, this is the coop.You will need an enclosed space for them to be active.This called the run. The more space you can give your chicken, your chicken will be happier and healthier.

During winter, I hardly let them out of their run. However, during summer, whenever we have the time, we let them outside. We have a wooded area behind our house and so can let them out in the woods for an hour or two. The hens really seem to enjoy this time digging for worms, eating greens and just being free. Most days my chickens are well behaved and with minimal effort do come back to their coop when called. Some days, however, it is a 2 person project to put them inside their coop. I lure them close and then my kids direct and shoo them inside. Chickens are very curious and love foraging, scratching the soil and so before letting them go outside, I always try to protect my blueberry bushes and raised garden beds.

Do chickens need a heater in winter?

“Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” Mathew 6:26.

Believe it or not, you do not a heater in the winter. Cold hardy chickens have been bred to withstand the cold, without any heater. Access to water is critical. As long as the chickens can stay out of strong winds and are dry, they are fine.

There is some work involved with raising chickens. We have set up a food and water structure inside their run so that we have to fill their food and change water about twice a week. Every 3 months their bedding also needs to be changed. I use pine shaving for their raised beds and use the spent shavings in my compost. I also give it a thorough cleaning twice or thrice during the summer. There is some winter preparation that is involved to ensure that their water does not freeze. However, overall, the amount of work is not tedious especially when you weigh it against the benefits of keeping chickens.

Most hens start laying eggs between 18-20 weeks. Ours started laying in the winter and it was such a joy to find the first egg. When days are short and it is cold outside, their egg production slows down and then will pick up once again as the days become longer. This past winter, we only had to buy eggs from the grocery shop twice- between December and January when their egg production stopped for a while.

Our flock is very docile and is very good with my kids. They follow my daughter around our yard and goes to her whenever she calls them. She has even managed to train two of the chickens to “sit”. They obviously are her favorite hens of the flock.

For our first batch of chickens we were only worried about the cold hardiness and the egg production of the breeds. For our next batch of chickens that we are planning to get next year, we are planning on getting chickens that will lay eggs in different colors such as blue, chocolate and green. And my kids are looking forward to taking care of them from chicks to adults.