(ISU photo)
As egg prices bound, backyard chicken flocks are gaining in popularity, but the practice of chicken keeping demands plenty of planning and patience before it pays off.
Christa Hartsook, the small farms program coordinator for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, says the amount of money you have to invest to get started depends on how large an operation you want to launch. “Your basic costs are going to be in a little bit of equipment,” Hartsook says. “You’re going to need specific waterers and feeders for baby chicks. You’re going to need a specific area to keep them in that you can keep them nice and enclosed, and definitely very warm while they are in that early stage of life. Your biggest costs are going to be in the chick itself and in the feed.”
Most chicks range from 3 to $6 each, but before you start counting your chickens, Hartsook says you’ll need to make sure you can legally keep the birds in the backyard. “I always recommend that folks check with their community first and foremost, so that they can determine what particular regulations are guiding their community,” Hartsook says. “It may be in terms of the overall number, a community may not allow roosters, you may have property setback limits, so definitely check and read your community ordinances.”
There are all sorts of breeds from which to choose, and you’ll also need to decide if you want chickens for eggs or for meat. Plus, if you’re going to be raising them in Iowa, certain heavier breeds are better able to withstand the state’s frigid winters.
Hartsook says she’s getting a lot of calls lately about backyard chickens, as spring will arrive March 20th.
“People are just very concerned about the rising costs and we use eggs a lot in our daily diets,” Hartsook says. “Another great thing about chickens is it’s a relatively easy enterprise to get started with. It doesn’t cost a whole lot, then it’s a great way for folks to make that connection back to their own food source, and then maybe even provide some responsibility for kids.”
For the same reasons egg prices are inflated, supply chain issues are pushing up the cost of chicken feed — and the cost of chicks, too.
“Chicks are a little higher because we are seeing a lot of interest in getting started with backyard chickens, so you’re definitely not going to get chicks tomorrow and then see eggs the next week,” Hartsook says. “You’re not going to see any kind of return really on chicks until fall. It’s five to five-and-a-half months before a chick is mature enough to have egg production.”
If you’re considering starting a backyard flock, there’s a free online course through the ISU Extension.