For the past few years, I’ve had this dream of having backyard chickens. Not only for the fresh eggs, but for caring for a small flock, and being just a little more connected to where our food comes from. Unfortunately, our city ordinance didn’t allow chickens… until recently. Our town just updated the rules to allow up to six hens, and it finally opened the door for us to begin our backyard chicken journey. To say I was excited was an understatement.

Being honest with you right away-

I’m not a chicken expert.

That’s exactly why I wanted to share this journey here. I’ve done my research, read other blogs, joined chicken Facebook groups, watched videos, and much more. I know I will make mistakes and learn so much as I go, and I am so excited to share this journey! One of the things I hope The Gentle Harvest can be is a place where we learn together. I’ll be sharing what I’m learning, what is working for our flock, and what I wish I did differently. Hopefully it helps someone else who is thinking about starting their own little backyard flock!

Why We (I) Wanted Chickens

Even though I was very vocal about my dream for backyard chickens, my husband, on the other hand, was very against them. He had some experience with raising chickens when he was younger and was pretty quick to say he didn’t want them again. Although if you ask me, he was pretty young at the time and probably just didn’t want to be responsible for doing the work. Once our town changed the ordinance to allow backyard chickens, and he saw how badly I wanted it, he was slightly more on board. I promised I’d be the one doing most of the care, and eventually he stopped saying “no”.

There were a few reasons why I was wanting to start our backyard flock.

Fresh Eggs

If you’ve ever had eggs from backyard chickens, you know they’re completely different from store bought. The yolks are deeper in color, the flavor is richer, and there are so many increased health benefits such as up to three times more Vitamin E, 2-4 times more Omega 3 Fatty Acids, and a significant increase in Vitamin A.

Education

Not only will I be learning so much about raising chickens, but I wanted my daughter to learn too. She is 3 and is starting to learn about different chores around the house. During garden season, she helps me water the garden and take veggies and flowers into the house. Having her learn to help care for the animals is going to help teach her responsibility, consistency, and care. Of course, at this age he “chores” will be very basic. It might be something like helping fill the feed or water, carry kitchen scraps out to the chickens, or checking for eggs. I hope that over time the chickens will help teach her responsibility as well as patience and consistency.

Spending More Time Outdoors

Even with a small backyard flock, there are little daily tasks that pull you outside. Checking on the coop in the morning, refreshing water, scattering feed, or collecting eggs later in the day are all small moments that require heading to the backyard. None of these tasks take very long, but they add up and will help us with our goal to spend more time outdoors.

Reducing Kitchen Waste

One of the overlooked benefits of having chickens is being able to give them certain kitchen scraps instead of throwing them away (if you don’t compost). Things like vegetable peels, leafy greens, and leftover produce can become a treat for the flock rather than ending up in the trash. It’s a small way to reduce food waste while also giving the chickens a little variety in their diet.

Our Very First Chick Day

Walking into the chick section at the farm store was so excited and still overwhelming.

This is where my first “oh crap” moment happened. I had my shopping list of supplies and a list of breeds I was interested in. I remembered reading about “straight run” vs “pullet” chicks in all of my research, but for some reason it didn’t occur to me that this would influence my choice in chicks once I was in the store. Straight Run chicks mean the group is un-sexed and there is a 50/50 chance you will get a male chick and ultimately a rooster (which we CAN’T have in the city). Pullet chicks mean they are sexed and there is a 90% chance it is a female chick which will be a hen and lay the eggs.

The breeds I had on my list… you guessed it, were all labeled “straight run” at the store, and I really didn’t want to take that chance on getting a rooster. Thankfully, the sales associate was very knowledgeable and was able to talk to me about the other breeds and what I was looking for in the chicks. I ended up choosing 2 ISA Brown chicks, 2 Gold Laced Wyandotte chicks, and 2 Sapphire Sky chicks.

The associate boxed up the chicks, we checked out, and went home! My daughter had absolutely no idea I was getting chicks and she was so excited when she met them. She fell in love instantly. I have them set up in our spare bedroom which is also doubling as the greenhouse for seed starting. It has already been one week since I brought them home, and they have grown already! It has been such a fun experience already seeing their personalities and watching them throughout the day. I may have even set up the old baby monitor to be able to check on them throughout the day on my phone when I am at work…

What You Can Expect Here

Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing our entire chicken journey here on the blog.

That will include things like:

• Bringing the baby chicks home and setting up a brooder
• Choosing chicken breeds for backyard flocks
• What baby chicks actually need
• Building and setting up our coop
• Common beginner mistakes
• What I wish I knew/what I would change

Some posts will be more informational, but many of them will simply be updates from our little backyard flock! I can’t wait to go on this journey together.

Have you raised backyard chickens before? Thinking about backyard chickens? I’d love to hear from you!