“GETTING STARTED WITH POULTRY”
By Tina Winstead Ph.D

Raising poultry is a fascinating and rewarding hobby.  The options are nearly limitless with regard to type, breed, size, purpose and housing.  Of all of the farm animals, poultry require the least input with regards to housing, feed cost and animal cost.  All of your focus can be devoted to choosing beautiful birds for your pleasure or home business.

Identify your purpose
The first thing to consider is your purpose in raising poultry.  Will you be keeping poultry for pure pleasure, exhibition or will you expect a return on your investment in the form of meat, eggs or income?  If you plan to make a profit, it is important to develop a business plan with projected costs.  The cost of housing and equipment can vary widely so be as detailed as you can.

Type of poultry
Next, you’ll want to consider what type of chickens you want to raise.  Chickens have been bred to be good at egg laying, meat production or both.  In addition, many fancy breeds of poultry have been developed based on appearance.  Keeping poultry for show or just to grace your home opens up exciting possibilities.  Just for starters, there are over 200 breeds of chickens and some of these come in both standard and bantams size. 

Housing
Once you know what type of poultry you want to raise you must consider the details of housing.  There are many plans for housing but poultry are some of the most forgiving animals when it comes to their homes.  You can either convert an existing structure or make your own poultry house.  Whatever you decide to do, the following are the important factors to consider in your design.

Space
A mature chicken requires a minimum of one square foot per bird.  While this may seem small, keep in mind that they may be using this space only at night for roosting.  In cold climates, a smaller house will help the birds stay warm.  In warmer environments, more space and/or more ventilation is necessary to keep the chickens happy.  For birds kept indoors in moderate environments, space requirements should be increased to at least four square feet per bird.

Ventilation
Ventilation is important for poultry.  In many cases, large barns and other structures inherently have great ventilation.  But if you build a house, make sure to incorporate windows or roof ventilation.  Chicken manure has strong ammonia content and without ventilation, the birds can be negatively affected by their close proximity to the fumes.

Lighting
Lighting is only important if you choose to raise chickens for eggs.  Day length triggers the birds’ reproductive tract.  In the wild, birds begin to lay eggs when a specific day length is reached.  Chickens need approximately 14 hours of day light for egg production but many home flocks are reported to stay in production with less.  In the winter, you can supplement with artificial light to keep your chickens in lay.

Equipment
The equipment needs of chickens are nest boxes, feeders and waterers, lights, roosts and good quality litter for flooring.  Again you can purchase a pre-made product or use your ingenuity to design your own.

Nest boxes
Nest boxes should be provided to layers before they are about 5 months old and mature enough to lay eggs.  Chickens prefer to lay eggs in dark boxes that are not on the ground.  It’s important that there be about one box for every four hens.   More can be supplied or they can be spaced apart in the coop if one hen keeps the others from having access.  You’ll probably find that your flock will have favorite nest boxes that are used more than others.

Feeders and Waterers
Feeders and waterers should be plentiful enough for all birds to feed and drink at the same time.  At times it is necessary to add extra equipment if the dominant chicken keeps others away from food and water.

Lights
The lighting required to keep a hen in production is quite dim.  If there is enough light for you to read a newspaper then there is sufficient light to stimulate egg production.  The number and wattage of lights will vary with the size of your space, but a 40 watt light is sufficient for 100 square feet of space.  You’ll have to do a little experimenting to get it right.

Roosts
While chickens love to roost at night, it isn’t necessary for their survival.  There are many inexpensive ways to add a roost.  A broom handle or even branches make wonderful roosts that can be easily cleaned or simply thrown out periodically.

Litter
Finally include a good quality litter in your chicken house.  Many materials make good bedding but choose something that is easy to obtain, dust free, and inexpensive.  Straw and wood chips or shavings are popular materials.  Flat newspaper or other material that is smooth and slippery is not suitable for chickens.  It causes leg deformity and is not absorptive enough to keep the chickens clean and dry.

Feed
Purina Mills has introduced the new SunFresh®Recipe line of premium poultry feeds that provide backyard bird enthusiasts with a safe, high quality and natural nutrition program for the life span of their chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys.  Birds will experience a strong start, uniform muscle development and growth, top vigor, great appearance, healthy egg production and overall health promotion.  SunFresh® Recipe feeds are made of high quality ingredients free of any animal proteins or fats.  From Start & Grow® for your baby chicks, Flock Raiser® for your mixed flock of growing and adult birds to Layena® for your laying hens, SunFresh® Recipe has the perfect feed for whatever life stage your birds are in. Feed your birds the right way…the SunFresh® way!