Frequently Asked Questions about Raising Chickens & Building chicken Coops

Q. What is the average life span of a chicken?

A. 6 – 8 years some live a little longer.

Q. Do all cities and towns allow you to raise chickens?

A. Not all, but most do!

Q. Do you need to have a rooster for my chickens to lay eggs?

A. No, hens can lay eggs without a rooster, but they won’t be fertile. Meaning those are the eggs to eat not for raising little chicks. You need a rooster for that!

Q. Why do people keep roosters then?

A. Two reasons, one because they look cool and two, they serve as protection for hens.

Q. How long does it take for a chick to hatch?

A. Somewhere around 21 days.

Q. What is the difference between white and brown eggs?

A. The color is the only difference. “The color difference is due to the specific breed of hen, according to the Egg Nutrition Center. Hens with white feathers and white earlobes will lay white eggs, whereas hens with red feathers and matching-colored earlobes give us brown eggs.” There is no other difference as far as taste or quality.

Q. What’s the difference between a chicken and a hen?

A. chicken is the species in general – a hen is a female over 1 year old, (under 1 year old females are called pullets) and c-o-c-k-s are males over 1 year old, (under a year old males are c-o-c-k-erals).

Q. Will chickens come back to their coop at night?

A. Yes, chickens will always come home to the coop.

Q. Are chickens noisy?

A. Not really, hens are actually pretty quiet, can’t say the same for roosters though.

Q. What type of animals pose a danger to chickens?

A. Raccoons, dogs, foxes, coyotes, cats, and hawks. Any of these animals will make a good meal of your chickens if they get the chance. It’s always a good idea to lock-up your coop at night to prevent your chickens from being attacked.

Q. Are chickens dirty smelly animals?

A. That depends on the caretaker, just like any animal you need to clean up after them ever once and a while. Cleaning out the dirty bedding in there coop, keeping everything dry and having a clean/dry area of sand or dirt for your birds to take dust bathes in.

Q. How does the lying eggs things work?

A. A typical hen will start to lay eggs within six months of age. The eggs will start out small, and then slowly get bigger. During the first years of laying, the hen will lay one egg , almost every day. The birds will go through a “molt” in the late fall and winter months and stop laying. Then they will start again in the early spring. You can encourage egg laying through the colder months by keeping a light on, inside the chicken coop. As the birds get older, they will start to lay fewer and fewer eggs.

Q. Do they need a lot of space for chickens?

A. Depends on how many chickens you want to keep.

Q. Can I use the chicken manure in my garden?

A. chicken manure is high in nitrogen, so yes. It will need to be composted before putting it directly onto your garden. Once it has broken down, it then becomes perfect food for those perfect gardens.

Q. What do you do with them in the winter time?

A. Chickens can live through the coldest weather so I would worry. If you have properly insulated your coop or added a light inside they will be fine. The smaller the coop, the easier it is for them to keep it warm. Birds can get frostbite!

Q. Will having chickens in my backyard attract rodents?

A. It is food that attracts the rodents, not the birds. If you have wild bird feeders in your backyard, you run the same risk. Feed your chickens in small doses, so as not to have a large amounts of food left over. If you feed your bird’s scraps, make sure it is all eaten and not left in the bedding.

Q. How do I find out if it is legal to have chickens in my town, and if it isn’t, how can I change it so it is legal?

A. Like I said it is legal to raise chickens in most places, but you need to find out.

Q. What do chickens eat?

A. Chickens will eat just about anything! There are commercial poultry foods available at local feed stores, or you can make your own mix. People feed chickens corn, oats, wheat, rye, soy, fresh greens from the garden (weeds as well), table scraps I even heard of people feeding them spaghetti, worms and other bugs.

Q. I don’t own any complex building materials and/or equipment. Will this be a problem?

A. Nope, Coops can be built using household materials and equipment such as hammers, drills, saws and remember you can rent equipment from Home Depot now.

Q. I am not too experienced or skilled with building equipment, will this be an issue?

A. Not at all, building a chicken coop has an easy to follow cross-sectional diagrams that include exact dimensions and required materials.

Q. Is there a money back guarantee for the building a chicken coop eBook?

A. Yes. There is a money back guarantee period of 60 days. So you either end up with your very own chicken coop you find quick and easy to implement (which I am confident that you will), or you can send it back and be fully refunded.