New to backyard chickens? Start here. Whether you’re choosing your first flock, raising baby chicks, building a coop, or learning how to recognize signs of illness, this section brings all of our beginner-friendly chicken resources in one place.
Start Here
- Backyard Chicken Care for Beginners
- 8 Baby Chick Mistakes Every Beginner Makes (And How to Skip the Panic)
- 5 Warning Sings Your Chicken May Be Sick (And What to Do Next)
All Chicken Articles
-
Preparing Your Chicken Coop for Fall
Preparing your chicken coop for fall is one of the best ways to keep your flock healthy as summer gives way to cooler weather. Rain grows more frequent, daylight hours…
-
Chicken Molting: Why Your Chickens Stop Laying and Lose Feathers
Chicken moulting surprises almost every new chicken keeper. You walk into the coop expecting to collect eggs, only to find far fewer than usual. Then you notice feathers scattered everywhere.…
-
Beginner’s Guide to Choosing Chicken Breeds
Choosing chicken breeds can feel overwhelming when you’re just getting started. One of the first surprises new chicken keepers discover is that there isn’t just one kind of chicken. There…
-
Summer Heat Safety for Backyard Chickens: How to Keep Your Flock Healthy During Hot Weather
Few things test a chicken keeper’s management skills quite like a stretch of hot summer weather. Chickens tolerate cold far better than most beginners expect, but excessive heat is another…
-
Common Chicken Predators (and How to Protect Your Flock)
Common chicken predators are something every backyard chicken keeper eventually has to think about. One of the quickest ways to discover you own chickens is to notice that everything else…
-
How Much Does It Really Cost to Keep Backyard Chickens?
One of the first questions people ask before bringing home backyard chickens is, “How much does it actually cost?” The answer is both simpler and more complicated than most people…
-
Why Did My Chickens Stop Laying Eggs? 10 Common Causes (and What to Do)
One of the most exciting moments of keeping backyard chickens is collecting that first egg. So when the nesting boxes suddenly stay empty—or production slows to just one or two…
-
What Do Backyard Chickens Eat? A Beginner’s Feeding Guide
If you’re wondering what backyard chickens eat, you’re not alone. It’s one of the first questions nearly every new chicken keeper asks. The answer is both easier—and a little more…
-
Backyard Chicken Care for Beginners
For generations, chickens were not kept for entertainment; they were kept because families depended on them. They provided fresh eggs, meat, fertilizer, pest control, and even income through the sale…
-
8 Baby Chick Mistakes Every Beginner Makes (And How to Skip the Panic)
There’s nothing quite like the day you bring home your first box of peeping baby chicks. You walk into the local feed store, and it hits you: that unmistakable smell…
-
5 Warning Signs Your Chicken May Be Sick (And What to Do Next)
Keeping backyard chickens is one of the most rewarding ways to build a more self-reliant homestead. A healthy flock provides fresh eggs, helps control pests, contributes valuable manure for the…
-
Beginner Backyard Chicken Setup: What You Actually Need to Start
Free range yard chicken