If you want to raise hens in your backyard and have been blessed with a house than has a sufficiently large backyard, you are one lucky person! Raising laying hens is a great idea when one thinks of fresh eggs and a profitable business venture. Depending on the size of your brood, you can either go commercial or raise hens for your own consumption only. But before actualizing the concept, you have to make the following checklist:

Space and Size: Space has become an object of constraint. It is more so for people who live in apartments in high-rises. If you have a sufficiently large backyard, you can install a coop and breed laying hens in it. ‘Sufficiently’ is a subjective word and depends on the space you’re utilizing in your backyard. If there is some space which is well-ventilated, you can start your venture.

The size of the coop will undoubtedly depend on the number of laying hens that you want to keep. For an idea, each chicken must have a free space of around 2-3 sq. feet. That seems a lot but one can’t help it but accept the fact that chickens cannot adapt well to space constraints unlike humans!

Design: The coop must be well-ventilated. One good aspect of designing the coop is that you can choose to build it from simple wire mesh and recycled materials – chickens are not too choosy about the cleanliness of the place they live in! But for your consumption, you must ensure that the coop is clean. Otherwise you and your hens stand a risk of infection from the fecal matter and other garbage.

Nesting Area: Chickens prefer a quiet and seemingly dark area to lay eggs. They consider darkness to be safe and guarding! You can make the nests with good and clean straw and cardboard boxes. Make the straw base sufficiently thick to prevent breakage of eggs when they are laid.

Food: You must research sufficiently on this aspect because not all hens and chickens need the same feed. For example, the feed for the meat-type chickens are different from those from which we want eggs only. There are extruded feed available for hens for laying good quality eggs. These may come in the form of either pellets or flakes. If you’re not sure on the breed of the hen and the feeding pattern – it would be wise to consult a vet.

Vaccination: Birds like us need vaccination to stay fit and develop a good immune system. Hens are particularly susceptible to water-borne infections and diseases and also from fecal matter.

When you have this broad checklist at-hand, you will never miss out on any important issues that might worry you even in the future.