To Chick or to Chicken?

Apparently there are many different stages in a Chicken's life in which you can procure it as a backyard pet.

Newly hatched chicks: Cost: $3.50-$5.50 each + Brooder and supplies ($60 or so)

You literally get these little suckers the day after they hatch. Or maybe the day they hatch. Who really knows except the farmer, pet store owner or homesteading hobbyist that you're purchasing the chicks from. And unless you want 25 or more chicks, that's who you'll be buying from since most urban areas will only let you have between 4-8 hens at any one time.

Raising chicks is only about an 8 week indoor commitment from what I've found.  By the time they have feathers, they're good too move outside into their coop. You're going to need a brooder. That's the little pen that they'll live in. You can buy kits online or likely from your chick farmer. (I like "chick farmer" better than "chick seller". Makes them sound more wholesome, don't you think?).  I just went on craigslist and searched for baby chicks. There were quite a few to choose from. I emailed a couple, but the most helpful by FAR has been Gina at Wildfire Farms in Erie, CO. Now she doesn't ship, but if you live here in Colorado, she'd be a great resource. We planned on purchasing 2 chicks to start. An Easter Egger (which, if you didn't know, lay multicolored eggs!!) and a Silver Laced Wyandotte, which is just gorgeous.

Gina recommended starting with at least 3, and in the nicest way possible hinted that if one doesn't survive, then the singleton left would be devastated and lonely, which does not equal a happy chicken. So we decided on 3. But then talked to some friends that have raised from chicks and started with 4, lost one, and now have 3 very happy chickens. So now we're thinking 4.

Personally, my main reason for starting at day one with chicks is to let my children (a 4 year old and an almost 7 year old) handle them, learn to feed and water them at a small stage, and adapt to them as a family responsibility. Plus I hear chickens are almost cuddly if you raise them right and I'd hate to have one chasing and pecking at my kids in the yard. But, knowing the fragility of young chicks, I think I may advise my kiddos to hold off on naming them to avoid any extra heartache....

Pullets: On average, $20 each...

Technically a Pullet is a chicken or hen that is less than 1 year old. The benefit to a pullet is that you don't need to mess with the 8 weeks of brooder living in your home. They're also much closer to producing eggs. From the research I've done, chickens start laying as early as 4 months but also as late as 8 months. So you can average on about 6 months old. If you want the quick return, this is apparently the way to go. You can literally bring them home and stick them in the coop.

Another excellent resource for obtaining pullets locally here is the Denver Urban Homesteading organization.  The first Saturday of each month they have a chicken swap, where you can go browse the hens and make purchases. We're going this Saturday, so I'll reflect on that experience at a later date. The only reason we didn't go this route was that we really wanted our chickens to be as kid friendly as possible. And you never know how the chickens are going to mesh once you get them all together in the coop. Although I guess that's a crap shoot with the chicks too. Decisions Decisions....

Phew. That's a lot of chicken crap.

Taking the Plunge

We're getting chickens.

Not to eat. To raise. For eggs. Hopefully lots of yumtastic eggs. We live in the heart of Denver with 2 kids, 2 dogs and a cat on a 6500 square foot lot in a teensy but perfect 1940's bungalow. Urban homesteading, that is, raising chickens, ducks, geese and even goats is allowed in our city limits.

So we're getting chickens.

Our decision has come truly after over a year of research. It's not something that you rush into. After attending an Urban Hipster themed holiday party at a good friend's house, while hanging out in the backyard with his "sassy chicks", my husband got the itch to own our own. The kids were running around with them, carrying them, and marveling over the coop that was adorned with tiny multi-colored bulbs. They gave away 6 packs of eggs as party gifts and they were the prettiest eggs I'd ever seen. Still. Chickens? Aren't they smelly and mean? Turns out not so much.

So we're getting chickens.

And so the research begins...