How To Raise Chickens in The City For Eggs

If you thought that farm fresh products are just meant for people living out there in the country, then you are absolutely wrong. Vegetable gardening has become a common hobby for most urban dwellers today. One of the newest tends today is that of raising chickens in the city for fresh eggs. It is now been referred by many as the ‘city chicken movement’ and it seems to be gaining a lot of ground in many cities across the globe. Rearing chicken assures you of home grown, healthy meat and eggs, pest control, companionship and nitrogen rich fertilizer.

Chicken are able to adapt well to the many constraints associated with the city environment. By using diapers, you will be able to raise chicken indoors in a stress free and incredibly enjoyable way. Here is a short, useful guideline on how to go about raising chicken for eggs in the city:

Check your local city laws

There are certain cities where rearing chicken is illegal and the last thing you will want is finding yourself on the wrong side of the law simply because you want to raise some chickens. So, spare yourself from grave problems by taking some time to check what your local city laws say about domesticating chicken. To make things much easier for you, just call your local municipality officer and ask if you are permitted to raise chickens or not and you will know what to do next.

Roosters are considered to be noisy and for this reason, there might be laws about raising them in the city since they can be a nuisance. There are other cities where the number of possible chickens that one can rear is limited and you will need to be well conversant with this as well. Some cities have a very strong farming culture in which case no licenses or laws exist about it.

Do your research about the number of chickens to raise and breed

To be successful as you raise chickens in the city for eggs, you will need to do your homework very well. Most importantly, you will need to know about which breed of chicken can do great in your city depending on the prevailing conditions and other factors. You might want to consider the egg laying prowess of the chicken since you will need to raise only chickens that have a great potential of raising more eggs. Some breeds of chickens are friendly layers such as Barred Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds and these ones are a great choice to start with.

The internet is a hub of tons and tons of info on the best egg laying chickens that you can raise in the city. So, just surf online for these breeds and you will be thrilled to find that there are so many of them to choose from. Now, after you have made up your mind on the best breed of chickens to rear, you will also need to consider the number of chickens that you can comfortably raise on your available space. Be keen not to bring more chicken than your available space can accommodate as this will mean less productivity.

Build a good chicken coop

A chicken coop is a place where chickens usually spend the night and lay eggs. Also, this is where they will be sheltering during times of bad weather, and you will need to ensure that you build a good chicken house. Use strong materials when building the coop. Coops are essentially of many different types, and it is not hard to build one. The Internet has so many great designs that you can refer to when building a coop and it shouldn't really take you a lot of time to complete.

Provide sufficient room for roaming

For your chicken to be in an environment where they are able to lay more eggs, you will need to ensure that you provide ample room where they can roam about freely. If your yard is safely fenced, allow your chicken to wander freely during the day. Chicken usually don’t go too far from their coop, but if they do, you will want to ensure that they are within a safe distance. Using chicken wire is not always a great idea as such since predators like dogs and coyotes can tore them up. You might want to spend some money to buy good fencing materials just to be sure that your chickens are safe and shielded from possible threats.

Buy food well in advance

Before you bring the chickens into the coop in the city, make sure that you have purchased food for them. If you can’t find a local feed store nearby, you can order some from the Internet. If you are bringing large chicken breeds, buy some pelleted poultry feeds. Feeding your chicken on the right food is essential as this will directly determine the health of the eggs laid by your eggs. Make sure that you feed your chicken with adequate amount of food and provide them with adequate water at all times.

Keep the environment absolutely clean

Your coop needs to be in the cleanest state possible. Make sure that you schedule at least one day to clean the coop thoroughly after a week or two. The perches also need to be wiped and the feeders scrubbed down of any dirt they might have. The nest boxes need to be cleaned thoroughly as well. Ensuring that your chickens are living in a clean environment help minimize the risk of attack by diseases and parasites. Furthermore, your neighbors will also not complain of dirty chicken in the neighborhood.

Always watch your chicken

Make sure that you check the water and feed on a daily basis and regularly observe your chicken. Watch out for any behavior and habit changes just to be sure that everything is going on alright. If you notice any signs of disease, call a vet immediately to check on them so that you can continue enjoying increased egg production.