Raising chickens is a fun and rewarding backyard hobby. There's nothing better than waking up in the morning to a happy flock of hens. You can raise chickens anywhere you have a little room, whether its an urban city backyard or a country ranch. Such poultry flocks can be an excellent source for fresh, healthy chicken eggs.

Raising chickens is a lot easier than you might think, and its tangible rewards are just one of the many benefits of the hobby. Let the friendly experts at poultryOne show you the basics of raising chickens, whether you're raising chickens for eggs or for meat. We'll teach you absolutely everything you need to know about raising chickens, including the best hatcheries to buy baby chicks; what to feed your pet chickens; and how to build a simple chicken coop. Let's get started:

Join: Get a complimentary membership to our vibrant, interactive chicken message boards. Our poultry forums are the best way to get helpful, intuitive answers to all of your questions. We have over 2,000 commmunity friends to help you on your exciting new journey. Our forum will be an indispensable tool as you raise chickens!

Buy: We recommend our favorite chicken guide book - Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens. If there's one book you should buy, this is it! We also recommend Chickens In Your Backyard: A Beginner's Guide.

Download and Read: poultryOne offers DOZENS of free guides to raising chickens, covering every topic you need to know to raise a happy flock. Read our complimentary expert articles on raising backyard chickens at home, listed below...

Chicken Articles: (click a category for dozens of free chicken articles!)

General Articles on Raising Chickens

All About Chicken Breeds

Guide to Chicken Breeding

Raising Chicken Egg Layers

Why Raising Chickens?

• Raising chickens is fun and enjoyable. Ask anyone with chickens...they love it!
• It takes little time and money to start raising chickens for beginners.
• Raising chickens is a great way to have a constant supply of fresh chicken eggs.
• Chickens are great at eating weeds and garden pests, as well as free chicken manure fertilizer.

Ready To Get Your First Chicks?

• Your local feed store often carries chicks, or you can mail-order your chicks.
• Alternatively, you can hatch chicks by brooding chicks from fertile chicken eggs.
• Find the best hatcheries in our chicken forum, or in our chicken links.
• Housing chicks: Many hobbyists just use a cardboard box with pine shavings.
• Keep the chick brood warm with a 100-watt bulb at 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit and decrease by 5 degrees every week.
• Feed your chicks fresh water and high-protein chick feed.
• Learn more about raising chicks in our chicken article archive.

More Poultry Info Below (poultryOne is ad-supported):

Raising Your First Chicken Flock?

• Learn about building a chicken coop and the requirements for a chicken house.
• Feeding chickens: Use commercial chicken feed or mix your own chicken feed with chicken feed supplements. Provide lots of fresh, clean water.
• Many chickens enjoy being outdoors. Learn how other hobbyists do it in our poultry forums.
• Learn more about raising egg layers in our layer hen article archive.

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