Chickens are smart, social birds, and backyard chicken keeping has exploded in popularity over the past decade. We support any measure that reduces or eliminates the purchase of eggs laid by hens on factory farms

However, many new chicken keepers don't understand how to properly care for their chickens. When it comes to choosing a coop, protecting chickens from predators, preparing for extreme weather and treating illnesses, people may rely on online chicken forums or unscientific hearsay. This can cause suffering and heartache for both the birds and their keepers.

Don't fall prey to online misinformation. Before adopting or buying chickens, do your research, and ask yourself these critical questions.

Does my local government allow backyard chickens? 

Many cities and counties ban or restrict chicken keeping. Contact your local planning and zoning office to ensure backyard chickens are legal in your area.

Can I buy or build a spacious, predator-proof coop and run?

Chickens are prey animals with no defense against foxes, raccoons, dogs, owls, hawks and more. You are entirely responsible for keeping your birds safe. Do not underestimate the predators in your area. Your chickens must be completely enclosed in a safe coop with four solid walls and a sturdy roof every night. Many keepers also use an automatic coop door (an electronic door that opens and closes at set times) to make sure they never forget to secure their chickens in the coop at night. 

Predators can dig under fences and walls, so all coops, runs and other enclosures should have a 1-2 ft, L-shaped footer of welded wire buried around their perimeter. Coop and run openings should also be covered with 1/4" welded wire hardware cloth. If you choose to free range during the day, your chickens should be kept in a fully-fenced enclosure or yard with protection from aerial predators.

If you're not handy, a sturdy, spacious, long-lasting coop from a reputable seller can easily cost a thousand dollars or more. Most cheap prefabricated coops are easy for predators to rip apart and offer little protection from extreme weather. Many manufacturers also advertise their coops' size as suitable for far more chickens than they should hold. What some manufacturers recommend as the "minimum" amount of space needed per chicken is based on commercial chicken farming, not on your chickens' health and happiness. 

Your coop needs at least one nesting box for every four chickens and a roosting bar that provides at least 1 ft of space for each chicken. If your chickens are confined to a run during the day, they'll need at least 20 sq ft each. More space for your chickens is always better. Crowded chickens are more likely to hurt each other and to get sick. Plus, happy chickens with enough space to roam are a joy to watch. They'll run after each other, chase bugs and take group dust baths.

Consider these chicken coop design essentials from The Chicken Chick.

Can I provide everything chickens need?

At a bare minimum, chickens need:

  • A clean and completely secure coop (a place to lay eggs and roost at night) and run (a place to run, play and forage during the day).
  • A nutritionally complete feed, a source of calcium (for forming eggs) and a source of grit (for digesting food). 
  • Clean water that won't freeze in the winter.
  • A dust bathing area with loose substrate such as dry dirt, sand or peat. Do not add diatomaceous earth, which can damage your and your chickens' airways.
  • A roosting bar to sleep on at night, as well as other places to roost, such as additional roosting bars, logs, branches and stumps in their run.
  • Free access to grass and other vegetation to engage in natural pecking, scratching and foraging behaviors. Because chickens love to scratch up plants, some chicken keepers grow grass in open-bottomed planters with hardware cloth stapled over the top (grazing boxes). These allow chickens to peck at vegetation growing up through the hardware cloth while protecting plants' roots.
  • Clean nesting materials, such as hemp pet bedding or coarse construction sand.

What will I do if one of my chicks turns out to be a rooster? 

In many areas, roosters are banned because their loud crowing can disturb neighbors. This creates an ethical conundrum, because when chickens are purchased as young chicks, it's not possible to accurately determine their sex. (Unless they're "sex linked," meaning they've been bred for traits that make their sex obvious on hatching.)

Chicks purchased through online mail order or commercial farm supply outlets may be sold in groups separated by sex, but sexing is inexact. As the birds grow, families often find they have one or more male birds when they were expecting to have only females. Many young roosters are being relinquished to shelters and sanctuaries, organizations already overburdened with unwanted animals. Worse, these roosters are sometimes simply abandoned or killed.

For these reasons, we recommend adopting adult birds whose sex is already known. Adult hens can usually be located through your local humane society or animal control. Chickens end up in traditional shelters more often than people realize, and adopting from a shelter is a great way to save a life. You might even ask to be put on a waiting list to be contacted about hens as they come into the shelter.

If your local shelter has no chickens available, you can adopt a "retired" hen from a factory farm. Some rescues or sanctuaries adopt these birds out. Although they may lay fewer eggs than younger hens, for many of these chickens, it will be the first time they've experienced an enriching home that allows them to express their natural behaviors. You can find a list of adoption agencies near you by visiting sanctuaries.org or petfinder.com.

Alternatively, you may want to look at flyers posted in your local farm/feed stores, join local chicken forums on Facebook or other social media sites to find chickens who need good homes. Just be aware of basic biosecurity practices to avoid the spread of parasites and disease between birds.

Note that many people buy chicks through online mail order or commercial farm supply outlets. These chicks are sent in the mail at a day old and often die in transit. Anecdotally, many backyard keepers report that chickens from commercial hatching facilities die young. We strongly recommend looking to shelters, rescues and local breeders for your hens instead.

How will I protect my chickens from extreme temperatures?

Despite misinformation online, you must protect chickens from temperature extremes. Chickens can develop painful and debilitating frostbite on their combs and feet when it's cold, and they can die of heat stroke when it's hot. It's important that your coop is both insulated and well-ventilated. Read these resources from trusted chicken experts:

Do I know how to prevent and recognize illness in my chickens? What will I do if one of my chickens gets sick?

Chickens commonly suffer from parasites, viral diseases, reproductive illnesses, bacterial infections, fungal diseases and more. Review this list of common diseases in backyard poultry.

So while it may be tempting to think of a backyard flock as a source of inexpensive eggs, hens, like all pets, require periodic veterinary care. Chickens can become ill or get injured, and vet exams and treatment can easily cost over $100 per visit. Not all avian veterinarians are experienced with chickens, so be sure to locate a trusted poultry vet in your area ahead of time. Here are some ways to prevent illness:

  • Keep your chickens' environment clean by regularly removing manure from nesting materials and cleaning feed and water stations.
  • Avoid mixing birds from different flocks. Temporarily quarantine any new birds for two weeks and watch them closely for signs of illness or parasites before introducing them into an already established group. Don't share equipment with neighbors (each chicken house should have dedicated tools, wheelbarrows, buckets, etc.) Diseases can spread to chickens from wild birds, so keep wild bird feeders away from your flock.
  • Regularly inspect your chickens for signs of mites, bumblefoot and other ailments. Poultry DVM's symptom checker may help.
  • Prevent rodents from finding easy food and water sources around your chickens. Read "Tips to Control Rodents Around Chicken Coops" from The Chicken Chick.

Do I understand basic chicken biology and behavior?

Do you know about feather picking, the pecking order, molting and dust bathing? Did you know hens stop laying during the winter? Have you heard of the "hen squat"? Do you know how to properly handle a chicken? Consider purchasing a comprehensive chicken manual and reading books by fellow chicken lovers, such as "How to Speak Chicken: Why Your Chickens Do What They Do & Say What They Say" by Melissa Caughey or "Under the Henfluence" by Tove Danovich.